May YP of the Month

May 1st, 2016

May YP of the Month

In just a few days we open our first ever Cannonball Festival of youth-led theatre, and we’re jazzed.  These kids have done some amazing work, but what’s been most interesting is watching them deal with the challenge of responsibility and leadership.  One young woman who has met that challenge with professionalism, grace, and skill also happens to be our May YP of the Month.  She’s been in our shows for years, usually in comedic roles that show off her wacky sense of humor and quick wit, but in this month’s festival she’s wearing the director/playwright’s hat and we couldn’t be prouder of how well she wears it.  She always been that kid that the others look up to and the kid that we can trust to take on a task and make it awesome (she both performed in and helped direct scenes in this spring’s Village of Idiots), and we’re so proud of her accomplishments.  And who is this dramatic and downright delightful director and dreamer?

May’s YP of the Month is none other than,

Sophi Murias!!!

Cast members perform a dress rehearsal of Village of Idiots at the West Village Theatre in Calgary on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016. The play, staged by Calgary Young People's Theatre, runs from Feb. 11-20. (Photo by Rob Galbraith/Little Guy Media)

Sophi as Feigela in Village of Idiots (2016)

There’s one thing Sophi (no “e”) can say about Calgary Young People’s Theatre: it’s as addicting as Roll up the Rim, or Breaking Bad, or Jersey Milk chocolate bars. If these aren’t things you find addicting, picture something else. The point is, once you’re in, you don’t leave. This is the case with Sophi, who got looped in by one Christian Goutsis. After directing her as an overkill spy in a Storybook Theatre camp, Christian invited her to audition for a mysterious show he was directing, at a strange place called CYPT. Sure enough, Sophi was cast as Francis Flute, a dork in a Rockband shirt who can’t seem to get any girls (not for lack of trying), in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

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Sophi and Maddie in The Lost Prince (2015)

A few years later, Sophi finds herself asking Siri to give her directions home and Siri tries to direct her to CYPT’s West Village Theatre. Which wasn’t exactly helpful, but still warmed her heart. Sophi has been acting since before she can remember, starting in drama camps and classes, school, and with her friends making movies- one of which won her a trip to tropical Ottawa with her best friend/partner in crime. She’s tried her hand – and foot – at a wide variety of sports, but field hockey is the only one that’s stuck (for eight years!). She is also a professional princess at Royal Princess Parties Calgary- which is exactly what it sounds like, and the coolest job in the universe. She speaks French, which isn’t relevant, but still kinda neat. Sophi has recently gotten into snowboarding, which she likes, despite the compulsory rivalry with skiers.

In the midst of all this dabbling, Sophi actually dedicates most of her time to theatre. First of all, she makes her living performing live on stage at Calaway Park in their short musical productions. Come on out and see her pull some sweet dance moves this summer. Additionally, Sophi has participated in eight other shows over the last few years- wait, eight? Whoa. Eight shows. These include school plays, one of which she co-directed (This Is A Test, 2014). She scootched into the spotlight in 2015 with a lead role in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at William Aberhart. She exercised her triple threat in Storybook Theatre’s Peter Pan (2014). And of course, she has played an array of outrageous characters in CYPT’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2014), The Lost Prince (2015), and Village of Idiots (2016). And in May, come on out to the CYPT Cannonball! Festival to see A Tale of Two Shoulders, written and directed by…well, Sophi.

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Sophi plays a man playing a woman in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2014)

Sophi would like to thank Jamie and Christian for directing her in her various CYPT adventures and helping her develop her acting skills and theatre kid aesthetic, as well as Kristin, Gillian, Ajay, and everyone else who has contributed so much to these shows. She also would like to thank everyone with a car who has helped her avoid public transit back and forth from rehearsals and performances. And of course, her friends, who have given her their unmatched support by running lines and showing up to performances. They also keep her life exciting, be it camping in the hoodoos, DIY red hair-dyeing, or even spontaneous road trips to Canmore. Last but not least, the incredible batch of people that have formed her second family at CYPT. She is honoured to spend endless hours with such a talented and ridiculous ensemble of folks.

 

“I dream of adventure, in the classic sense of the word. I dream of being someone else, somewhere else, places where life still keeps you on your toes. Acting is the doorway to these worlds. You get onstage and fall in love, or get beat up, or fly, or even die, and when the curtain closes, you shake it off and go home.
In a world where everything is so tame and planned- you go to school, get a degree, a job, and family, there’s no room for adventure. You can’t take off and fight a dragon, or go to wizard school, or rule a country. So I believe acting is for those of us who aren’t satisfied with the limited options we have in the
real world.”

-Sophi Murias

Sophi and the gals from Village of Idiots (2016) settle a bet at their Women’s Auxiliary Volunteer Fire Department meeting.

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