Saffron Henke
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A B O U T


Saffron is currently an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO. Previously, Saffron was at Miami University in Oxford, OH where she has established The Brink Theatre Company, and serves as its Artistic Director. She has worked as a professional actor, director, and educator  for many years.  She received her M.F.A. from the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Washington, during which she also performed with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, Idaho Rep, Seattle Children’s Theatre and the Recklinghausen Ruhrfestspiele in Germany. She then joined the acting company at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (two seasons) where she also devised and directed The Pale Fire Project. From there she became an Associate Artist and resident acting company member for four seasons at the Sacramento Theatre Company, where she was also the Director of STC-2, a 10 month young professionals training conservatory. With STC-2, she developed and directed The Tale, a rock musical about Greek mythology that toured Greece and headlined the Mioulia Festival. Her last West Coast stop was in Los Angeles, where she taught (University of Southern California, Center Theatre Group, A Noise Within Theatre), assistant directed The Heretic Mysteries with  David Bridel, and expanded her on-camera resume, including a web series for HBO’s True Blood, and played Fiona in the online series for Web Therapy.

A Midwest native, she has worked with  Working Group Theatre and Riverside Theatre as an actor and voice/text coach. She has directed at Coe and Augustana Colleges (Women in the Shadow, Metamorphoses, The Bock-Eye), and taught and directed at St. Ambrose University (Les Liaisons Dangereuses), Cornell College (In the Next Room/Vibrator Play), ChiARTS, and the Englert School of Performing Arts (Bugsy Malone). Most recently, she assistant directed George De La Pena in Music IC’s production of Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat. Most recently she has performed with the Richmond Shakespeare Festival, and will direct A Winter's Tale in 2018. 

A longtime member of the Actor’s Equity Association, Saffron is also the recipient of the 2005 Princess Grace Foundation Honorarium for Emerging Artists, an SAFD certified actor/combatant and yoga teacher (200hr RYT).
Saffron Henke
by Joshua Ford, Ford Photography

Overview of Experience: 

2019 - current: Assistant Professor of Theatre, Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO
2014- 2019:  Assistant Professor, Acting & Directing, Miami University, Oxford OH                                    
2011-2014:  Associate Director of the Grant Wood Art Colony and Arts Engagement, the University of Iowa; 
Artistic Associate, Working Group Theatre

2009-2012:  Guest Director & Adjunct Faculty (Acting) Cornell College, Guest Director Coe College, Guest Director Augustana College, Guest Director & Adjunct Faculty (Voice and Diction) St. Ambrose University

2007-2009:   Faculty, Movement and Voice, University of Southern California 

Fall 2007:  Adjunct Assistant Professor, Drama in the Classroom, University of Iowa

2004-2007:  Associate Artist, Resident Company Member, Director of STC-2, Sacramento Theatre Company


Education: 

2008:  Center Theater Group/ Dana Institute 
Trained to be a Teaching Artist for the Visual and Performing Arts Programs in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

2005:  Post graduate work on Greek Theatre, Hydra Greece, UC-Davis

2001:  Master of Fine Arts, Drama (Acting), University of Washington

1996:  Bachelor of Arts, Theatre Arts, University of Iowa

1994:  The Theatre School, DePaul University


Organizations and Awards: 

  • Actor’s Equity Association Member (since 2004)
  • Taft Hartley – SAG eligible
  • Yoga Alliance certified Yoga Therapist and Instructor (RYT 200 hours)
  • Certified Actor Combatant (in R&D, Quarterstaff and Unarmed)
  • Received the 2005 Theatre Honorarium Award for Emerging Artists from the Princess Grace Foundation A prestigious award from a national search of the country’s up and coming artists in the performing arts for work as artist and educator. Click to visit the Princess Grace Foundation website. 
  • Award winning collaboration for The Tale, a new musical based on Greek mythology created in collaboration with playwright Tommy Smith and composer Michael McQuilken, was performed in several festivals throughout Greece, including the Miaoulia Festival on the Greek island of Hydra in June 2007
  • Best Performance of 2005 Award for The Syringa Tree in both The Sacramento Bee, and the Sacramento News and Review
  • Named “Extraordinary Theatre Artist” by California Educational Theatre Association for work as an educator (March 2006)