Meet Sophie Cripe (Dramaturg)
Meet Sophie Cripe (Dramaturg)If you won $96,000 from the lottery, what would you do with it?
Buy a jacuzzi and make extra donations to SCR and Chance Theater.
Who’s someone in your life that’s not blood-related, but who you would consider to be family?
I have only one close blood relation: my son. Besides my husband and my two stepsons, my family is all my friends that have a passion for theater like I do.
What was your neighborhood like when you were growing up? What’s that neighborhood like now?
Thanks to Google Earth I was able to “walk ” around my neighborhood. I lived on the outskirts of a city. My neighborhood hasn’t changed at all except that now the city goes way beyond where I lived.
What’s your favorite photo from your childhood?
A picture from my 8th birthday party.
What’s your family’s favorite photo?
The last photo of all of us in front of a glacier in Alaska.
Where do you call “home”?
Anywhere I am with my husband. But geographically Orange County.
Tell me about someone in your life that made sacrifices for you to succeed.
My mom. My dad died when I was a sophomore in college and she went back to work to help pay for my education.
What character would you share a pint with and who would make you turn and walk away?
I would love to share a pint with Usnavi. I just love his positive attitude and genuine concern for those in the neighborhood. I identify with his belief that you have to have a plan to succeed. I identify with all the characters so there is no one one I wouldn’t enjoy being with. However I might not have good enough Spanish to have a good conversation with the Piragua guy.
Do you have a favorite moment in the play?
I love the end when Usnavi realizes where his ” home” is.
What’s the biggest challenge for you in this production?
That Nina lies to her parents about her scholarship being dropped because of her midterm grades. I checked.. Stanford doesn’t drop students at mid terms for grades. Only at the end of two semesters do they do that. And it is very rare!
What do you connect to in this story?
The scene where Nina expresses her fears about telling her parents she had dropped out of school. I had to tell my parents something difficult once and it was so hard.
How do you prepare to work on a project like this?
I re-read the script over and over and researched everything mentioned in it. Characters, plot points, vocabulary. I even made a field trip to Washington Heights to see it and to take photos.
What was your first job in theater?
My first job was as assistant director of a one act play.. Beware the Bear during my sophomore year in high school. (I also stage managed and ran props and sound.)
What excites you about this story and why should people come to see it?
It’s a fun, upbeat exploration of a colorful neighborhood in transition.
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