What's in a name? A lot - if you're Symphony Sanders

To succeed as an actor, you need a name people can remember. And you need talent.

Symphony Sanders of Bartlett, appearing in Raven Theatre's revival of Henrik Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler," has both.

Her name -- yes, Symphony is her real name - was made for a theater marquee.

"It is on my birth certificate," Sanders says. "My parents didn't know what to name me. When my mother was giving birth the doctor brought in his radio and Beethoven's Ninth was playing on the radio. When I was born I was crying in rhythm to the music. My dad said that it sounds like a symphony and my mom said, 'That's her name!'"

As for the talent, well, Sanders has so many talents (singing, dancing, performing) that it took her awhile to find her way to acting. Growing up, she was on the speech team at Warren Township High School in Gurnee. She also did choir, theater and dance.

"I went to college (Bradley University) to be a music teacher," Sanders says, "but I realized I was terrible at it."

The dean of the theater program happened to see Sanders in a college production of "The Vagina Monologues," told her she had a lot of "raw talent" and convinced her to switch her major to theater.

Now, a little less than six years after she graduated, Sanders is in demand. She has appeared at Chicago Shakespeare, understudied at The Goodman and performed with numerous off-Loop and off-off-Loop theaters.

"My focus is usually classic plays," Sanders says, "Shakespeare, tragedies, classics. What can I say? I am a dramatic girl."

Her current role is that of Mrs. Elvsted, Hedda Gabler's old schoolmate, and a person who quickly becomes enmeshed in Gabler's complicated plans.

"It is a fantastic role," Sander says. "She is very different from me, her personality is very different from my actual personality."

Mrs. Elvsted is usually played as a quiet, somewhat inhibited character. She's passive. Sanders, by her own admission, is anything but.

"Being active has always been part of my life," Sanders says. "I have a ridiculous amount of energy. I started out after college working in an office, but it didn't work. I needed some outlet for my energy. I work out four and five times a week."

This explains her current day job. When she isn't acting, Sander is a personal trainer at a health club in Evanston. "I teach Spin. Indoor cycling with music," Sanders says. "We ride on a fixed gear bike. In our Spin room there are 50 bikes. Sometimes there are 30 people in a class. And I am on my stage on a bike. I play music and I take them through a ride. I get to work out and I get paid. How wonderful is that?"

Almost as wonderful as making it as an actor. Or being named Symphony.

• Hedda Gabler opens Sunday, May 3, at the Raven Theater, 6157 N. Clark, Chicago, and runs through June 27. For tickets and information call (773) 338-2177 or visit www.raventheatre.com.