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About

Sandy Harper: A Legacy of Theatre and Service in Alaska

At the Valdez Last Frontier Theatre Conference in 2017, the Jerry Harper Service Award was given to Sandy Harper, Producing Artistic Director Emeritus of the Cyrano's Theatre Company (CTC) in Anchorage. CTC was co-founded in 1992 by Sandy and her husband Jerry, for whom this award is named, the same year as the inaugural Last Frontier Theatre Conference.

 

Sandy has served on the national board of the Last Frontier Theatre Conference, the board of the Anchorage Downtown Partnership, the board of the Rasmuson Foundation, and the board of the Anchorage Downtown Association. She also served as president of the Anchorage Cultural Council. Sandy’s accolades include the Contribution to Literacy award as the initiator of the Alaska Center for the Book; the YWCA Notable Woman of the Year (2009); induction into the ATHENA Society (2009); recognition by the Soroptimist Society for her encouragement of women in the arts (2010); an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from UAA (2011); the Lorene Harrison Lifetime Achievement award (2011); and induction into the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame (2016).

 

Under Sandy's leadership, CTC has been noted for eclectic programming and major projects, such as five world-premiere plays about Alaska during the celebration of Statehood and Anchorage: The First 100 Years, a project which produced a play for every decade to celebrate Anchorage's centennial. Another big project was commissioning and producing “The Ticket,” written by CTC’s resident playwright Dick Reichman. Sandy was featured in American Theatre Magazine for producing a series of plays honoring the indigenous peoples of Alaska. CTC has also been noted for spotting and producing plays read at the Last Frontier Theatre Conference, including Anne Hanley's “The Winter Bear.” Sandy was producer of many evening productions at the Conference, including Edward Albee's “A Delicate Balance,” “The Zoo Story,” “Seascape,” and “Albee’s Men,” a collection of his work adapted and directed by Albee's protegee Glyn O'Malley. 

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Learn More About Sandy:

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Timeline

Spring of 1944

Jerry and his mom, Ada, moved to Alaska where Ada, his mom, managed the Colonial dress shop located where what ultimately became Cyrano’s café and theater lobby.

1962

Sandy and Jerry Harper met at a Halloween party in California. On  their first date they discovered a mutual passion for ice cream and bonded by splitting a half a gallon of chocolate chip ice cream.

1962-1967

Jerry and Sandy performed Instant Fairy tales in the days I was a “Professional Princess.” We did a different fairy tale every other week for over two years (1965-1967), then a reprise in the early ‘70s.

1980

The Harpers move to Seattle. Jerry’s first acting job was at ACT where he got the lead in “Whose Life Is It Anyway?” Sandy worked as a radio producer was on a B-team for a movie shot in Seattle by Ro

1986-87

1992

Cyrano’s was launched, becomming a "cultural mini-mall complete with a B&B, bookstore, the café, cinema, musical events, art shows, and other special events.

When the Anchorage Police Department vacated their tenancy, Jerry and Sandy said, “why don’t we have a theater.” That’s when the building became known as Cyrano’s Off-Center Playhouse with a theater that achieved a remarkable reputation and numerous accolades. Their first play was Lee Blessing's Eleemosynary.

2017

End or an era; after 25 years downtown, theater artists, friends fans bid farewell to the space where Cyrano's was spawned. Cyrano's The Anchorage institution, founded by the Harpers moves from the corner of Fourth Avenue and D Street to a new location on Debarr Rd.

2018-Present

Cyrano's Theatre Company is lovingly dedicated to Founders Jerry and Sandy Harper and the high standards they established.

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