Detroiter plays a key role in 'Single Drunk Female,' the buzzworthy new comedy on Freeform

Sasha Compére vividly remembers her favorite role from her acting days at Marian High School in Bloomfield Hills.

As a teen, she played an older, tipsy actress in a production of "You Can't Take It With You," the 1938 Oscar-winning movie from director Frank Capra.

"They put all the lines on my face and sprayed my hair white, and I had on this muumuu," she recalls with a laugh. "I was the slightly inebriated older grandmother on the couch, so it definitely helped me with comedy."

The Detroit native is still succeeding in comic roles, only now she's part of the ensemble cast of Freeform's "Single Drunk Female," a new comedy that's getting strong reviews for its honest, nuanced look at a young woman who's confronting her alcoholism and starting a journey to sobriety.

The show is created and executive-produced by Simone Finch, who told Television Critics Association members in January that the idea came from her own experiences with overcoming addiction after her father died.

Sofia Black-D'Elia plays Sam, whose firing after showing up drunk to her online media job forces her to return home to live with her widowed mom (Ally Sheedy) and begin taking the essential steps toward recovery.

Compére portrays Brit, a young doctor who is Sam's former best friend and also engaged to be married to Joel (Charlie Hall), Sam's ex-boyfriend.

"Single Drunk Female" also stars Rebecca Henderson as Sam's Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor Olivia, Lily Mae Harrington as Sam's friend and former drinking pal Lily, Garrick Bernard as fellow AA member James and Jojo Brown as Sam's grocery store boss Mindy.

Thursday's season-ending episode is a crucial one for Compére's character. Brit, who has her own anxieties (that were explored last week), is feeling jitters on her wedding day that "lead her to make an unexpected decision," according to the episode guide.

Compére is sworn to secrecy about the details, but she will admit that she is "really excited, really, really excited" about the episode's arrival. According to her, Brit is "coming a bit to her wit's end, I would say, and starting to question choices she's made."

For Compére, this is a career moment that has come after much hard work to remain in the business and land crucial breakthrough parts.

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Born in Detroit, she grew up on the west side near 8 Mile and Greenfield and still returns home for about a month each year to spend time with her family (now based in Oak Park) and enjoy the many things she loves about the city and the region, including its coney island restaurants.

"As soon as I get to the (Detroit Metropolitan) airport, I'm at a Leo's in the terminal," she says.

Compére's parents both moved to the United States from Haiti, but they met each other in Michigan. Like many new Americans, she says, her parents probably hoped she would pursue a career in something steadier than acting. Still, at about age 9, she found support for her early dreams of being onstage.

"My mother, I convinced her to drive me up to Buffalo, New York, to go to one of those John Robert Powers contests," says Compére, warning that she is about to share an embarrassing story. After she made it to the second round, "I was doubled over in pain and I thought I was maybe dying or having an appendix attack." It turned out she had a stomachache from a bad case of gas.

After she didn't make it through to the next round, she says: "I told my mom in the car, 'It's OK, I want to finish my education.'"

For her college entrance essay for the University of Michigan, Compére wrote about "the feeling I get when I step onstage, just before the curtain opens." Although she got her degree in business, she also took theater courses and became part of the campus theater scene. She shared mutual friends with fellow student Darren Criss, the future star of "Glee.

After college, Compére moved to New York and spent a few years juggling jobs in corporate sales with theater classes and auditions. Eventually, she reassessed her goals through the lens of some longtime advice from her mother.

" 'It's better to fail knowing that you tried' is what she would say. So I took that to heart and I moved to California."

Compére was working days in marketing at the OWN network and nights at a restaurant when she landed the role that she says changed her life. She was cast as the sincere, awkward Laura in the 2019 season of the inventive TBS comedy "Miracle Workers" starring Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi.

From there, she co-starred with Anna Kendrick on the 2020 season of HBO Max's comedy anthology "Love Life" and appeared in the 2020 independent movie "Uncorked," where she met a Motor City acting legend, Courtney B. Vance.

"We connected on that so much," says Compére of her hometown bond with Vance. "My parents were actually in town while we were filming, and we all talked about Detroit. He was the most gracious and respectful and kind and giving man I ever met. He really really taught me how to lead on set. He's fantastic."

In "Single Drunk Female," Compére's character isn't just the traditional, there-to-be-supportive friend of the lead actress. Brit is someone who has been hurt deeply by Sam and who, like each character in the complex interweaving of the story line, has to cope with her own issues.

Compére says Brit's feelings toward Sam are coming from a place of "now it's your turn to fix yourself."

"That's her (point of view) and I love being that friend who kind of stands up for herself and says ... 'I've tried to help you so many times, but now it's your journey.' I love how it's written. I love how it's funny. I love how it's real."

Another plus of the role? Working with Ally Sheedy, who is best-known for her role in the iconic '80s teen movie "The Breakfast Club." Had Compére seen the John Hughes classic before joining the series?

"Yes, I did, millions of times! And I didn't mention it until maybe the third time in the makeup chair," she says. "(Sheedy) is such a strong, strong artist and such a motivating and inspiring woman and friend. ... When you really see people behind the screen and as they are, it's really lovely to see they're just as amazing as the person you idolized growing up."

Interested in expanding into writing and producing, Compére is working at the moment on a story about her mother's emigration from Haiti to the United States, which she describes as "quite a journey."

She also looks forward to tackling dramatic roles in the future along with comedy. But whatever comes next, you sense that a part of her heart will always be in Detroit. Before saying goodbye during a phone interview, she has one more thing to disclose.

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She describes the mug that she bought at a holiday pop-up store in Campus Martius. Its slogan is, "Damn, it feels good to be a Michigangster."

Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic at jhinds@freepress.com.

'Single Drunk Female'

10:30 p.m. Thursday

Freeform

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 'Single Drunk Female' star Sasha Compére is still a Detroiter at heart