Back to ABOUT

INTERVIEW WITH BOBBIE OLSEN

So, I took drama and the drama teacher and I had a wonderful relationship. So I had The Best Actress Award in senior year and went to college planning to major in drama, but I was too chicken to try out for the first play. I switched to English and wrote reviews for the campus plays.

Christian: How about after college?

Bobbie: After college, I went into advertising as a copywriter. And I like to say I wrote 60-second dramas for LifeSavers and other products. And in New York we were all obsessed with theatre in the early 60s. Anybody in advertising talked about theater as much as we talked about our work. And it was so easy to go to shows. You could get standing room for 10 bucks. So my roommates and I would wait until a really snowy night when all those Connecticut people didn't want to come to New York, and we'd get standing room and we'd look around. During the second act we could go sit down in one of those empty seats. 

Christian: From those early experiences, what are some shows that really stick out in your memory? 

Bobbie: Well, I continue to be the queen of seeing understudies. I do remember seeing Camelot and missing Robert Goulet, who was the big thing. And lately, I can't tell you how many understudies I have seen go on for the hot star. I also remember in high school going to see Plain and Fancy, which was set in Amish country. And I just remember at the beginning, they had this map of the area, and they had plugged in all the names of the towns around there, and some of them were hysterical. Why I remember these things, God knows.

Christian: What was your first experience with The Sharon Playhouse?

Bobbie: Well, I remember David Sims being after me to join the Board, and I kept saying, "No, no, no." And then finally I said, "If you'll let me start a patrons program," which we called an Angels program, I said, "I will do that” because Manhattan Theatre Club has a gangbusters patrons program, and I could organize that with my eyes closed because I had such a good model. So that's why I joined the Board.

Christian: And how has The Theatre changed since then?

Bobbie: Well, I think it went up and down. It was always perilous on the edge financially, but the productions got better. I think John Simpkins was the start of a new era. What I remember is that he did an amazing job with Merrily We Roll Along, which is now getting kudos in New York for its revival. It was great at The Sharon Playhouse, and we did a talk back and we had all kinds of people from the original production talking to us. It was really good. It bothers me that The New York Times is not giving The Sharon Playhouse credit!

So, there's that, but it still was up and down. And it's gone through some changes of leadership. And now, I think, we have two guys at the top who are not only working well together, but they're working brilliantly for The Playhouse. And I just expect a continuance of this past season, which I thought was terrific.

Christian: What about this season and leadership gives you hope in the future?

Bobbie: Well, first of all, the variety. I mean, the choices that they made, like Something Rotten, was just, for me so unexpected because I didn't know of the show, although it was done in New York, and that was terrific. A couple of the performances were real standouts. All the production values this year have been terrific. And Oliver! It just broke my heart that Covid closed it.

Michael Baldwin can get so much out of our local kids. It blows my mind. And not to mention the adults who were terrific too. There were a few Equity actors in that who were terrific. And Savannah Stevenson was great. I mean, it was a perfect example of lots of local kids, some local actors, and Equity actors. And I thought he did a really good job of softening the difficulty of that show. And then Our Town, I think, was a brilliant show to choose. And I love that they were sitting in the swings in the graveyard. It was a brilliant choice; except I understand from the actors that it was really uncomfortable to sit on the swings!

That Michael Baldwin, he's got brilliant ideas to expand the education program. I'm not going to be on this earth to see all these things come into fruition, because he's got plans for years and years. And I have every good faith that he'll do it.

Christian: You mentioned other theaters that you were involved with. Can you tell us a little bit about them?

Bobbie: I was a big cheerleader for the Academy Festival Theatre in Lake Forest, Illinois. That was really an interesting summer theater where a lot of sort of edgy things were tried out. And then I moved to Houston, I was very involved with the Alley Theatre as a board member and president of the Alley Guild, which was a support group. When I became president of the Guild, I tripled the membership from 100 to 300 in a year because it had been a somewhat closed group and I wanted to encourage more people to join. Like so many organizations, there was a core group that really wanted to run the show, and I tried to make it accessible and welcoming to all.

And from Houston, we went to New York. And I joined The York Theatre board. It was an interesting theater that is now housed in a Lutheran Church. When I joined, we were putting on plays in the all-purpose room of the day school of The Church of the Heavenly Rest, or celestial snooze as my husband David used to call it. And then I joined The Manhattan Theatre Club board 30 plus years ago. I joined the MTC board because I've always been interested in arts education for kids from the time my kids were little in school. MTC was starting its education program, where professional teaching artists go into classrooms and discuss an upcoming MTC play, and at the end of the class unit the students come to see the show for the first time and participate in a talkback. When I joined it was a $20,000 pilot program, and it was soon over $1,000,000. It is really the guiding star for any theater that wants to do professional theater education. Finally, I’ve been involved with The Riverside Theatre in Vero Beach for a decade or so, and they’ve just told me that they are naming the second stage series after me, which is lovely.

Christian: From all these experiences, is there anything The Playhouse could and should learn that you haven't already instituted in your many years of involvement?

Bobbie: I think your newsletter is a sign that you're spreading the word. I think it needs more publicity. I think it needs time to tell everybody that this is a theater that's going to not only thrive but also offer amazing productions to everyone. I mean, if this season is any example, I think that's going to help a whole bunch.

