"Sophie a theatre actress living with schizophrenia, welcomes reporters to her home to talk about her life and lustrous career. But as the story unfolds, her world crumbles into a brutal reality."

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This summer I will be producing AND performing my one-woman opera Sophie at the Toronto Fringe Festival from July 5th to 16th at the Tank House Theatre, and at the Simcoe Theatre Festival from July 12th to the 23rd. Dates and times below.​

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Originally written for soprano and chamber orchestra for my Master's Thesis at the University of Western Ontario in 2014/2015. This year, thanks to the support and funding of the Ontario Arts Council recommender grant and the recommendation of the Aluna Theatre, I was able arranged it for soprano and piano. Thanks to the dramaturgy specialist Leah Holder, from Theatre by the Bay, the piece has been extended from it's original 25 minutes to 45 minutes run time. 

And thanks to the direction and guidance of Sabrina Merks and Valeria Bravo, as well as Judi Erickson's wonderful stage management skills and Noah Hollinshead's lighting Design, Sophie has truly reached a level I never dreamed of. And of course, Bryn Blackwood's piano playing truly brings you right into this new world. 

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Dedicated to my grandfather Rudel Zaldivar, who was schizophrenic and passed away in 2002, SOPHIE is a poetic exploration of how mental illness was treated in the 80's and the 90's. 

The listener gets a front row seat at the innermost corners of the protagonist's mind as she journeys through self awareness.