Sophie Hoyt Parrott’s Biography  
 

Eight years ago, Sophie moved to Hollywood from her home country of England to further her career in television.  In Hollywood, she became a Casting Director and Assistant Producer for major companies.  Some of the companies she worked for are National Geographic, Discovery, FOX, Universal, TLC and MTV as well as many other networks.   

Sophie was destined to follow her passion for theater and television since age 4.  After starring in the Royal Tunbridge Wells Pantiles Players (Shakespeare Co), performing at the Royal Saddlers Wells Dance Theatre, and countless other productions as well, she graduated with honors from ‘West Kent College’ with a BTEC National Diploma In Performing Arts.  Sophie also appeared on the children’s television series Gibberish and Quids In, filmed a series of language programs with Telecolleg, and recorded children’s Talking Books.  

Sophie was then accepted at Sir Paul McCartney and HRH Queen Elizabeth II’s world renowned ‘The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts’ (LIPA).  She majored in Acting, but a large portion of her degree included directing and management.  Here she was awarded a LIPA award and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Honors degree.

After pining for some much needed sunshine, Sophie then packed her bags and moved to Hollywood.  Observing how actors were treated gave her the ultimate push to explore the other side of show business, thus becoming a Casting Director.  In her own way she feels she has made Hollywood a slightly better place, at least for the actors she auditioned.  Sophie then left the big city lifestyle to relocate to Durango, where she could experience the serenity and beauty of the mountains.  Shifting her talents to local production companies, Sophie contributed to the docu-films Fourteen and Green Living which won Telly, Aegis and DVA awards and two Regional Emmy nominations.  She founded her company ‘Acting Professional’ in March 2007, which teaches show‘business’ as well as one-on-one acting coaching to artists who share her passion for the stage and camera.  In addition to teaching continuing education at Fort Lewis College, she is the Emcee for the Spotlight to Stardom talent search.  Sophie is also involved with the 2008 and 2009 Durango Independent Film Festival as the ‘Chair of Feature Films’, which fires her passion for film. 

In March of 2008, Sophie was given the opportunity to direct and manage the historic Strater Hotel’s theatre, The Henry Strater Theatre (formerly the Diamond Circle) which is set to take Durango to the next level in professional live entertainment.