I am Sophie.
Los Angeles, California | Company
Experimental, Other
I AM SOPHIE is an exploration of identity in which YOU become the confidante to Sophie (formerly known as Kate). When Sophie leaves Paris for Minnesota to care for her sick father, her loved ones meet her authentic self for the first time! Will the world embrace Sophie? Can she embrace herself?
I am Sophie.
Los Angeles, California | Company
Experimental, Other
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $12,606 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
95 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
I AM SOPHIE is an exploration of identity in which YOU become the confidante to Sophie (formerly known as Kate). When Sophie leaves Paris for Minnesota to care for her sick father, her loved ones meet her authentic self for the first time! Will the world embrace Sophie? Can she embrace herself?
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
TICKETS NOW ON SALE!
ABOUT THE PLAY
Have you ever wondered what it might be like to re-invent yourself – to start over as someone else? I AM SOPHIE gives you a chance to sit courtside during one such adventure. You will join Sophie Carter on an existential, down the rabbit hole, adventure of self-discovery.
This piece aims to wake up your sleeping soul and remind you to go out and live life in whatever way feels best to you - others opinions be damned. That said, Sophie will soar to the highest heights and plummet to the lowest lows. But what journey of self discovery doesn't have that? Beauty and pain so often occur at the same exact time, don't they?
THE CREATION OF THE PLAY
It was by ruminating on the sorta kinda big questions of -
"Who am I?"
"Am I a fraud?"
"Who do I want to be?"
"How do we live our best life?"
and "How do we best use the time we have on Earth?" that I AM SOPHIE was born.
Writer / Actress Corinne Shor began with character improvisations in her weekly artist workshop. And little by little, petit à petit, Sophie and her whole world grew and took shape. In many ways, Sophie wrote this play. Corinne just took a back seat and went for the ride. That may sound a bit artsy fartsy but it holds truth. With the support and constant feedback from her fellow artists in the workshop, Sophie's story became a one person play. Then came the workshop production at The Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2017. At the Fringe, I AM SOPHIE was performed to sold out houses and it was clear something was resonating with audiences. Now, after continued development, adding lights, sound and a creative team we want to share this fully realized production with an even wider, more diverse audience.
THE GOAL & WHY THEATRE?
The goal of this production is to offer a very unique and intimate way to explore the topic of identity. To have it become a conversation. And because it is a theatrical experience, an instant, tangible connection forms between Sophie and her audiences. A rather urgent connection - knowing that theatre disappears as it happens. Never to be repeated in exactly the same way. But felt. And perhaps costing you something more than a film might as Sophie is standing right there, before you, raw and vulnerable and asking for your help navigating her life.
YOUR SUPPORT
One of the most exciting aspects of your support would be to increase the reach of this show. This campaign will include a great marketing effort, a publicist, and more performances than previously held at the Fringe Festival. So hopefully, more beautiful minds in the seats meeting Sophie for the first time and then, hopefully, discussing an important topic over dinner with their friends after the show.
Your support is also giving a permission slip to artists to not wait - to just begin. If you have a story inside you that is aching to be told, tell it.
Now, the HOW TO SUPPORT SECTION ...
The PLEDGE option: This is the most concrete way to help the production of "I am Sophie." Click the MAKE A PLEDGE button and enter your desired donation. The costs add up quickly when producing a new play in Los Angeles so thank you for joining the experience! Make sure to also peruse the list of incentives for your generous donations.
The INFLUENCER option: Share the campaign link on social media - pick your favorite platform or post on all of them. This is vital to spreading the word. Like one big game of telephone! Here's the campaign link for sharing: www.seedandspark.com/fund/iamsophie
The SOLIDARITY option: Click the little BLUE FOLLOW button to the right. You will have to create an account & confirm the account but it really helps raise the visibility of "I am Sophie."
The GOLD STAR option: Do all 3! Pledge. Share on Social. Follow the campaign on Seed & Spark.
WHY SEED AND SPARK?
