Amanda Soden is an actor who is proud to call Portland, Oregon home.  She has been active in its vibrant theatre community since 2004.

 

Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Amanda spent most of her childhood living in eastern and southern Africa and the Indian subcontinent.  Like many Africans, Amanda has a western name and an African name.  In honor of the Kenyan Luo tribe, her African name is Akinyi (which means born in the morning like a star).  She was bitten by the acting bug at age 10 when she was asked to star in a short television movie for Belgium TV.  The movie (The Stowaway) was filmed in refugee camps along the Afghan/Pakistani border.  She was paid in Mars chocolate bars - 1 per day, 2 on days where she was required to cry on camera.

 

Amanda earned her BA in Theatre & Philosophy from Principia College in Illinois and worked on her MFA in Acting at Kent State University in Ohio.  In July of 2004, she moved to Portland, Oregon to work with Michael Rohd's Sojourn Theatre.  With Sojourn, Amanda toured the state of Oregon in Witness Our Schools and was also cast in The Visit.

 

Amanda performed in the world premiere of Blind Ness : The Irresistible Light of Encouter, a devised piece conceived by Ping Chong and Michael Rohd, which opened at La MaMa Experimental Theatre in New York.  Amanda has worked locally at Portland Center Stage, Artists Repertory Theatre, Profile Theatre, Corrib Theatre, Theatre Vertigo, Northwest Children's Theatre, CoHo Theatre, Lakewood Theatre and Shaking-the-Tree Theatre among others.  She has also worked in southern California performing for Furious Theatre in LA and various other theatre companies in the Santa Barbara area.

 

Aside from acting, Amanda is an avid soccer fan who roots for her local Portland Timbers and Portland Thorns teams.  She is a fierce advocate for the welfare and rights of animals and proudly volunteers for the Oregon Humane Society.  Amanda loves to travel and her favorite place to see Shakespeare is at The Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.   She enjoys circuit-training, eating good food and dancing around to Michael Jackson music.  Her first celebrity crush was Clive Owen but he has since been replaced by Benedict Cumberbatch.  In addition to acting, Amanda also works as a mental health counselor.