At Emory, with the immense love and support from my friends and family, I began my journey as a queer woman, performer, and scholar. My classes in both the Theater Studies and the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies departments were integral for me in finding my voice as a theater artist. I have been deeply involved with student theater at both the Oxford and Emory campuses.
At Oxford, I worked in the scene shop under the supervision of the wonderful Jessie Rivers and I served as the Technical Director of OxBroadway. At Emory, I have performed in both Ad Hoc and Dooley's Players shows and served as Treasurer of Ad Hoc Productions. (Some of my favorite roles have included Medium Alison in Fun Home, #25 in the Wolves, and Charon in The Lightning Thief.) This semester, I made my directorial debut (Hearing Voices: Politics and Identity), which I felt perfectly wrapped up my Emory experience/education by combining theater with social activism.
What's next? Post-Emory I hope to work as a teaching artist for young children interested in theater in the Atlanta area. I plan on spending a few years here to get hands-on, professional experience performing and teaching, and then I will go on to grad school to get a masters degree in either education or acting. My Emory experience has helped me discover my interests in performance, youth education, and theater as a means for social change and advocacy. My dream is to do all three for the rest of my life.
Favorite accomplishment? I directed Emory's first production of Hearing Voices, a site-specific theater experience that originated at Oxford College. Hearing Voices' aim is to amplify the voices and stories of Emory students who are a part of historically silenced (i.e. marginalized) groups. The theme of this production was Politics and Identity, inspired by Tom Zhang's Creating New Works class in the Spring of 2022. It featured pieces--all written and performed by Emory students--which discussed queerness, sex, mental health, institutionalization, capitalism, neurodivergence, and all the ways in which our intersecting identities both free and confine us.
Dear Sophie, we knew two things literally from the moment you were born: first, that you’d be a singer who could belt with the best of them, and second, that being your parents would be an adventure. We watched you become a toddler who made everyone laugh, a fast pitch catcher who took pride in her bruised shins, and a teenager who convinced her parents that teenagers are underrated. We watched you discover you could sing in Annie, that you could act in straight drama roles in Almost, Maine, and that you could bring the house down with laughter in Bye Bye Birdie, as an unforgettable Mrs. Mae Peterson. We watched you do improv and prove to yourself that you…
Hello Sophia!
Congratulations on graduating! It's been so wonderful to get to know you in these past two years at Emory! In every play I've had the fortune to see you perform in, you've absolutely knocked your roles out of the park! I'm so glad you took the Creating New Works class, and I'm again humbled that you chose to use the class title as the theme for Hearing Voices. Your direction and curation of that project was truly special, and I appreciated your thoughtfulness and care in handling such delicate and heavy topics both in your direction and during in-class and post-show discussions. I have complete faith in your abilities to succeed as an actor, educator, and activist post-graduation.…
Dear Sophia,
I’m glad you had such a great college experience. The bipeds never seem to take my intellectual aspirations seriously, despite my high score on the MCAT and my outstanding CatScan abilities. Anymeow, proud of you sis!
Love,
Isabella 😻
Why do Moomzhifer and Pappa like it when you sing so much? They hate it when I sing. Looking forward to having you home again! Congratulations on your graduation. Love,
Phineas
Sophia, I had you pegged as a vital member of my Hope for the World Guild decades ago. You don't remember me, but Hilltop Neighborhood House in Valpo most definitely needs to star you as Fascinating Contributor to True and Just Causes, Forever Delving, Growing, Sharing!!!!!!!
Congratulations! And stay the course!!!
My best,
Loie Reiner