Ocean State Theatre role a change of pace for Shakespearean actor

Sophia Blum

Some people say that you must leave the comforts of home to find yourself. Sophia Blum, who left the East Side of Providence to study dramatic arts and has since developed her theater skills in a variety of locations, recently returned to Rhode Island to play Angie Graziano, a mobster’s daughter, in Ocean State Theatre’s presentation of the Broadway comedy “Breaking Legs.”

Blum, who is 24, first got into acting when she was 10, playing the youngest daughter in “Fiddler on the Roof” at Temple Emanu-El, in Providence. She took on a few smaller roles after that, but things really took off while she attended Classical High School, when she started taking classes at Trinity Repertory Company and met Fred Sullivan.

Sullivan, who is the director of “Breaking Legs,” made an impression on Blum.

“I always was a big fan of Fred’s. I wanted to work for him some day,” Blum recalls.

Before getting the role in “Breaking Legs” though, Blum took off to study theater at northern New Jersey’s Drew University. Her studies consisted mainly of generalized dramatic arts, but included a semester in England studying at the London Dramatic Academy. That is where, she said, she got the chance to really immerse herself in the theater scene and hone her acting skills.

“The theater scene is much more accessible,” she said of London.  “Tickets are cheaper. There’s a bigger culture around going to see theater. 

“It Was an important time in my growing and learning and my love for theater.”

Blum, who identifies as a classically trained Shakespearean actor, said traveling to new places helps shape you both as an actor and as a person.

“The more interesting a person you are, the more interesting you are to watch,” she said. “I think traveling is a huge part of that. I think traveling makes you more ready to understand different points of view that you might be representing on stage.”

After finishing her studies, Blum took an apprenticeship in Shakespeare Theater New Jersey, one of the largest Shakespeare companies in North America. This, Blum said, is where she “got the acting boost” she needed and where she “fell in love with Shakespeare.”

The apprenticeship led to a few positions in the upper ranks of the company, but eventually Blum went on to join a theater group called Hampstead Stage Company.

Hampstead has a somewhat unconventional method of performance: members pair off and drive to various cities over the course of several months, and the pair essentially becomes a two-person traveling theater company. Blum and her partner traveled from New Hampshire to Oregon, putting on plays for children and taking on all the roles in each play, in addition to all stage duties. Blum recalled one production where she played the two major roles, and her partner played eight minor roles. In her spare time, Blum explored the cities where they performed.

After a six-month return to Stage Theater New Jersey as a part of its touring company, Blum moved to Brooklyn. Since then, she’s been bouncing back and forth between New York and New England, depending on her gigs.  For now, she has returned to Rhode Island to perform in a  non-Shakespearean role. This, she said, was an intentional shift.

“I made a vow to myself that I would branch out. I love [Shakespeare], but it’s not the only thing I want to do,” she explains. “I want to do more comedy, TV, film and other things.”

The novelty of this role and the associated challenges have Blum excited.

“I get to do an accent, which is fun! It’s based in a much more naturalistic world … I’m not a fairy,” she said, referring to her multiple roles in the past as Shakespearean fairies.

“The more knowledge of the world you have, the more interesting you are. It’s just a no-brainer,” she said.

“Breaking Legs,” is showing at Ocean State Theatre, in Warwick, through Feb. 14. Tickets can be purchased at oceanstatetheatre.org/tickets/breaking-legs.

ARIEL BROTHMAN is a freelance writer who lives in Wrentham, Massachusetts.