"I met Emily Best (founder of Seed & Spark) at a class on Crowdfunding during the Moving Arts Film Festival in Los Angeles. I found the entire experience overwhelming but SO MOTIVATING. Emily explained their mission for educating artists, teaching best practices in connecting with your audience and building a sustainable career. Seed & Spark truly seeks to empower unique voices. And, honestly, I got a bit teary sitting there in the dark theatre, the same theatre where I actually have my acting class each week, realizing not only did I want to push forward with this campaign but I specifically wanted to partner with Seed and Spark. And they just started allowing theatre campaigns on their platform which I think is fabulous. Because, like film, like all the arts, it is time for new voices and stories to be told."-Corinne Shor
Once you're done pledging - click this photo to explore more exciting campaigns.
A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR
What I remember most about seeing this play last summer (as part of the LA Fringe Festival) was the effect Sophie had upon the audience. Her honesty and radiance seemed to cast a spell over them. I remember looking around, and seeing people of different ages, shapes, genders and colors. I heard laughter, ‘hmmms’ and ahas! of recognition; I heard sniffles and weeping; I heard silence. I felt the audience transform like a Greek chorus, bearing witness to Sophie’s quest for identity, while being reminded of their own.
As I drove home, I thought: ‘who are we?’ Really. When its all stripped away- the
stories, the things that divide us, the beliefs we cling to, who are we? Who am I?
When I got home, there was a story on 60 Minutes about The White Helmits- everyday people – heroes- rescuing others who get trapped beneath the after-rubble of bombings. Bombings designed to kill; industrialized by evil men. And I instantly felt sick and guilty. Did I just drive home thinking “Who am I?”!?! In the face of such horror and true heroism, did I just spend the day watching a play that allowed me the luxury to contemplate my “identity”?!
But just as quickly, I found myself getting defensive on behalf of Sophie’s light, and angry at the dark powers that would try to extinguish such light. Her grief, her joy, her longing to belong IS in fact the human experience! The daily horrors we are faced with in this country and around the world, is NOT human. Therefore, finding our voice and power within this human experience is ultimately what matters the most.
Sophie is a light. The French Sophie. American Sophie. The Israeli Sophie. The Italian Sophie. The Islamic Sophie. The Nigerian Sophie. The Sudanese Sophie. The Palestinian Sophie. The Armenian Sophie……. …. Maybe we are ALL Sophie.
Just as Sophie gathered the theatre audience around her, maybe our collective Sophies can gather globally as more women step into their truth and power. Light is bright, infectious and real. It must stay lit, from deep inside, to cast away the dark.
This current telling of the play remains Corinne Shor’s. It worked profoundly well in its original shape- sans set, sans lights, sans director. My only goal is to keep the light that is Sophie alive. And hope that it sparks your own inner Sophie. – Susan Angelo
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Theatre Rental
Costs $4,360
10 performances in the newly renovated Pico Playhouse in Los Angeles, California.
Rehearsal Space
Costs $1,015
Rehearsals in The Pico's upstairs studio and Tech Rehearsals in the theatre. Must Practice!
Director, Designers & Crew
Costs $2,600
The ah-mazing Director, Designers, Stage Manager, & Board Operator. It's all about collaboration!
Props & Set
Costs $550
Bring Sophie's world into being! Rentals via LA Stage Alliance Warehouse Co-Op. Few props purchased.
Publicist
Costs $1,775
Full houses always make for an extra special experience. Let's try for that! Inviting reviewers too.
Crowdfunding Materials
Costs $1,000
Tools to spread the word! Filming Pitch Video, Promotional Photography, Social Ads, & Incentives.
Costumes
Costs $200
"Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably & they remember the woman."Coco Chanel
Share this update!
