Ashley Sarver

Ashley Elizabeth Sarver is a director and playwright who most recently received her MFA in Directing at the University of North Carolina Greensboro where she was awarded the MFA Director Faculty Performance Award. Her thesis production explored the Aristotelian element of music to help a 21st century audience better understand Shakespeare's The Tempest. She composed all of the jazz music for the production as well as directed the production. She received a grant in 2018 from the Atlantic World Research Network to write and compose a new play and musical about women aviators. These original productions will be performed at the National Aviation Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 2021.

She also served as the assistant director for the Broadway industry reading of a new musical by Janet Allard at Playwright's Horizons in New York City and has worked at Triad Stage in Greensboro, North Carolina as a musician and assistant director. She was also a featured songwriter for the Smoky Mountain Songwriter's Festival. She is passionate about writing new plays and music that point to Truth and light and glorify God as well as using storytelling as a way to serve others. She holds a bachelor's degree in multimedia journalism and a MBA from Olivet Nazarene University where Jerry Cohagan was her mentor. 

Other directing credits include “Guys and Dolls” at Olivet where she got to direct Dr. Bowling,  “Our Town,” “A Piece of My Heart,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “All My Sons.” She has performed in productions including “Wit,” (Dr. Vivian Bearing), “Doubt” (Sister Aloysius), “The Music Man” (Eulalie), “It’s a Wonderful Life” (Ma Bailey) and “Sweeney Todd” (The Beggar Woman).