Today we’d like to introduce you to Sophia Dunn-Walker.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Sophia. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I recently moved to Los Angeles from Paris, where I had been living for three and a half years after college. In Paris, I started out working in a small American museum as an assistant curator. I loved this work but felt that I was putting all my time into assisting other artists without actually making art myself. I had just graduated from Reed College with a degree in French Literature and Theatre, and I missed the process of creating new worlds. I expressed these feelings to a woman volunteering at the museum, and she invited me to audition for her bilingual theatre company. I worked on several shows with this company, and eventually got signed to an agency and started taking classes at Cours Florent, a private French drama school. I committed myself to enrolling in the French language program at this school and received an additional degree.
My undergraduate thesis was a dance adaptation of the Vietnamese poem The Tale of Kieu and explored performance as a form of translation. I collaborated with the performers to choreograph the movements to the meter of the original poem. My work often explores language and movement. I wrote and produced several plays while living in France, a highlight being Cowabunga! A Dystopian Comedy. The part of this show I liked the most was a ten person choreographed fight scene. I love watching how bodies relate to each other in space; whether that be aggressively, comically, sensually, or all three. Other highlights include acting as Yerma in Garcia Lorca’s Yerma, performing at Theatre de la Ville, and studying briefly with the Ho Chi Minh City Ballet and Opera. I moved to Los Angeles with the intention of moving my work to film. I also came here because my younger brother lives here, and because I’ve always felt drawn to the Pacific Ocean.
I’m currently working as a producer on a feature film, and am continuing acting. I got to play the personification of death, which I think is very fitting for me. I have the look of a severe, vaguely European woman, but the personality of a goblin. It’s always nice when people recognize that about me and cast me accordingly. The largest budget film I’ve worked on had a budget of about a quarter of a million dollars. I realize that this is considered tiny on Los Angeles standards, but I think it’s a good place to start. A lot of people seem to think I’m coming from left field, but it’s exciting to work with people who “get” me. I have a friend who has had a successful career as an actor and a producer in both the US and in France, and I find that really inspiring.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Between Coronavirus and the Patriarchy, this year has certainly had its challenges. I’m really sad and disappointed that one of the first experiences I had in Los Angeles was meeting a man who ended up stalking and threatening me. I wish I could write more about it, but I’m currently seeking legal counsel. What I will say is that there are still many predatory misogynists in positions of power.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
While I left my theatre company in Europe when I moved a few months ago, I still produce and host live events at a couple of large loft spaces in the Arts District in LA. I find this to be a good way to meet people across disciplines. My mom is a painter and my dad works in infectious diseases, and my brother is a history buff who’s on the autism spectrum. I think having this type of family is what inspired my early interest in science fiction. I don’t like to label myself or the art I make. I have a strong education and an international perspective. I think that even the most progressive artists have a tendency to see the United States as the center of things. They have this perception like if you’re not making films in the US, you’re not really making films. I would argue that being open to foreign languages and other art forms only make story-telling stronger. I’m intrigued by people who have backgrounds in painting and music, and use those experiences to make films.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Imagination paired with hard work and determination. I haven’t done all of the things I want to do yet, but I’ve done so much more than people ever expected me to. I actually have a disability called familial cone dystrophy and was in special ed for ten years. My low vision cannot be corrected, and I read very slowly. I got used to people telling me no and all of the things I can’t do. I was told not to take advanced level classes, or to apply to colleges that were too rigorous. After I graduated from Reed, people told me it was unrealistic to move to France and join a theatre company and make a living as an artist. My family is Catholic and always wanted me to have a settled, hetero-normative lifestyle.
I will never stop pushing past labels, fighting for my dreams, and doing what I can to dismantle the capitalist patriarchy that is America.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1427 E 4th Street
- Website: sophiadunnwalker.com
- Phone: 3234286545
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sophiadunnwalker/
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