Sara Krulwich

Raised in NYC, Sara Krulwich attended the University of Michigan where she became the first woman staff photographer for the school newspaper, The Michigan Daily. After graduation, Sara repeatedly broke new ground, becoming the first female staff photographer at The Providence Journal, The Journal Inquirer and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Sara joined the New York Times in 1979, where she covered sports, politics and general assignments, all of which required constant travel. In 1992 she became the mother of twins and realized that she could no longer jump on a plane anytime news happened. At the urging of some family friendly photo and culture editors, the New York Times created a position for her. She became the paper's first designated culture photographer, assigned to covered dance, opera and cultural news--but very little theater, since the paper traditionally ran photos supplied by producers. This was a major gap for Sara, a lifelong theater buff, whose mother sang her to sleep with ""I love you, a bushel and a peck," from "Guys and Dolls." She became determined to make the paper's theater photos more journalistic. But since the New York Times lets no one see stories or photos before they are published, it took her years to convince press agents and producers to let her shoot their shows. Eventually, they relented and began to welcome her into their theaters and she now photographs over 100 plays a year. Her signature and proudest achievement has been providing an authentic historical record of New York Theater. In Sara's words: "My feeling is: the picture in the paper should look pretty much like the performance you're seeing."