In this exclusive DirectSubmit NYCastings interview, Sofia Dobrushin opens up about her journey, from her early inspirations to her latest projects and classes. She shares insights into the creative processes that drive her, the challenges she faces as a modern artist, and the passion that fuels her work.
Dobrushin can currently be seen in the Mean Girls movie musical and upcoming movie, Booger. (Yes, Booger.)
This conversation is a rare glimpse into the life and thoughts of a true creative force, and one you won’t want to miss.
Sofia, Sofia, Sofia. You have your hands deep into the entertainment world. With your diverse talents in acting, directing, and comedy, how do you decide which path to focus on for different projects, and what factors influence those decisions?
Ilana, Ilana, Ilana, not to be cheesy BUT truly everything plays a part in whatever gig I’m bestowed from whichever god or universe you believe in. I’ve always had a love for directing but never knew how to pursue it since it has been cis white male dominated but through acting and through comedy, famously super diverse and not containing any gender biases at all, I was able to find a special niche to do all three mediums and take whichever path grows. I think with most things, planning doesn’t always work out! You have to pivot quickly, especially in the gig economy but I’ve been lucky to just follow whichever path will have me at any given time and grow from each experience. When I’m on set acting, I’m watching the crew and director when I’m not being used and taking note of every piece of the puzzle. When I’m directing, I’m checking in with the actors and coaching their scenes or moments and making jokes to keep them at ease. When I’m doing comedy, I’m just being an only child. *synergy*
Do you find it difficult to be a multi-hyphenate in the entertainment industry, or do you just enjoy making everyone else look bad?
My double, Leo, wants to bite and say I’m astoundingly unique, but in actuality the majority of artists are multifaceted and wear many hats at a time!!! I think people believe the industry standard is to pigeon hole yourself to seem desirable but I find that boring and difficult to maintain. If someone trusts me to work on their project in any capacity, I’m game and honored but I like to switch it up. Perhaps my Gemini Venus.
You have a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Acting from Marymount Manhattan College. Why did you choose that school? What’s the most important lesson you took away from your time at Marymount?
Famously now Northeastern New York! #hailmarymount #rip
So I got into MMC and a school in Santa Fe (spoiler: it apparently closed down too), but at the time I was like, “I think New York makes the most sense and they are giving me a scholarship, so I’ll go there.” I think the most important lesson learned was how to navigate the New York City way of life. I got all my New York jitters out, was able to figure out the city and where I wanted to grow, what shows I wanted to be a part of and who I’d love to work with so by the time I graduated I could go full throttle. Our senior year MMC had a course called the Business of Acting, and while the business has changed dramatically with TikTok in the last couple of years, it helped me learn how to best set up my acting career in an attainable way, not just in the “I’m a staarr” way.
You’re one of those actors where people know your face, but they don’t know your name. How does it feel to be sub-human?
I’m an IMDbPro nerd so for someone to have to try and remember how to spell my name but have my face clearly in their mind is something I never thought I would amount to. I’m honored to say the least. As my mother often says: DO “do you like me” BRUSH “brush my hair” IN! Although it is pronounced Doe-brew-shin, so…. good luck babe!
You completed an Ars Nova Residency CAMP (Comedy Artist Makers Program), where you and your co-collaborator, Catherine Bloom, wrote a satirical American living room play called the care n keeping of u based on your own experience being a caretaker for your father. Where’d you meet Catherine and what led you to become collaborators? How did you choose the topic for your play?
Yes! Ars Nova represent! Cathy and I met on a mystical boat adventure, jk [joking], but wouldn’t that be cool? We met at a Seder our friend was hosting at a cool apartment our other friend was dog sitting at. It was very GIRLS coded and kismet. Cathy and I originally applied to the residency with a different show concept, but we had to pivot two months in due to certain residency stipulations so I had this idea for a pilot featuring me and Ilana Glazer as curly headed step sisters and then I was like, “Cathy is even funnier, let’s make it a play.” The show itself was inspired by my own experience caretaking for my father after he had a stroke back when I was in high school. I was tired of seeing shows that sort of “fetishized” familial trauma; I wanted to see a comedy of my experience, so we created a show that was a stupid and cathartic release from these very intense experiences that come with caregiving.
Your directing work has become an official selection of Brooklyn Women’s Film Festival. Tell us about the process you went through creating your work, then entering it into the festival, and what you did after the announcement.
Like I said up above, I’ve always wanted to direct so through my music and my comedy I was able to use them as a gateway into directing. Having a proof of concept for my own work shows others they can trust me with their projects and allowed me to figure out my style. Festival stuff is hard since it ends up being so expensive and there are like a billion festivals you can submit too but if you go into making something with certain festivals in mind it makes the submission process less daunting because you already have set parameters.
One Google search says there are 74 genders. How do you incorporate themes of gender diversity and representation in your work, and what impact do you hope it has on your audience?
Gender is famously a performance.
You were in Apple TV’s WeCrashed where you yelled at Anne Hathaway and got to wear fake glasses. You do realize that wearing fake glasses doesn’t make people think you’re smarter, right? Did you feel as cool as Linda Hamilton looked wearing sunglasses in Terminator 2?
Hahah! It was just such a movie magic moment for me. Some Sofia Lore — My grandfather was an optometrist and I always loved wearing the glasses from his shop but was blessed with great vision *tiny violins start to play* so one year for my birthday he gave me a pair of fake glasses so it just felt like a cute little moment. Also!!! — that show took place in 2012, so essentially a period piece, so it actually was a twee call back and that’s on costume designers doing the research!!! Xoxo.
Anything else you’d like to say?
I’m teaching a five-week self tape/audition course at Brooklyn Comedy Collective this September-October 2024 if your demographic would be into that information! An indie film I’m in called Booger will premiere in theaters September 13th, 2024! And if you are interested in more stories or media that strive to tell the stories of caregivers check out the nonprofit called Caring Across Generations.
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