Biography
An accomplished actor/writer/director/activist & educator, Sonja has worked both nationally and internationally at many notable venues including: The Public Theatre, The New Victory Theatre, Playwrights' Horizon, The Kennedy Center, The Boston Center for the Arts, The Guthrie Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company-London, The Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis, Seattle Children's Theatre, The Wallis Annenberg Center, Penumbra Theatre, The Walker Art Center, Links Hall-Chicago & The Playwrights' Center.
A respected professional in her field, she's served on many national panels with other distinguished artists and newsmakers including: Kerry Kennedy of The Kennedy Center, journalists Nicholas Kristof & Ann Curry; film producer Julius Tennon of JuVee Productions (a joint venture with his wife, Viola Davis); Swedish actor/director Josette Bushell-Mingo; British Theatre Historian, Nike Jonah & noted American Theatre Historian, Todd London.
She was an original member of poet/playwright Sharon Bridgforth's celebrated root wy'mn theatre company, touring nationally with the company for 3 years and was the featured performer in two one-woman shows, one of which was nominated for an Osborn Award by The American Theater Critics Association.
She studied at The University of Texas, The Dance Theatre of Harlem and The National Black Theatre of New York under the direct tutelage of its founder and Artistic Director, the late Dr. Barbara Ann Teer.
A committed Artist/Activist, her desire to improve society for all people(s) but especially those of the African Diaspora, has led her to many parts of the world including: Lagos, Nigeria; Accra, Ghana; Reykjavik, Iceland; Berlin, Germany; Havana, Cuba; Cape Town, South Africa and the Movement for Black Lives in Ferguson, MO. Her panel, "Race, Colonization & Art: An Afro-Global Perspective", was featured as part of the Theatre Communications Group/Global Theatre Initiative's inaugural International Conference, a gathering of arts professionals from across the globe at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Sonja is the recipient of a 2000 NEA Grant; a 2002 Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship; a 2005 McKnight Artist Fellowship; was named "Best Actress in the Twin Cities-2004"; has two Minneapolis Ivey Awards (Acting-2009 & Directing-2010); is a 2014 Minnesota State Arts Board Cultural Collaborations Fellow; a 2014-2016 TCG/Fox Distinguished Achievement Resident Acting Fellow; a 2016 McCarter Theatre Center-Princeton/Sallie B. Goodman Artistic Fellow; has been a featured artist in Time Magazine; and named "One to Watch" and one of "Seven Artists You Must See" by American Theatre Magazine. In collaboration with The Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis, she was part of the only American contingent invited to perform at the 2017 ASSITEJ World Congress held in Cape Town, South Africa.
She taught acting and theatre for 6 years as a member of the Theatre Arts faculty at the University of Minnesota where she also conceived and spearheaded the BA Mentoring program (also known as BAM), now an integral component of the Bachelor of Arts training curriculum. At the U of M, she also served as the Lead Instructor of a training program for law students in collaboration with the Theatre Arts School and the Mondale School of Law. She taught Advanced Acting & Voice as the Lead Instructor for 7 years at Penumbra Theatre's Summer Institute for Social Change; and has been a teaching artist-in-residence at Hampshire College, Amherst, MA; Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, WA; DePaul University, Chicago, IL, and The University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
