sarks studied acting at the victorian college of the arts. she began a professional acting career, appearing in plays for melbourne theatre company, malthouse theatre and belvoir, before beginning to direct. in 2009 she travelled to new york for a summer residency with anne bogart at columbia university and directed her first show for independent theatre company the hayloft project, "yuri wells," co-devised with benedict hardie, who starred. the production was shown in both adelaide and melbourne, and won awards. in 2010 she was dramaturg on simon stone's production of "thyestes". also in 2010, she directed her first adaptation of a classic, a recurring feature of her work. "the nest", adapted from maxim gorky's "the philistines", was described by "the age" as "a subtle, complex manifestation of what ensemble theatre can achieve... those who thrilled to hayloft's "thyestes" won't be disappointed." in 2013 sarks co-directed "by their own hands", a retelling of the oedipus myth, with hardie.