Hi there!

My name is Sophia Kelley Anderson. For as long as I can remember, the theater has been my forever home.

I was born into an extremely artistic family. Almost everyone I knew had some sort of involvement in the arts. My mother is a phenomenal performer and I’ve looked up to her talents since I was little.

I started theater at the age of 12 after I moved to Michigan to be with my mom’s side of the family. She needed to get back to the stage, and I needed somewhere to go. So she brought me to my first audition and surprisingly enough, I made it into my first community theater production alongside my mom.

This would be the start of my biggest passion in life, as well as the start of a long pattern of sharing the stage with my biggest mentor and cheerleader.

Being in the performing arts has been the most rewarding, beautiful, heartbreaking, hardest, and most wonderful thing I’ve ever done with my life. The theater has seen me at my highest as well as my lowest. When life has presented me with the coming and going of friendships, relationships, and opportunities, the one consistent thing that has been there for me is the warm embrace of an auditorium.

Performing is my oxygen and my lifeblood.

Fast forward to this year I was fortunate enough to be accepted into my dream performing arts program, The Institute of American Musical Theater located in Manhattan.

I was absolutely elated! After working so hard to better myself not only as a performer but a person it finally paid off. Every late night tech rehearsal, every injury, every person who told me I wasn’t good enough would have been worth it.

The good news continued when I was informed I was given a scholarship.

Unfortunately, even with the scholarship it wasn’t feasible for me to go last fall, With a yearly tuition of $26,000.

I was given the option to defer my training to this year where my two year spot would still be held but I would have to reapply for a chance at receiving scholarships. Without any additional help, this would be our only choice.

Until a few days later when I received an email that with your help could change my life.

The email stated that the school would be willing to continue to hold my scholarship until I was able to join them.

This could make my dream a reality, but I need your help.

Your humble donations would be used to not only pay for my tuition but also be used to pay for an apartment in New York as the school doesn’t provide dorms, as well as helping me get on my feet.

This is a huge transition and I can’t make a reality without your help.