Sophie

SOPHIE

Age: Teen
Gender: Female
Pronouns: She/Her

Sophie is one of Fade’s neighbours in Blossomshire and Fade’s ex. However, her relationship with Fade is not what defines her character.

Sophie is energetic, confident, outspoken, and initially comes across as genuinely likeable. She has a lively personality and can make a strong first impression, which is important because the pilot deliberately makes the audience think she might be a fun character to have around.

Then she starts talking.

Sophie is a bitch. She’s rude, abrasive, selfish, toxic, and generally unpleasant to be around. She can be casually cruel and has a tendency to say things that make it very obvious why people don't like her. She isn't secretly misunderstood or secretly nice. The audience is simply given a misleading first impression before her actual personality comes through.

For the pilot, the performance should make that change happen very quickly and naturally. Don't play her as obviously horrible from her first line. Let her initially sound energetic, friendly, and approachable, then allow the nastiness to creep through once she starts interacting with Fade.

The humour comes partly from that sudden shift in the audience's perception of her.

Voice Direction:
Looking for a youthful feminine raspy voice, around 16-18. Medium to medium-high pitch, naturally energetic and expressive. Sophie should sound confident and comfortable speaking her mind, with enough warmth and enthusiasm to make her initial impression believable.

She needs to be able to switch from seemingly friendly and upbeat to sarcastic, irritated, dismissive, or outright bitchy very quickly. The nastier side should feel natural rather than cartoonishly villainous.

Do not make her sound like a stereotypical mean girl. She should sound like a normal girl who just happens to be an absolutely outright horrible person.