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Oak Brook seventh-grader loves to play the role
Butler Junior High seventh-grader Sophia Karris. | Chuck Fieldman—Sun-Times Media
Updated: December 23, 2012 6:10AM
OAK BROOK — Sophia Karris relates well to the lead character she played Nov. 15-16 in the Butler Junior High production of “I Dream of Jeannie.” The seventh-grader moved to Oak Brook from Wisconsin for the final two months of the 2011-12 school year and has acted in six Butler productions since arriving at the school.
Q. Why do you relate well to the Jeannie character in the play?
A. She’s very sassy, and I’m a little bit of a diva sometimes.
Q. Are you familiar with the old TV show, “I Dream of Jeannie?”
A. I used to watch it when I was a kid, and I revisited some episodes for the play. It’s really funny. It’s different than the play, which has some more modern stuff in it. She was so lost in her time, but I found it really cute, and I think it’s OK for little kids.
Q. What do you enjoy most about acting?
A. Sometimes, it’s hard to fit in with social peers, especially at a new school. With acting, I can just forget about everything else and be someone else. Acting has always been an escape route for me. It’s fun and challenging to play different roles and do different shows.
Q. How is living in Oak Brook most different than living in Wisconsin?
A. I came from a very small town in central Wisconsin. The hardest part has been fitting in with social peers. You have to dress a certain way for some people to accept you, and it wasn’t that way where I came from. School also is a lot more challenging here for me. I was at the top at my old school; now I feel I’m pretty much in the middle.
Q. What do you miss most about living in Wisconsin?
A. I miss the open space. Where we lived before, I had a field for my front yard and a forest for my back yard. It’s not like that all around here. I did live in Chicago before, and it’s easier now to see some of my old friends from there, so that’s a good thing.