About This Team
Susan Angelo (director) - Recent directing credits include The Chalk Garden (currently), The Royal Family; and the LA premiere of My Name Is Rachel Corrie at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum, where she also co-created the theatre’s Academy of the Classics and in-school programs, serving as its Education Director for many years. Other directing credits include Orange County Shakespeare’s critically acclaimed multi-ethnic A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Winter’s Tale and Twelfth Night at The Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival and Summer and Smoke at CLU. Susan is a resident actress at both Theatricum and A Noise Within in Pasadena, where she has performed most of Shakespeare’s ingénues and leading ladies, as well as many other classical roles, both comedy and tragedy. She has also performed at New York’s Workshop, Blue Heron, and Signature Theatres, as well as regionally, including The Pittsburgh Public, Indiana Rep, Syracuse Stage, American Players Theatre, William Inge Theatre and The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington DC. Susan works regularly in film and television, and commercials. She has also conducted Shakespeare workshops for over 25 years at colleges and universities including NYU; Claremont Graduate School, LA Valley College; El Camino College; and Cal Lutheran, where she is an adjunct professor, as well as at secondary schools, high schools, community organizations and theatres including Theatre West and PRT. Susan holds a BFA in Acting from CalArts and an MFA in Shakespeare and classical acting from George Washington University. In addition to acting and directing, Susan teaches Shakespeare in her private studio in Santa Monica. | www.susanangelostudio.com | www.susanangelo.com
Corinne Shor (Writer & Sophie/Kate) is an actress who has worked on Shakespeare to Sketch Comedy on stages across the United States and in Paris. Favorite credits include: May Bee Burley in the play Verdigris by Jim Beaver, her recurring role as the mysterious Matron on The Event (NBC) playing opposite Hal Holbrook & Jason Ritter, and narrating several young adult audiobooks (Scars of Youth, In My Dreams, The Fairy King). Corinne's diverse training includes: The Theatre School Jacques Lecoq in Paris, The Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, a Professional Acting Internship with The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, Improvisation with Upright Citizens Brigade, and ongoing study with her two touchstone studios: John Ruby’s On-Camera Studio inside The Storytellers Conservatory and Carole D’Andrea’s weekly Artist Workshop where this show first developed.
As a writer, Corinne uses a great deal of improvisation in the early part of her process to allow her characters to find their own way in a story. Corinne workshopped I am Sophie in Carole’s studio before originally performing a version of it at The Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2017 to sold out houses. Corinne is thrilled to now have a chance to build upon her Fringe experience by collaborating with Director Susan Angelo and the Pico Playhouse to bring a fully realized production into fruition. | www.corinneshor.com
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
TICKETS NOW ON SALE!
ABOUT THE PLAY
Have you ever wondered what it might be like to re-invent yourself – to start over as someone else? I AM SOPHIE gives you a chance to sit courtside during one such adventure. You will join Sophie Carter on an existential, down the rabbit hole, adventure of self-discovery.
This piece aims to wake up your sleeping soul and remind you to go out and live life in whatever way feels best to you - others opinions be damned. That said, Sophie will soar to the highest heights and plummet to the lowest lows. But what journey of self discovery doesn't have that? Beauty and pain so often occur at the same exact time, don't they?
THE CREATION OF THE PLAY
It was by ruminating on the sorta kinda big questions of -
"Who am I?"
"Am I a fraud?"
"Who do I want to be?"
"How do we live our best life?"
and "How do we best use the time we have on Earth?" that I AM SOPHIE was born.
Writer / Actress Corinne Shor began with character improvisations in her weekly artist workshop. And little by little, petit à petit, Sophie and her whole world grew and took shape. In many ways, Sophie wrote this play. Corinne just took a back seat and went for the ride. That may sound a bit artsy fartsy but it holds truth. With the support and constant feedback from her fellow artists in the workshop, Sophie's story became a one person play. Then came the workshop production at The Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2017. At the Fringe, I AM SOPHIE was performed to sold out houses and it was clear something was resonating with audiences. Now, after continued development, adding lights, sound and a creative team we want to share this fully realized production with an even wider, more diverse audience.
THE GOAL & WHY THEATRE?
