Over the course of his career, Sayre worked as a theatrical critic and editor for several of the local newspapers and magazines and is known to have handled publicity and advertising for a variety of Seattle theaters including the Grand Opera House, Seattle Theatre, Lyceum, Palm Garden, Second Avenue Orpheum, Star, Alhambra, Majestic, Mission, Liberty, 5th Avenue Theatre, Coliseum, Rex, Strand, Pantages, Blue Mouse, and Music Box Theatres. On several occasions, Sayre’s role as an arts promoter and theatrical critic became blurred. For example, while he was the manager of the Seattle Symphony he was also writing for various Seattle newspapers and reviewing Symphony performances. This apparent conflict of interest was not controversial at the time.