Stephanie Sandberg Publishes Journal Article and Co-Edits Latest Issue The associate professor of theater proposes a new model for theater production.

By Lily Caldwell
October 7, 2026

Stephanie Sandberg, associate professor of theater at Washington and Lee University, recently published an article and co-edited the most recent issue of the Journal of Adaptation in Film & Performance, a peer-reviewed journal focusing on theater, film and other media.

Sandberg’s article, co-authored with Evangeline Rose Whitlock from Webster University and titled “Staging a Theatre of Care: ‘Journey to the Greatest Gift’ with L’Arche Daybreak,” proposes a new model for making theater within communities called the “Theatre of Care.” The model suggests that the relationships built in community throughout production lead to real transformation, which the performance itself makes visible. By facilitating a “Theatre of Care,” the slow, dramaturgical process of getting to performance deepens the sense and value of community and artists working together.

Sandberg uses the development and performance of the original play “Journey to the Greatest Gift,” done by L’Arche Daybreak, an international living community for people with and without intellectual disabilities, as a case study of how the methodology can be applied. She lived with the L’Arche Daybreak community for a year, interviewing past and present members about what they loved most about their home. The result was an original play and a new model for how theater gets made.

On stage, the piece blended acting, song, dance and visual storytelling, with a cast made up of L’Arche Daybreak community members of all abilities performing alongside professional artists, set against projections and designs drawn from the community’s own artwork. The play was performed to celebrate L’Arche Daybreak’s 50th anniversary and can be viewed online.

This issue of the Journal of Adaptation in Film & Performance, co-edited with Nelson Barre from Roanoke College, examines the motives of adaptation and translation in theater and their relationship to questions of power, community, space, identity and the ethics of representation.

Sandberg joined the W&L faculty in 2016 after 19 years at Calvin College. She is a founding member of the New Views Theatre Company and is the creator of the documentary “Intimate Violence.” Her scholarship and practice span contemporary American drama and global theatrical traditions, examining how performance across cultures interrogates race, history and identity. Sandberg holds a Bachelor of Arts in theater from Westmont College as well as a Master of Arts in dramatic art and a Ph.D. in theater history from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

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