Meet Sofia

We were lucky to catch up with Sofia recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sofia , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

Prior to opening night of Hymnal we had been rehearsing for about a month and a half. We were in an incredible spot and I knew they were going to blow the roof off the place. My only concern was what our tech rehearsal was going to look like. For those of you non theater people, google defined Tech Rehearsal as “a rehearsal that focuses on the technical aspects of a performance…Actors and production staff run through the show with the lighting, sound, scenery, and special effects.” Sounds intense, I know. You’re probably thinking “that must take at least 2 rehearsals to lock it all in, one to light the thing and another to run it!” NOPE! Not only were we given only one rehearsal in the space, BUT it was FOUR HOURS before the doors opened and the opening night audience poured in. So essentially we rolled right from our one tech into the opening show. Gulp.
I can confidently say, in these four hours I have never felt more alive. The high I got from not knowing if everything was going to get done in time was absolutely insane. It’s like being on Chopped and you only have 15 min to make an entire thanksgiving dinner. It’s like blacking out and just going, hoping everything gets done in time. Nothing in the outside world exists and everyone is blunt and quick and honest because of the stress. All you’re focused on is how to get what your brain has created into the real world for an audience. And then all of a sudden you have 2 minutes left and didn’t even get to run any of it, now you just have to hope.
I think I find my purpose in panic and instant gratification. Because then, during the show, they love it, and it works. And you know it works because you can hear a pin drop because the audience is so involved in what is happening on stage. It’s kind of a selfish thing, I think at least. I love reactions and knowing that my brain can tickle other people’s brains. I find this alot in comedy, creating artificial scenarios that simulate what real life could be if you just crank the notch up to a 10. When what you do is making people laugh and you can hear them, and you forget yourself in a character. And again, you never know if it’s going to work or not or be funny or if the audience is going to join you in the absurdity of it all. For a second you’re in that “blackout” period. Hymnal made me realize this is possible in drama as well, but the complete opposite. The silence. That is where I find my purpose, in rare moments where I get to take a gamble on going all in. I get to live so that others can feel.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Ever since I was little, I loved to create movies, put on little shows, and write fun little stories. When you’re young it’s simple, your goal is to just get an instant reaction. Make them laugh. Well, that was for me at least. But as I got older I realized that there was so much more you can do to an audience. So much more you can make them feel. Laughter is my favorite, but it doesn’t have to be simple. There can be love, darkness, horror, or whatever twisted into a story.
Having been writing and performing comedy for so long I find it kind of odd to say that recently I made my directorial debut with a true drama, Hymnal. I’ve written sketches and filmed them, and short films kinda stuff…but a play in front of a live audience? Never done that before. It was freaking awesome. I actually thought of the concept a few summers ago when I had written a really stuped joke about a nut allergy between two high schoolers. I needed a vehicle to pump this joke out and ended up writing a really dramatic play around it – I know, it’s bizarre. It actually started as a short story for a class and I evolved it into a one act play that premiered in the New York Play Festival. I submitted the play to the festival just for shits and gigs, not really thinking it was going to get picked to be put on. But then it was. So then with the help of my stage manager Julia Ciesielski, we had casted, and created a schedule for the thing. Thank god for Julia because she kept me on track, organized, and calm in moments of “BUT WHAT IF I’M A TERRIBLE DIRECTOR”. Now i’m not the one to say im #blessed.. But I was #blessed with my cast of six powerhouse actors. Riley Liburd, Simone Levy,​​ Jessica Sconfienza, Jonathan Cronin, Maxine Stillwagon, and Zitlali Marcial. I couldn’t have asked for a more talented group of people to bring this thing to life, they were EVERYTHING I envisioned and more. What’s so cool about what I do is that I can take a vision in my head, and make it a reality. It’s like when you’re in the car listening to a song and you create a movie scene in your head based around the vibe of that song. I know that if I can picture it, somehow, I have the drive to make it a reality and show people! Have you ever tried to explain a dream to someone, and it just doesn’t make sense to them? My job is to make it visible. I had a vision for Hymnal and knew it would affect others emotionally. And it was really cool to have live confirmation of that.
