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A few facts about Sophie Amieva

First and foremost, Sophie is a clown.

 

Sophie is a theater maker, performer, director.  She is French and Spanish, mostly grew up in France and is now based in New York City.

As a little girl, during summer time, she was a cow keeper in the mountains of Asturias, Spain for her uncle’s farm.  With distance she can now admit that she had no authority -- the dog was really in charge.

Since she can remember she has had to attend at least one funeral and one wedding every year. C’est la vie?

 

At the age of 12, Sophie panicked at a showing of Genevieve de Kermabon's theater adaptation of Freaks at the Bouffes du Nord (Peter Brooks’ theater).  She tried to escape the theater, but, trapped by locked doors, she had no choice but to return to her seat and watch the whole show.  This was what we call a “life changing experience."

 

At the age of 16, Sophie discovered the universe of clown.  She felt so relieved.

 

In high school, the art history teacher told her class that 95% of art is sexual...this provided food for thought.

 

During her classical theater training Sophie learned that she was not a "Ingénue."  But, alas, she found a home at the International Jacques Lecoq School. Then she studied Commedia Dell’Arte with Carlo Boso of the Piccolo Theater of Milan.

 

Sophie has performed with La Rumeur Compagnie, Philippe Genty Compagnie, le Théâtre de l'Empreinte, Circa Theatre, Lone Wolf Tribe, 600 Highwaymen, NTUSA, International Wow Company, Hervé Haggaï, Marcio Ballas, and was a collaborator and founder of the Grappe of Bouffons (a collective of Bouffons which performed in many streets of France and Navarre).

 

The New York Times noted that Sophie had "fine talent for comedy" (so definitely not a “Ingénue”).

 

You may have seen her or her work in France at the National Stage des Louvrais, Espace Rive Gauche, le Théâtre de l'Aventure, le Théâtre 95, le Samovar, la grande Gallerie de L'évolution, le Théâtre d'Edgar, le Théâtre du bout, les Douches. In NYC, la FIAF, the Ohio Theater,  Flamboyán Theater, Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center, Latea Theater, Here Theater, la Mama Annex, the Bowery Poetry club, the Palace of Variety of the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, the Ontological Hysteric Theater, Tisch- NYU, Happy Lucky no1, Chashama, Galapagos Art Space and in Coney Island.

 

Sophie has been teaching “physical comedy and Bouffon” for the last 12 years at New York University’s Tisch School for the Performing Arts (Experimental Theater Wing) and to professional actors in many schools and studios.

 

Fun fact, she has served also many many young children over NYC as a teaching Artist and is the co-founder of Brooklyn Beanstalk, an after-school French and Spanish immersion program using clowning and theater as a tool for language acquisition.

 

One last important fact -- she owns two fart guns.

 

Et voilà!!

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