By the time the lights came up on the first performance of The Lysistrata Project, Sarah Ault ’21 (she/they) was watching something that had lived in her head for years finally come to life.

The actors on stage were delivering lines she had written. The audience was reacting to characters she had created. And the full-length production unfolding in front of her existed because she had decided to make it herself.

“It was surreal,” Ault says. “There were moments where I had to step back and think, ‘Oh my gosh. This is real now.’”

For Ault, the production marked more than an opening night. It was a milestone in a creative journey that began at Butler University and has continued to evolve in ways she never fully expected.

Since graduating from Butler in 2021 with a degree in Theatre, Ault has earned an MFA in Theatre from Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland, performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, written and directed her first original full-length production, and built a career that blends performance, collaboration, and communication in unexpected ways.

Today, Ault lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where she performs in productions throughout the local theatre community while also working at the medical simulation lab at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine.

There, she helps coordinate simulations that allow medical students to practice difficult patient interactions with trained actors—work that relies heavily on empathy, improvisation, communication, and adaptability.

“Theatre teaches you how to work with people,” Ault says. “You learn how to collaborate, how to communicate clearly, how to adjust in the moment. I use those skills every day.”

At Butler, Ault immersed herself in experiences across campus life. She served as Hink during her junior and senior years, joined Alpha Chi Omega, and became deeply involved in student organizations, including Sandbox Student Productions, a social justice-focused theatre organization that later helped workshop early drafts of The Lysistrata Project.  

Looking back, she says Butler gave her something she now realizes was invaluable: the freedom to explore.

“You could really architect your own experience there,” she says. “I wasn’t boxed into just one thing.”

That flexibility became especially important as her creative interests expanded beyond acting.

“Sarah was always deeply curious—not just about performance, but about storytelling, collaboration, and the larger impact theatre can have on people,” said Diane Timmerman, Professor of Theatre and Department Chair. “What’s exciting is seeing her take those instincts and turn them into something fully her own. Writing and directing an original production so early in her career speaks to both her talent and her willingness to take creative risks.”

Ault first began developing the idea for The Lysistrata Project while studying in Scotland. Inspired by contemporary feminist theatre and conversations about identity, activism, and representation, she began imagining a modern reworking of the ancient Greek comedy Lysistrata, centered on a group of college roommates navigating friendship, sexuality, and growing up.

The idea stayed with her long after graduate school ended.

“If a story sticks with you for years, you probably need to make it,” she says.

So she did.

Over the course of nearly a year, Ault interviewed more than 20 people to help inform the script, revised multiple drafts, and workshopped scenes with collaborators and actors. When auditions opened, more than two dozen people showed up to audition for the six-person cast.

The process pushed Ault into unfamiliar territory—not only as a playwright, but as a director and creative leader.

“The biggest challenge was honestly overcoming my own imposter syndrome,” she says. “I had to stop thinking about whether everyone else would approve of it and ask myself, ‘Do I believe in this story?’”

As rehearsals continued, she found her answer.

“I learned that I actually really love directing,” she says, laughing. “I didn’t expect that.”

Night after night during the production’s run, Ault sat in the audience watching people connect with moments she had imagined privately for years. They laughed at jokes she worried might not land. They reacted emotionally to scenes she had rewritten again and again. And they connected with characters she had worked carefully to make feel honest and recognizable.

“One of the greatest feelings was realizing people cared about these characters as much as I did,” she says.

Now, Ault continues refining The Lysistrata Project in hopes of future productions while remaining active in theatre throughout the Kalamazoo area. She is also continuing to develop new ideas, new characters, and new stories she hopes to bring to life.

For Ault, that momentum traces back to a lesson she first strengthened at Butler: opportunities do not always arrive fully formed. Sometimes, you build them yourself.

“You have to make the art sometimes,” Ault says. “You can’t always wait for somebody to hand you the perfect opportunity.”