Sotera Perez
An Artist Profile
Barista, bass player, director, writer, costume designer. Sotera Perez is the complete package when it comes to the arts.
Perez makes a mean cup of coffee. Probably the best in Sitka. An art unto itself. But after she leaves her day job, her artistry begins in earnest.
Growing up in a military family, Perez describes herself as very shy. “My mom looked for ways to get me involved in school activities. Drama Club and Glee Club were the best fits for me.” Even after her family left the military, they moved around a lot. “No matter where you live, theater kids are the same. They accept everyone for who they are.”
When she was 9, Perez had her first stage debut in The King and I. Perez laughs, “I was the only person of Asian descent in the entire production.” However, most of her early years in theater were spent behind the scenes. She helped paint sets, hang costumes, and attend to wardrobe malfunctions. These all led to her love of theater.
“No matter where you live, theater kids are the same. They accept everyone for who they are.”
Perez first came to Sitka to attend Sheldon Jackson College and major in Marine Biology. She originally wanted to study theater or culinary arts, but both were nixed by her mother. “At college I connected with Jan Craddick and the Baranof Theater Guild. I was primarily an actor and the plays were mostly melodramas.”
The group folded in the early 2000’s with a final Guerilla Theater production. “It is a style of theater that is meant to be a surprise. A type of pop-up - where the message is nearly as important as how it’s presented.” The production was at The Backdoor Café with at least 50 people in the audience - standing room only? “It was the ancient Greek play Lysistrata, where the women protest their men going off to war by withholding sex. Clearly, guerilla theater tends to be edgy.”
For about 10 years there was not much theater in Perez’s life. During that time, however, her arts adventures continued. She, along with three of her friends, challenged themselves to learn a handful of
songs for the Sitka Monthly Grind. Perez had previously bought herself a bass violin, but didn’t get serious until setting this goal. “Two of us wanted to play punk music and two wanted to perform country, so the result was rockabilly.”
“It was different and edgy. Everyone loved the intrigue and the twists and turns. It really challenged us all.”
“Two of us wanted to play punk music and two wanted to perform country, so the result was rockabilly.”
The Sugar Shakers, as they called themselves, were a rousing success. “Response was so good that we decided to learn more music and just one year later, we opened for the Stardust Ball.” Over the years, the band gained and lost members and eventually morphed into Los Shotgun Locos.
With the more recent advent of Sitka Community Theater, the brainchild of Shannon Haughland and Ed Ronco, Perez put her theater hat back on. After she wrote and directed a piece for Radio Adventure Hour, Ronco steered Perez into directing a series of one acts. Thus, a director is born.
In 2016, Perez directed Sitka Community Theater’s first musical, Putnam County Spelling Bee. “It was a tremendous hit and well received.” Then in 2024, Danielle Mohlman’s Frankenstein pushed Perez and the community to a new limit. “I wanted to provoke the audience as well as the actors.” This adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel explores monsters and the women who create them. “It was different and edgy. Everyone loved the intrigue and the twists and turns. It really challenged us all.”
Sitka Community Theater will mount a production of Rock of Ages in spring of 2025, with Perez at the helm. For more information, visit sitkaartscouncil.org and follow GSAC Sitka Community Theater on Facebook.
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