I love creating characters. Like really weird characters. I can confidently say that 90% of the time, if you were to just read what I wrote, they wouldn’t be funny. But using timing, physicality, voice pattern, and expressions, it works. Timing is everything. For the next six months I am a cast member and writer for the People Sketch Revues, Absurd Team (aka, our team name, Alternative Medicine), at The Pit Comedy Club in NYC. After our first pitch meeting one of the writers came up to me and said “Sofia can I be honest with you? I read your sketches before and thought they were gonna be horrible. But after hearing them out loud, they were my favorite”. I swear I’m not trying to toot my own horn, but I’m just trying to explain how much I love working with timing and how it’s my favorite type of comedy.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Three things that are so helpful in all my little creative endeavors are taking inspiration from people you look up to, listening to music, and never holding back. I have been directed, as an actor, countless times but Hymnal was MY first time ever BEING the director. I was absolutely terrified. But I found that taking inspiration from people you resonate with/ have techniques that work for YOU, was a huge help (and a great place to start).
I had a professor at school that was always able to get what he needed out of me during scene work. I took a lot of inspiration from him when stepping into directing. During scene or monologue work, he would make me do all these crazy exercises and over physicalize everything in order to feel what the extreme could be. Later on you can tone it down, but it’s so important to know all of your options when playing with new material. He wasn’t afraid to have me try things and literally DO the work with me. For example, if a character had a moment where they got upset, we would jump up and down and cry and just go over the top. Try EVERYTHING. You can make crazy discoveries and learn alot about what the scene could be when you give 150% on the exterior. And when it comes time to pull it back, that 150% stays inside, because that is what’s happening on the inside, and will bleed out in a more subtle natural way. But that being said, if you just tell an actor to do that, it’s kind of uncomfortable at first, it’s just not something we are used to. So having someone do that WITH you is so important, leading your actors into that playful exploration. I definitely took inspiration from that when directing.
Something that really helps me with writing though is music. Especially working on Hymnal (pre-productor and even during). I would literally just sit with my headphones in and just visualize what it could look like and figure out how I can execute what I’m seeing on a stage. I even do this when writing comedy. It just helps get you into the world of what’s going on. In theater, emotions are heightened and music can bring that out. Jaws without the music would just be shots of pretty water. Music can help set the intention of how you want the audience to feel. And that can come through in the writing if you listen to music while writing ( in my own personal experience).
Lastly, I’d say you can not be afraid to fail. If you think it’s funny, show people why. If you think you have a story that people can take something away from, show them why. If you are going to do something, go all the way with it. Don’t hold back pieces because you’re nervous about whatever. There is nothing worse than watching an actor that YOU CAN TELL is a little embarrassed by the work they’re doing. The audience can feel that energy. YOU give the audience the initial permission to have an experience. You dont allow them to enter the world unless you fully commit and LIVE IN IT. I still remind myself of this every time I perform or have a writing concept. Of course in writing you can always edit, take stuff out, whatever. But if there is a story to be told that’s been eating away at you, or maybe it’s personal and you’re scared of judgment. Or perhaps you just dont think it’s good enough. My best advice would be to just put it out and see what happens. Life is too short.

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?

My biggest area of growth in the past few months is really picking and choosing what projects I put myself out there for. In this career, I am constantly thinking “I’m not doing enough”. But I have reset my mindset to know that it’s ok to not do everything. In my artistic career, I keep the mindset of if it’s not fun, it’s not worth my time. If I’m not excited about a project, why do it? There are a lot of shitty projects out there you can be on but it’s important to know what’s going to fulfill you as an artist. Yes, it’s important to climb the ladder and pay your dues (doing the sucky extra work n all that not so fun stuff) but that being said, you also HAVE to know your worth. My best advice when trying to avoid spiraling out of control with thoughts of panic is to remind yourself that if the work isn’t lighting you on fire, move on to the next thing.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Photos by
– Cam Capraro
– @maxwellpicswell
– @nick.bradleyy
– Campbell Howard

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