One of the main goals for our Theatre Education Community is to help theatre students and professionals from all over connect and identify with each other in order to build resources and support the theatre education field. We shine a spotlight on a different member every other week by conducting a simple interview.
Our latest spotlight member is Sonja Brown. Sonja is a Thespian Troupe Director at Phoenix High School in Phoenix, OR and a Thespian alum of Troupe 1777. Sonja is an active, engaged and vital member of the Theatre Education Community. She is always willing to ask a great question that frequently helps many other members in the community. She is also always willing to share advice and engage in discussions. Sonja was the recipient of the Educational Theatre Associations National Conference Grant for Theatre Educators. I asked Sonja to answer a few questions for us so we could learn a little more about her.
Photograph by Virgil Cheung
Ben: Why do you believe theatre is important?
Sonja: I view the theatre as a laboratory in which students can grapple with the real issues of life in a safe atmosphere. It is a place where actions and consequences can be examined, discussed, and in a very real sense experienced without the dangers that such experimentation would obviously bring in the "real" world.
Ben: What is your favorite play?
Sonja: A favorite play of mine is Kimberly Akimbo by David Lindsay Abaire, because it is both hilarious and heartrending. The characters are adorably dysfunctional (a teenager diagnosed with progeria, her pregnant, hypochondriac mother, her alcoholic father, a hapless criminal aunt and a nerdy high school boy.) It explores universal themes in very unusual circumstances, and it is anything but cliché!
Ben: What is the resource you most recommend to others in your profession?
Sonja: I am blessed to be a part of the Oregon Chapter of EdTA. We have amazing board members and amazing resources that I consistently recommend to other teachers in my area. Oregon Thespians, I believe, is on the cutting edge of high school theatre.
Ben: What is your proudest accomplishment?
Sonja: My proudest accomplishment was being chosen twice to present a school production at the Oregon State Thespian Conference. The first show was MADWOMAN OF CHAILLOT and the second show was RECKLESS. It was an accomplishment that I shared with my amazing theatre students!
Ben: What is something we would be surprised to learn about you?
You'd be surprised to learn that I have a morbid sense of humor. I enjoy the artist Edward Gorey, movies by Tim Burton, musicals like Sweeney Todd, and visiting boneyards to read epitaphs. My husband goes so far as to call me "Morticia."
Ben: Name something on your bucket list:
Sonja: To spend a year visiting every country on the Mediterranean!