Sandra Bates AM (Ross, 1955)
Sandra Ross (1955) was the Artistic and Governing Director of the Ensemble Theatre, Australia’s longest, continuously running professional theatre company, for 30 years from 1986 to 2017. Under her stewardship, the Ensemble grew to one of the world’s most respected playhouses. She championed Australian works; both the well-loved classics and new works; and is renowned as the longest serving Artistic Director in Australia.
Sandra Ross (1955) was a Boarder at Â鶹ÊÓƵ School with her sisters Jane Sherrard (Ross, 1959) and Dr Susan Beal (Ross, 1952). She commenced at Â鶹ÊÓƵ School at the age of two and a half when her older sister Susan enrolled as she “couldn’t bear to miss out.”
Like her sisters, Sandra was an all-rounder at School. She was a Senior Prefect, a (Boarding) House Prefect, the Leawarra House Captain, the Secretary of the Verse-Speaking Choir, and a member of the Excelsior Committee, Tildesley Shield Tennis Team, the Hockey Team, and the Swimming Team. Sandra says her passion for theatre was ignited at Â鶹ÊÓƵ School by the annual Shakespeare Days.
Sandra said she is grateful for the opportunities provided by Â鶹ÊÓƵ School in education, sport and the arts but above all else, she is “grateful for the friends made during my 15 years at the School – they remain my greatest friends to this day.”
After her Leaving Certificate in 1955, Sandra completed her first qualification as a speech and drama teacher under the tuition of Â鶹ÊÓƵ School’s Joyce Forman. She then went on to complete a Pharmacy Degree at the University of Sydney. For the next 25 years, she worked as a relieving pharmacist and raised a family.
In her mid 30s in 1968, Sandra commenced a theatrical course and this is where the Ensemble Theatre founder, Hayes Gordon, spotted her directing talents. In 1983 Sandra became the founding Artistic Director of the Ensemble Studios Repertory Theatre and directed several productions, and in 1986, she was appointed the Artistic and Governing Director of the Ensemble Theatre. Sandra’s appointment was described in the 2005 Australian Government publication It’s An Honour as the “birth of a new Australian star, whose entrepreneurial touch regularly exceeds her theatre’s limited audience capacity and has boosted its global following to over 11,000 subscribers.”
During her tenure, Sandra directed more than 100 plays at Ensemble Theatre and actively encouraged Australian content at the theatre. She directed more than 20 plays by Australia’s most popular playwright David Williamson and five plays by John Misto. She directed the hugely popular seasons of Visiting Mr Green with Warren Mitchell, Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks with Todd McKenney and Nancye Hayes which toured nationally and won a Helpmann Award for Best Regional Touring Production, Death of A Salesman with Max Cullen and Lorraine Bayly, and two seasons of John Misto’s The Shoe-Horn Sonata which she performed in with Lorraine Bayly.
At the announcement of her retirement, Australia’s best-known playwright David Williamson AO wrote a tribute to Sandra in Stage Whispers where he said ‘“She is a powerhouse. She has unbounded energy and enthusiasm and a theatrical intellect as sharp as any I’ve encountered. Sandra goes straight to the emotional heart of a play she directs, and the actors know exactly what their characters are feeling and why they are feeling it. The clarity of the emotional through line she gives them has resulted in 30 years of powerful theatre.”
In 2001, Sandra was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her services to theatre and the performing arts. At the time she said “I’ve been hugely privileged to do something that I simply love doing. I believe that if you are truly passionate about what you do, you’ll succeed.” She was awarded the Variety Club Heart Award for Theatre in 2002. In 2004 she was awarded the Hayes Gordon Memorial Glugs Theatre Award for Outstanding Contribution to Theatre. In 2007 Sandra was presented with The Lifetime Achievement Award by the Sydney Theatre Critics.
The Ensemble Theatre introduced the Sandra Bates Director’s Awards on her retirement from the theatre in 2017 – where two recipients each year are sponsored to be Assistant Director on two mainstage productions – fostering and mentoring the next generation of theatre directors as a legacy in Sandra’s name to her extraordinary career.
In 2021 Sandra was a recipient of an Â鶹ÊÓƵ School Alumnae Award in the category of Cultural Contribution.
References:
Sandra Bates – Full Biography
(Includes a timeline of Sandra's theatrical achievements.)