The goal of this production is to offer a very unique and intimate way to explore the topic of identity. To have it become a conversation. And because it is a theatrical experience, an instant, tangible connection forms between Sophie and her audiences. A rather urgent connection - knowing that theatre disappears as it happens. Never to be repeated in exactly the same way. But felt. And perhaps costing you something more than a film might as Sophie is standing right there, before you, raw and vulnerable and asking for your help navigating her life.
YOUR SUPPORT
One of the most exciting aspects of your support would be to increase the reach of this show. This campaign will include a great marketing effort, a publicist, and more performances than previously held at the Fringe Festival. So hopefully, more beautiful minds in the seats meeting Sophie for the first time and then, hopefully, discussing an important topic over dinner with their friends after the show.
Your support is also giving a permission slip to artists to not wait - to just begin. If you have a story inside you that is aching to be told, tell it.
Now, the HOW TO SUPPORT SECTION ...
The PLEDGE option: This is the most concrete way to help the production of "I am Sophie." Click the MAKE A PLEDGE button and enter your desired donation. The costs add up quickly when producing a new play in Los Angeles so thank you for joining the experience! Make sure to also peruse the list of incentives for your generous donations.
The INFLUENCER option: Share the campaign link on social media - pick your favorite platform or post on all of them. This is vital to spreading the word. Like one big game of telephone! Here's the campaign link for sharing: www.seedandspark.com/fund/iamsophie
The SOLIDARITY option: Click the little BLUE FOLLOW button to the right. You will have to create an account & confirm the account but it really helps raise the visibility of "I am Sophie."
The GOLD STAR option: Do all 3! Pledge. Share on Social. Follow the campaign on Seed & Spark.
WHY SEED AND SPARK?
"I met Emily Best (founder of Seed & Spark) at a class on Crowdfunding during the Moving Arts Film Festival in Los Angeles. I found the entire experience overwhelming but SO MOTIVATING. Emily explained their mission for educating artists, teaching best practices in connecting with your audience and building a sustainable career. Seed & Spark truly seeks to empower unique voices. And, honestly, I got a bit teary sitting there in the dark theatre, the same theatre where I actually have my acting class each week, realizing not only did I want to push forward with this campaign but I specifically wanted to partner with Seed and Spark. And they just started allowing theatre campaigns on their platform which I think is fabulous. Because, like film, like all the arts, it is time for new voices and stories to be told."-Corinne Shor
Once you're done pledging - click this photo to explore more exciting campaigns.
A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR
What I remember most about seeing this play last summer (as part of the LA Fringe Festival) was the effect Sophie had upon the audience. Her honesty and radiance seemed to cast a spell over them. I remember looking around, and seeing people of different ages, shapes, genders and colors. I heard laughter, ‘hmmms’ and ahas! of recognition; I heard sniffles and weeping; I heard silence. I felt the audience transform like a Greek chorus, bearing witness to Sophie’s quest for identity, while being reminded of their own.
As I drove home, I thought: ‘who are we?’ Really. When its all stripped away- the
stories, the things that divide us, the beliefs we cling to, who are we? Who am I?
When I got home, there was a story on 60 Minutes about The White Helmits- everyday people – heroes- rescuing others who get trapped beneath the after-rubble of bombings. Bombings designed to kill; industrialized by evil men. And I instantly felt sick and guilty. Did I just drive home thinking “Who am I?”!?! In the face of such horror and true heroism, did I just spend the day watching a play that allowed me the luxury to contemplate my “identity”?!
But just as quickly, I found myself getting defensive on behalf of Sophie’s light, and angry at the dark powers that would try to extinguish such light. Her grief, her joy, her longing to belong IS in fact the human experience! The daily horrors we are faced with in this country and around the world, is NOT human. Therefore, finding our voice and power within this human experience is ultimately what matters the most.
Sophie is a light. The French Sophie. American Sophie. The Israeli Sophie. The Italian Sophie. The Islamic Sophie. The Nigerian Sophie. The Sudanese Sophie. The Palestinian Sophie. The Armenian Sophie……. …. Maybe we are ALL Sophie.
