- Lauren Hagerty ’21
- How long have you been acting/doing plays/musicals?
“Technically I’ve been doing plays since I was 7, like the little plays over the summer, but my first real play production was when I was 12.” Before pursuing acting, Anne Sophie was a competitive synchronized swimmer. She originally joined synchronized swimming after being inspired by her older sister, who was also a synchronized swimmer.
- What got you interested in theater?
Even at a young age, she acted purely because she loves it and it brought her joy, “after doing that first play I just knew this is what I wanted to do from now on.” At first, her family thought she was just a little crazy for being so adamant about her determination to pursue acting so passionately. But, shortly after, “my mom was just like you know what, ok, yes, keep acting if you love it.” From then on, Anne Sophie has performed in many musicals and plays, working to become a better actress, singer, and overall performer. The first person in the acting community who gave her real validation for her hard work was TK, the former SHP drama teacher now working at NYU. She landed a lead role in the Crucible her freshman year, and this sign of her hard work paying off encouraged Anne Sophie even more.
- What was your favorite musical you have participated in?
“That’s a hard one but probably Young Frankenstein. Looking back, it’s always good memories and I just remember the family type of community.”
- What has been your favorite memory of drama at SHP?
Looking back, Anne Sophie’s favorite memory of drama at SHP was when TK stopped rehearsal for the musical Chicago, and the entire cast danced for the remainder of practice. During this impromptu dance party, Huck Barry ‘21 and Ian Cardemone ‘21 “did an interpretive dance called the egg crack. Anytime we have improv practice it makes me laugh,” says Anne Sophie.
- Are there other aspects of theater or the arts that you participate/are interested in?
Aside from theater, Anne Sophie is heavily involved with film and cinema. She has worked in multiple aspects of film making and production as an actress, casting director, assistant director and producer for different productions. Anne Sophie has also worked on a wide scale of projects, from the junior class spirit week video, to a short film called Amor del Bueno. The film “was an incredible project.” Amor del Bueno, which was created in partnership with the One Love Foundation, is “a highschool related movie for people to understand how relationships can go wrong” and “show the harsh machismo that exists in Latin American households.” As casting director, Anne Sophie made it a priority to “ensure it was a diverse cast and crew.” She hired actors and actresses “from all over the Bay Area from San Jose to Marin.” Anne Sophie got involved with the project when “my very close family friends were the ones who wrote [the script] and were going to be directing… I lived working with some of my close family friends to make it,” says Lacombe. Their hard work on the project paid off as the film was nominated for two awards at the Teen Indie Awards, one of which was best original score, and the film was screened at the All American High School Film Festival.
