Solve your stage fright thanks to this Pitt alumna
In the summer of 2024, actor, teacher and producer Claire Sabatine comes home from a road tour. Her sensory theater project has taken her to New York, Georgia, Nebraska and other places across the United States. She’s loved the dynamic lifestyle, but after two years of touring, she’s exhausted. 
As she settles back into a routine in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood, she reimagines her career. What if she could merge her business know-how with her theater skills to sharpen the communications IQ of professionals, giving them confidence and pride?
The end result is Powerplay, a project that empowers her clients to master public speaking.
Power to Sabatine (BUS ’16) means being comfortable with who you are. That comfort, she says, comes from being authentic, not hiding your values, your viewpoints or your history. Authenticity, she says, is the muscle that most influences others and draws people to you. Play — using stories, creativity, performance techniques — is a way to strengthen that muscle.
“You can truly shine when you’re being yourself,” Sabatine says, “and when we’re not feeling confident, it’s because we’re not feeling like we can be our authentic selves.”
When Powerplay launched in 2024 on Instagram, Sabatine collected a wide set of clients.
They were early-career professionals, seasoned executives, graduate students. They were podcasters, conference speakers and anyone interested in stepping outside of their communications comfort zone.
Sabatine was ready for them all.
The once-shy youngster grew up in Fairport, New York, where drama club and sports gave her poise and self-assurance.
She graduated from Pitt in 2016 with a degree in business and a minor in theater arts. On campus, she performed on stage, worked behind the scenes and landed internships that gave her valuable experience in organizing, producing and creating. She then studied with the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City and with Pinewood Studios in London. Today, she also teaches Intro to Performance with the University of Pittsburgh Department of Theatre Arts.
These experiences have given Sabatine a trove of theatrics and play tools — everything from using breathing to manage anxiety, articulation exercises to aid vocal clarity, and understanding when to raise or lower your voice to enliven storytelling. A key priority is teaching clients to know that their voices and bodies are instruments in communications.
Her ideas are gaining recognition. She was recently spotlighted by Pitt’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship as a part of Women’s Entrepreneurship Week.
She’s also leaning into group engagements. She collaborated with Pitt’s Katz Graduate School of Business MBA Professional Development Week. She’s married the legal profession with performance and created Storytelling for Lawyers and Dynamic Delivery, two sessions that have been accredited by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, so participating attorneys can earn continuing legal education credit.
One of the first workshops of Storytelling for Lawyers came full circle: It was held at Pittsburgh’s City Theatre, where Sabatine once worked as an actor.
“I don’t know when humans stopped playing and prioritized productivity,” says Sabatine, “but the world can be a very dark and serious place. We need to stay in touch with our inner child. It’s about human connection, and that is really powerful.”