"Evita and the Responsibility of the Storyteller " - Sammi Cannold

When you tell a story, especially when that story is about a real person or event, you’re in an incredible position of power -- to interpret that story and share it beyond yourself. Of course, with that power comes an immense responsibility, to both the subject of the story and the time and place you’re telling the story. In Sammi Cannold’s talk, she shares how her experience researching a new production of Evita and a conversation with Eva Perón’s nurse and confidant taught her to feel the weight of a storyteller’s responsibility. Sammi Cannold is a director who is one of Forbes Magazine's 30 Under 30 in Hollywood & Entertainment, class of 2019. This fall, she will be directing a new production of Evita at New York City Center and this winter, she will be directing Celine Song's Endlings Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop after having helmed the world premiere at the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) and having developed the piece at Playwrights Realm and the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. Other recent credits include Ragtime on Ellis Island and Violet on a moving bus at the A.R.T. Recent associate director credits include the Broadway production of Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (dir. Rachel Chavkin). Sammi has also served as an Artistic Fellow at the A.R.T., a member of Cirque du Soleil's Creative Cognoscenti, and a Sundance Institute Fellow. She holds a B.A. from Stanford University ('15) and an M.A. from Harvard University ('16).