Sarah McNeilly (working with Hilary Wear during Precarious3) is a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works on the traditional and Treaty territory of the Michi Saagiig Anishinaabeg and Chippewa Nations (collectively known as the Williams Treaties First Nations) in Nogojiwanong, renamed Peterborough by European settlers.
Primarily a performer (i.e.: an actor, dancer, and musician) and highly attuned to processes; Sarah blurs the lines between theory and practice, between the arts and theoretical cultural analyses, by incorporating a hybrid research-creation form of artistic practice.
Sarah has studied dance, scene study, butoh, and Commedia dell’Arte with a wide range of mentors and teachers. She was a writer and performer for Peterborough sketch comedy troupe, LLAADS; she has written and performed a full-length stand-up comedy show to critical acclaim; and, she has performed lead roles with 4th Line Theatre, The Theatre on King, The Motley Collective, Arbor Theatre, and Mysterious Entity, among others. Sarah has created and co-created original work for Artsweek, Erring, and Emergency, among other festivals and venues. She is founder and co-writer of Haikusday, a weekly two-hour-long live radio show spoken only in Haiku, on Trent Radio. As a musician, Sarah has co-written and performed songs with two bands; she has twice played at Toronto’s renowned annual music festival North By North East (NXNE).