Leslie Sophia Pérez graduated in June 2023 from The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago but the Oak Lawn native already is starring in her second world premiere production.
Steppenwolf for Young Adults’ “a home what howls (or the house what was ravine)” began Feb. 7 and runs through March 2 at Ensemble Theater in Honor of Helen Zell in Chicago. The show’s public run features performances at 3 and 7 p.m. Saturdays. There is also a 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23 performance.
“I am so grateful. I just can’t believe it. It amazes me every single time how much work goes into this,” said Pérez, who also starred in Steppenwolf Theatre Co.’s world premiere of “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” in 2020.
“It’s great. It’s crazy. It hasn’t really hit me yet. I’m the youngest one in the cast. Everyone has years and years of experience on me. I love it so much because it feels like one big classroom.”
Billed as a powerful and poetic look at displacement and youth activism, “a home what howls” is written by Matthew Paul Olmos and directed by Laura Alcalá Baker.
“The show is about loss. The show is about love. It’s about hope more than anything and overcoming the struggles of not having control,” said Pérez, who plays the role of Soledad.
“My character struggles with trying to change what she can’t instead of focusing on what she can change and dealing with the loss of her home and what that means in terms of her identity and her self-worth.
“Soledad is a fierce, curious, witty person. She is fearless at times but also conscious of the world she’s living in.”
Pérez said one of her biggest inspirations to be an entertainer was the Disney Channel show “That’s So Raven” starring Raven-Symoné.
“In that show she’s such a physical actor. She uses her whole body. She changed up her voice in different ways. She’s hilarious,” said Pérez, who lives in the Wrigleyville neighborhood of Chicago.
Pérez began acting when she was a first grader at St. Gerald School in Oak Lawn through an annual program offered by Missoula Community Theatre and did “every musical and every play” while she attended Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School in Chicago’s Mount Greenwood community.
Schools may register for student matinees of “a home what howls” at 10 a.m. weekdays. Tickets are $5 for students and free for chaperones.
“Kids are way more hopeful than a lot of adults because as you grow older, you do lose hope. It’s important for kids to see a show where hope exists and lives and, even if there’s pain or loss, there is good and good comes from you,” said Pérez, whose parents, Ana and Javier Pérez, still live in Oak Lawn.
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Represented by Chicago-based Gray Talent Group, Leslie Sophia Pérez’s previous work includes an episode of the television series “Chicago P.D.,” the HBO Max pilot “Computer School,” a Visa TV commercial and Seattle Rep’s 2023 production of “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.”
‘a home what howls (or the house what was ravine)’
When: Feb. 7-March 2
Where: Steppenwolf Theatre Co.’s Ensemble Theater in Honor of Helen Zell, 1646 N. Halsted St., Chicago
Tickets: $20-$30; $15 college students; $5 high school students
Information: 312-335-1650; steppenwolf.org
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.