Sofia Landon Geier is a scriptwriter for daytime television, currently on the staff of NBC’s Days of Our Lives. Sofia began her theatre career as an actor, studying drama at Northwestern University where she gained experience performing everything from Greek tragedy, Shakespeare and restoration comedy to Second City improv.
Sofia acted with several of America’s leading repertory companies, including Connecticut’s Long Wharf and Stamford Theatres, Albany’s Capital Rep (which she co-founded), and Actors’ Theatre of Louisville where she was directed by Jon Jory. Off-Broadway, Sofia co-starred in Shaw’s Heartbreak House, and received a Drama Desk nomination as Best Actress for the title role in Peg O’ My Heart. On Broadway, she played Clelia in Larry Shue’s comedy The Nerd opposite Peter MacNichol.
On television, Sofia was featured in an episode of Law and Order, and starred in a chilling Tales from the Dark Side. Sofia has the dubious distinction of having “died” on three daytime soap operas -- accidentally with a fireplace poker on Guiding Light, driving her car off a cliff on Another World, and stabbed to death on As the World Turns!
Sofia adapted the novel The Railway Children into a family musical, writing both the book and lyrics. The show was performed as an after-school program at P.S. 183, giving Sofia the cherished memory of directing her daughter Hallie in the role of Mother. The musical was then renamed Home and workshopped at NY’s Blue Heron Theatre, providing Sofia the delightful experience of directing her daughter M.J. as the piece’s young heroine.
Prior to joining the Main Street Theatre staff, Sofia guest-directed Constance Congdon’s No Mercy at Fordham University, The Glass Menagerie at St. Mary’s Summer Theatre, a production of The Owl and the Pussycat for NYC’s Theatre for the Forgotten, as well as producing a series of readings by women playwrights for WLTC.
At MST&DA, Sofia had the time of her life directing the classic play Stage Door with 30 talented 8th through 11th graders in 2005. Her 2006 teen production of Urinetown, the Musical! rocked the Howe Theatre, and introduced “Chat with the Actors,” a discussion segment following each performance. In addition, Short Shorts, Sofia’s playwrighting class wrapped up with a public reading of the students’ work with professional actors joining current MST students as well as alums. The 2005-2006 Short Shorts Play Collection will be available at fall registration and through MST&DA. You can also find Sofia “working the door” at the famous MST&DA Teen Coffeehouses.
Sofia and her husband Ted “don’t eat too much cheese” Geier, are Chair and President, respectively, of The LOVE, HALLIE Foundation, which empowers young people to take action to improve their communities and the world. Their daughters M.J. Geier and Yilinasi Mqadi are leading Hal’s Angels’ ambitious 2006 projects.
