GABRIELA SAKER is a Cuban-born actress based in New York and Puerto Rico. In 2022, she earned her MFA in Acting from The Juilliard School and was honored with the prestigious Princess Grace Award in Theatre. Her recent theatre credits include her Off-Broadway performances in The Desire of the Astronaut (Pregones/PRTT) and Zoetrope (Caborca/Abrons Arts Center), her "soulful," "captivating" portrayal of Viola in Twelfth Night at the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival (Best Performer in a Play at the BroadwayWorld St. Louis Awards 2023) and her regional theatre debut as Marela in Anna in the Tropics at Barrington Stage Company (Best Supporting Performer in a Play at the BroadwayWorld Berkshires Awards 2022). Gabriela has also showcased her work in festivals such as Festival Encuentro in Los Angeles, where she performed in Blanco temblor, and Festival de Teatro Internacional in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in Hasta que oscurezca. Her collaborations include esteemed organizations such as Manhattan Theatre Club, The Huntington Theatre, Notch Theatre Company, The Acting Company, and Repertorio Español. Her international performances have taken her to Rwanda and Spain, expanding her global artistic presence. She is also the founder and artistic director of Puerto Rican theatre company Teatro Público, and a proud graduate of the University of Puerto Rico. Film credits include Onomatopeya (Cleveland Latino Film Festival and Puerto Rico International Film Fest), Vivimos para esa noche, and her lead role in the short film Monserrate, which earned her the Best Actress Award at Rincon International Film Festival and Lusca Film Festival.
RECENT:
Marina del Mar in Blanco temblor
(Performances Oct 24 - Nov 8 @ Los Angeles Theatre Center)
Marie in Onomatopeya
(Screening October 12, 2024 @ Cleveland Latino Film Festival)
Emily in The Desire of the Astronaut
(Performances May 2 - June 2, 2024, @ Pregones/PRTT)
Gloria in Creation Story
(Workshop Reading May 31st, 2024 @ The Flea Theater)
Press
"Marina del Mar (Gabriela Saker) folds her body over and whips back up... She's emotionally unraveling... Blanco temblor is a narrative seldom seen on stage, especially with Latine characters. Her struggles are real and close to home for me, making her interactions feel like a deep cut."
Steven Vargas / LA Art Spot
"Detailing the life of Marina del Mar (a charming and sensitive Gabriela Saker), a bipolar astrophysicist with an odd congenital condition."
Amanda L. Andrei / Stage Raw
"Gabriela Saker is captivating as Viola and Cesario. An outsider seeking acceptance, she perfectly expresses a plethora of emotions and expertly dodges questions that might reveal her true identity."
Tina Farmer / Riverfront Times
"In previous encounters with [Twelfth Night], I have never thought much was at stake for Viola... Not this time. Viola's plight is real and distressing... Both the meaning and the music of Shakespeare's words are striking in the performances by Saker..."
Gerry Kowarsky / HEC Media
"Portes also deserves accolades for casting an amazing troupe of players... This reviewer was especially drawn in by the genuine and engaging approach to the characters of Viola/Cesario, played by Gabriela Saker."
Jacob Juntunen / STL Theatre
"Gabriela Saker conveys a persuasive blend of anticipation, romantic dreaming, girlish embracing of life, and later, deeply affecting pain and emptiness."
Sharon Smullen / Berkshire Eagle
“The lovely Gabriela Saker is surely one to watch. In May, this year, she graduated from The Juilliard School of Acting and shows enormous promise with a vivaciousness and acting chops of someone twice her age. A fine debut.”
Rex Hearn / Rex Recommends
“Most eruptive is Gabriela Saker as Marela, whose smiles, squeals and swoons light up the stage; she is combustible and sends off sparks with every encounter. Her fate is deeply troubling to us when she starts dressing as Anna”
Patrick White / Nippertown