Just as Sophie gathered the theatre audience around her, maybe our collective Sophies can gather globally as more women step into their truth and power. Light is bright, infectious and real. It must stay lit, from deep inside, to cast away the dark.
This current telling of the play remains Corinne Shor’s. It worked profoundly well in its original shape- sans set, sans lights, sans director. My only goal is to keep the light that is Sophie alive. And hope that it sparks your own inner Sophie. – Susan Angelo
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Theatre Rental
Costs $4,360
10 performances in the newly renovated Pico Playhouse in Los Angeles, California.
Rehearsal Space
Costs $1,015
Rehearsals in The Pico's upstairs studio and Tech Rehearsals in the theatre. Must Practice!
Director, Designers & Crew
Costs $2,600
The ah-mazing Director, Designers, Stage Manager, & Board Operator. It's all about collaboration!
Props & Set
Costs $550
Bring Sophie's world into being! Rentals via LA Stage Alliance Warehouse Co-Op. Few props purchased.
Publicist
Costs $1,775
Full houses always make for an extra special experience. Let's try for that! Inviting reviewers too.
Crowdfunding Materials
Costs $1,000
Tools to spread the word! Filming Pitch Video, Promotional Photography, Social Ads, & Incentives.
Costumes
Costs $200
"Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably & they remember the woman."Coco Chanel
Share this update!
About This Team
Susan Angelo (director) - Recent directing credits include The Chalk Garden (currently), The Royal Family; and the LA premiere of My Name Is Rachel Corrie at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum, where she also co-created the theatre’s Academy of the Classics and in-school programs, serving as its Education Director for many years. Other directing credits include Orange County Shakespeare’s critically acclaimed multi-ethnic A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Winter’s Tale and Twelfth Night at The Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival and Summer and Smoke at CLU. Susan is a resident actress at both Theatricum and A Noise Within in Pasadena, where she has performed most of Shakespeare’s ingénues and leading ladies, as well as many other classical roles, both comedy and tragedy. She has also performed at New York’s Workshop, Blue Heron, and Signature Theatres, as well as regionally, including The Pittsburgh Public, Indiana Rep, Syracuse Stage, American Players Theatre, William Inge Theatre and The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington DC. Susan works regularly in film and television, and commercials. She has also conducted Shakespeare workshops for over 25 years at colleges and universities including NYU; Claremont Graduate School, LA Valley College; El Camino College; and Cal Lutheran, where she is an adjunct professor, as well as at secondary schools, high schools, community organizations and theatres including Theatre West and PRT. Susan holds a BFA in Acting from CalArts and an MFA in Shakespeare and classical acting from George Washington University. In addition to acting and directing, Susan teaches Shakespeare in her private studio in Santa Monica. | www.susanangelostudio.com | www.susanangelo.com
Corinne Shor (Writer & Sophie/Kate) is an actress who has worked on Shakespeare to Sketch Comedy on stages across the United States and in Paris. Favorite credits include: May Bee Burley in the play Verdigris by Jim Beaver, her recurring role as the mysterious Matron on The Event (NBC) playing opposite Hal Holbrook & Jason Ritter, and narrating several young adult audiobooks (Scars of Youth, In My Dreams, The Fairy King). Corinne's diverse training includes: The Theatre School Jacques Lecoq in Paris, The Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, a Professional Acting Internship with The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, Improvisation with Upright Citizens Brigade, and ongoing study with her two touchstone studios: John Ruby’s On-Camera Studio inside The Storytellers Conservatory and Carole D’Andrea’s weekly Artist Workshop where this show first developed.
As a writer, Corinne uses a great deal of improvisation in the early part of her process to allow her characters to find their own way in a story. Corinne workshopped I am Sophie in Carole’s studio before originally performing a version of it at The Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2017 to sold out houses. Corinne is thrilled to now have a chance to build upon her Fringe experience by collaborating with Director Susan Angelo and the Pico Playhouse to bring a fully realized production into fruition. | www.corinneshor.com