User:SophiaDare/Sandbox

Sophia Dare's User Page

Introduction
Hi, I'm calling myself Sophia Dare. I don't use my legal name openly on the internet unless I've taken a substantial leadership responsibility and expect to be accountable to the community at large.

I chose Sophia because it's the name of a fictional character I enjoy. Dare is a different matter entirely. I've got a pebble in my shoe. I'm trying to call it "Dare," and to carry it with acceptance. I remind myself frequently that things could be much worse.

I'm sometimes away from the internet for several days at a time, and I don't always remember to check in with Wikipedia. If you need me, leave a message here. I'm watching the page.

Law
I started practicing law in 1979 and practiced actively, mostly as a trial lawyer, manager, teacher and supervisor of lawyers until September of 2001.

When physical infirmities began to interfere in my ability to be effective, I measured my ability to handle my clients needs, determined that it was insufficient and took a leave of absence. My physical condition moved to a point where I wasn't even able to keep up my continuing legal education, so I applied for and was granted a transfer to inactive status effective at the end of 2004. I don't practice law any more.

English
While practicing, I published two professional articles in print, and after my health deteriorated, I published two articles on writing on the internet. All for were submitted for consideration by editors, and the usual pattern was that the editor did nothing while I found more and more improvements, typos and ways to tighten the article up until the article closing time. I asked one editor if it was a problem. She said it was funny but refreshing.

Both my law degree and my B.A. are from UNC-CH, and I graduated with a double major in English and political science. I'm competent in grammar and diction in U.S. English, and in English language literature generally.

Other subjects
I love musical comedies and dramas, whether live or on screen. One of my earliest memories is listening to the original Broadway cast recording of My Fair Lady. From Domenico Cimerosa to George Gershwin and from Busby Berkley to Andrew Lloyd Weber, I love a good show! I'm also fond of comedies and dramas without music, from Aeschylus to Stoppard.

When my health was better, I stage managed little theater, ran lights, designed costumes and handled them during the run. I directed, ran sound, ran props, designed a set, served on the board and did whatever came next for several years there.

Originally, I hadn't planned to do anything on stage or in the front of the house, but in little theater, things can change in ways that surprise you. I found myself singing in A, My Name Is Alice when we ran short of people who fit the roles for Company.

I promised to produce a different show, but the director and I weren't satisfied with readings, even on the last night of tryouts.

She looked at me and said, "Just give them a sample so they'll know what we have in mind." She handed me her script. "This bit right here." I went up, sat on a barstool and sight-read a monologue from Steel Magnolias. My voice broke after a few sentences. I was soon in tears. By the time I finished, so was everybody else. After that, nobody else was willing to read, so I wound up playing M'Lynn.

I enjoyed working with that little theater group, so when I moved to a city, I went back to stage-managing as long as I could.

Opera
My grandmother had recordings of Maria Callas, and so do I. I was astonished to meet her briefly in 1972. She was in New York to give a master class, and I had just enough time to thank her for the pleasure her recordings had given me.

I have three recordings of Il Barbieri di Siviglia. I bought one to hear Callas, another to hear Beverly Sills and a third to hear Juan Diego Flòrez. I have two Cenerentola recordings: one by Frederica von Stade and Francisco Araiza and another with Cecelia Bartoli.

I'm far from expert on the topic, but I know a little bit about opera -- enough, for example, to discuss the tempo and interpretations of "La Donna e Mobile" by Alfredo Kraus, Luciano Pavarotti and Flòrez. I know a bit about Puccini, almost nothing about Verdi or Mozart, a bit about Rossini and Cimerosa, but not much about Donizetti or anyone in the 20th Century except Gershwin.

Personal and Miscellaneous
French: Je parle un tout petit peu français. My vocabulary is so limited and my pronunciation so poor that I was admiring a lady's lovely little terrier while on a train back to Paris after visiting -- I think it may have been Chartres.

It took me a few moments to make it plain that I was complimenting her little dog instead of insulting her. I was able to do that, and she was pleased with the compliment once we had straightened out the misunderstanding. (She should have been proud of the way she had her pet turned out -- it was a lovely terrier, beautifully groomed, beautifully behaved, and sitting in a basket lined with a cheerful plaid.) After that, I realized that my French had fallen off more than a little bit since I translated a large section of The Old Tenures from Law French (don't ask!) into modern English.

Personal: My husband and I have been married for over thirty years so far. We have family but no children.

My physical problems (transform migraine, asthma, allergies, insomnia) are a serious drag on my timeliness. I could probably edit, but I couldn't meet a tight deadline.

I do research here at Wikipedia and elsewhere to support my fiction habit which includes attempting to write.

NOTE: I still need to revise this. I'm dissatisfied with it as it stands, but if I throw it out, I won't have anything to start from, and I figure that's what the personal sandbox is for.

 Is it worth seeing if they need my Père Lachaise photos? Look at other pages to see if anyone else has done anything except throw a bunch of userboxes around. (Maybe an administrator?) Revise to fit with others' pages. Add NC flag to law. Move userboxes there to English. 