Spartan Profiles: Martie Sanders
MONOLOGUE MAVEN
She is an original “mighty monologue maven,” one of a group of Chicago actresses who in 1993 founded the Sweat Girls—who, “coiffed and dangerous,” deliver hilarious autobiographical rants on stage. She recently won acclaim portraying Mae West in Dirty Blonde at the Madison Repertory Theatre in Wisconsin, and then continued at Madison starring in the one-character comedy Bad Dates—again, delivering hilarious monologues about her failed dates and her 600 shoes. Next for rising actress Martie Sanders, ’86, will be performing her own work at Chicago’s Live Bait theater.
“I’ve had some great shows and wonderful experiences,” says Sanders, who grew up in Detroit suburbs. “I’ve enjoyed the way I’ve been stretched as an actor.”
Her monologue experience with Sweat Girls—which she co-founded with two fellow Spartans, Rose Abdoo, ’84, and Dorothy Milne, ’80—proved very helpful in Bad Dates, which was one long monologue. “You go full throttle for 90 minutes, with no breaks. It’s a real challenge, but it works.”
Martie says MSU gave her great acting opportunities from the get-go. “Even as a first-term freshman, I was able to audition for roles,” she says, noting that she performed at Summer Circle, the Auditorium, and the then-new Wharton Center, and was active as a board member of the student-run New Arena Theater.
“We had a very hands-on participation in the artistic part of our theater program,” she recalls. “It was exciting and eye-opening. You got to see exactly how a theater is run.”
She touts many professors, including Arthur Athanason and Frank Rutledge. “Athanason could take a play and just get you inside of it and demonstrate the power of drama,” she notes. “It was awesome and inspiring.”
She also credits Rutledge with using innovative teaching tools, including once staging a shooting of Martie for arriving late to class. “It set up his lecture about the power of surprise,” she notes with a chuckle.