How SLT Spurred Sarah Grace Johnson’s Casting Career from WINTER’S BONE to Disney Channel

Casting Director Sarah Grace Johnson has a natural ability to match the right performer with the right role. The first time she exhibited this skill for spotting talent, Johnson was just a child. She was years away from realizing that her eye for casting would lead to a career.

When Johnson attended a performance of OLIVER at Springfield Little Theatre, she happened to catch an early performance by future Disney star, Lucas Grabeel. Before his turn as Ryan Evans in HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, Grabeel was tapped by then SLT Executive Director Mick Denniston to play the charismatic Artful Dodger.

“I watched Lucas, and I was like, he’s really very talented. That kid, specifically. I want to do what he’s doing,” Johnson recounted. “I didn’t know him from anyone else. Watching Lucas as the Artful Dodger was first when I sort of fell in love with theatre.”

Johnson developed an interest in acting and was granted special permission to take an adult acting course with instructor Joe Bowman. She enrolled with Grabeel, who became a close friend. Her mother, Nanette Crighton, accompanied her to the adult classes, leading her to develop a notable SLT career.

Johnson soon realized she felt more comfortable backstage and served on the crew for SWEENEY TODD. She managed props and recalls that her favorite activity was loading the razor with stage blood for each performance. Johnson’s mother was in the cast as well as actor Derek Macumber who would become a lifelong friend.

“Derek actually was the person who drug me on stage for the very first time,” Johnson smiled. “As backstage folks, we were supposed to put on a vest and a hat during the ‘Pirelli scene’ and go out onstage and I never did it. One night, Derek goes, ‘Here, let’s go!’ He grabbed my hand and there was no turning back.”

Those experiences and opportunities helped Johnson discover that she flourished in behind the scenes positions. SLT Executive Director Beth Domann gave her an early opportunity to sit at a casting table and understand the complex process of matching auditioners with their roles.

“If I may, I will always be grateful to Beth Domann,” Johnson praised. “She always said, ‘You can.’ Beth fought for me a lot when I was young. She has a good way of finding people’s talents and then putting them in that position.”

At Domann’s invitation, Johnson observed three nights of auditions and callbacks for ANNIE in 2002. Still in high school, this was Johnson’s first exposure to casting. When the process was over, her selections nearly identically matched Domann’s picks. While Johnson noted that her choices didn’t hold sway over the decisions, it gave her the confidence in her own abilities as a casting director.

“Beth Domann, as I recall, gave me a piece of paper and told me, ‘Here’s a list of cast members. Who would you cast?’ In my little baby brain, that’s the first show that I ever quote, unquote cast,” Johnson credited gratefully. “For me, that kind of launched my career.”

When Johnson caught her big break a few years later, she would pay Domann back with a unique experience. Johnson attended UMKC focused on stage management but fell in love with film during an elective course taught by Dr. Thomas Poe.

“It was on Tuesday you watched a movie and Thursday he gave a lecture,” Johnson explained. “It was sort of a film class based on what was relevant in the time. I fell in love with this man’s mind. [Dr. Poe] knew everything. I took another film class. I fell into some film classes and fell in love with the minds of the professors and switched my major to Communications Studies with an emphasis in Film and Media Arts.”

That course of study required an internship. As she was searching for a position that would be a good fit, she recognized that Heather Laird of Wright/Laird Casting would offer her real-world experience, not just coffee runs and making copies. The timing was ultimately serendipitous when the producing team for major motion picture WINTER’S BONE called.

“[They] wanted to do a stage reading in Springfield, Missouri to see if there’s any opportunity to cast local actors,” Johnson recounted. “They wanted ten different actors to play all the roles in the story. So, Heather came to me and said, ‘I know you lived there, so if you want to handle this, set it up. If you have any connections, let’s see if you can set it up.”

Although her position was unpaid at the time, Johnson was excited to test her chops. She headed to her hometown and knew exactly who to reach out to for help. Beth Domann helped round up talent and organized the reading on the historic Landers stage.

“Beth gave us that space for nothing. Beth really is the reason that it happened where it happened,” Johnson explained.

Casting directors Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee began circling two actors for the lead role of Ree Dolly. Johnson recognized that both performers were brilliant talents, but one had a more Ozarkian accent. She proposed that they test the actor without the accent, a then widely unknown Jennifer Lawrence, to see if she could match it and help them seal their final decision.

“So, we recorded [the other actor’s] accent. I said, let’s see if Jennifer Lawrence can do it,” Johnson proposed. “They were in love with this person, Jennifer Lawrence, who I had not seen. This was not a time of sending auditions over the internet, or I have not seen it if they have it. We recorded [the other actor’s] accent in my hotel room. Jennifer Lawrence could mimic it then, of course, they hired Jennifer Lawrence.”

In the effort to keep local talent in the cast, Domann maintained her role as Alice through the final production. Her character was involved in the most talked about, grisly scene of the film. Johnson remembered the film shoot for WINTER’S BONE as being magical and eventually left for Los Angeles to pursue a full-time career in casting.

Under casting director Sheryl Levine, Johnson entered the extremely popular sphere of children’s entertainment. Landing a role with a young audience can launch a performer to stardom.

Johnson’s resume is filled with favorite titles from Disney Channel and Nickelodeon including JESSIE, SONNY WITH A CHANCE, WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE, DOG WITH A BLOG, BIZAARDVARK, ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK: GHOST ISLAND, and A REALLY HAUNTED LOUD HOUSE. Her team even earned a Children’s and Family Emmy nomination for their work on MONSTER HIGH.

“One of my favorite things to do is get to work with young actors because I feel like we get to get them before they become famous. You get to kind of watch them develop,” Johnson observed.

A few of those talents Johnson has worked with who did find fame as their careers blossomed were Olivia Rodrigo, Jenna Ortega, and Taylor John Smith. Johnson praised all of them for being kind people and hard workers.

After a successful career in Hollywood, Johnson still credits SLT for giving her the experience and confidence to find her professional path in entertainment.

“[SLT] gave me a well-balanced opportunity to experience all aspects of theatre. From viewing to box office to crew to spotlight. We had the opportunity even as young people to do anything in the theatre that we chose. Then we were given the opportunity to do it well,” Johnson marveled. “I think that in many ways, Springfield Little Theatre is not a professional theatre. However, it does operate very closely to how a professional theatre operates.”

Find opportunities to get involved and develop your passion at Springfield Little Theatre this season.