We were in an artistic committee meeting at MTC once, and they were moaning and groaning because we'd gotten a bad review on something, and I said, "You cannot promise that the audience will love everything you choose, but you can promise them a fantastic production because that's within your control."

Christian: Are you a patron of any other arts? Are you a dance fan, an opera fan?

Bobbie: Well, actually David hated opera. So, I'm learning to like it now through the opera productions that are televised or shown in the movie theaters. I am also now learning to like ballet again. David did not like ballet. He only liked contemporary dance. And because of The Bolshoi being offered in the movie theaters, I am going to more ballet even though it's on the screen and not in person. 

Christian: You mentioned David earlier. Was he also a big patron of the arts? Did he love theater as much as you did?

Bobbie: Actually, he loved me, and I love theater. So, he liked theater a lot.

C.S. LEWIS' MASTERPIECE, THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, DEBUTS AT THE SHARON PLAYHOUSE DEC. 13-17

 The young Lewis was definitely not your average toddler. He was reading from the age of three and by five, being influenced by children's author Beatrix Potter, he had started writing stories about a fantasy land populated by dressed animals. Selections of those early stories were collected in Boxen: The Imaginary World of the Young C.S. Lewis (1985).

Lewis grew up in a family of readers that included his father (Albert Lewis), who was a solicitor; and his mother (Florence Hamilton Lewis), who was a college graduate at a time when it was uncommon for women to earn degrees; and his older brother Warren or “Warnie.”

Lewis and his brother received their early education at home and then attended English boarding schools. While at these schools Lewis was made fun of by both students and the faculty because of his vivid Irish accent. It took him many years to get over his animosity towards the English for this treatment. But he went on to be prepped for the University of Oxford entrance exams and he won a scholarship in classics to University College.

After serving in France with the Somerset Light Infantry in World War I Lewis began his studies at Oxford, where he achieved an outstanding record, became a renowned tutor and later a professor of medieval and Renaissance English.

Lewis originally planned to be a poet and then a philosopher. Though these careers didn't work out, he did get a second degree at Oxford in English Literature and was able to teach it instead of philosophy. Though he earned only a modest salary as an educator, Lewis set up a charitable trust to give away whatever money he received from his book royalties.

His friends were fellow writers at Oxford, who called themselves The Inklings, and they strongly influenced him as they read aloud their works in progress and critiqued each other. Lewis’ writer friends included J.R.R. Tolkien, who shared some of a massive myth he was creating about Middle Earth. Apparently Tolkien suffered from bouts of writer's block that could last for years at a time and Lewis gave him the encouragement and prodding that he needed to get through these spells and complete The Lord of the Rings. 

Don't miss seeing The Sharon Playhouse version of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. 

THE HEALING POWER OF THEATER: HOW LIVE THEATER CAN BE THERAPEUTIC IN STRESSFUL TIMES

The immediacy of live theater is intended to transport us to another world and create a unique relationship between performers on the stage and those in the audience. A seething drama can pull you into a conflict, or an intellectual exercise can challenge us to consider (or reconsider) our beliefs. We in the audience are not merely observers; we are participants in the creative process, as performers need us as much as we need them.  “Attending a live performance creates a special bond between the performers and the audience,” says Lakeville and New York City resident Astrid Baumgardner, JD. She’s the author of Creative Success Now: How Creatives Can Thrive in the 21st Century, a lecturer at Yale University's School of Music, and a TEDx 2020 speaker, Cracking the Code on Creativity. “My students at Yale – all professional musicians – feel inspired by the presence of the audience. This, in turn, fuels their desire to make great art and to provide the audience with the transformative power of live, communal performance, to elevate us from our day-to-day lives, to inspire us with the beauty and power of music and to comfort us in challenging times.”

In his book All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me, author Patrick Bringley describes his transition from a publishing job to a becoming a guard at the Met, following the death of his brother, as a coping mechanism. Unfettered by other responsibilities, he spent his days steeped in works of art, both famous and obscure. He considered it in a way not possible when one is rushing through the museum.

Much has been written about the use of art and drama therapy in treating people with anxiety disorders. Yet surprisingly little exists about the therapeutic value of attending live theater as a member of the audience.

When we’re absorbed in a situation that is created on the stage by talented performers, we can become a part of it, sometimes forgetting time and our surroundings, and losing ourselves in the creative process. This state has been referred to as ‘flow.’ It is a feeling that allows us to focus on the present moment and moves us away from current anxieties in our lives. The experience can expand our own world, facilitate empathy, take us out of our habitual way of thinking, and allow us to discover new ideas and sometimes new ways of coping.

All of these developments are expressions of a creative process that allows us to shift from current anxieties into areas that bring us to a more hopeful place,” writes clinical psychologist Sophia Richman, Ph.D., author of Mended by the Muse: Creative Transformations of Trauma.

Richman adds: “The experience of good theater is also one that is shared with others and can provide a sense of community. Often when we go to the theater with friends, we have an opportunity to discuss our experiences and reactions to the show. This can expand our perspective and encourage us to look at things in a new way. Discovery, curiosity, surprise are the hallmarks of the creative process. As we watch this taking place on the stage, we experience our own version of the creative process within ourselves.”

With credit to freelance writers Nicole Hilbig, Ghessica De Leon and Adrienne Wyper, who frequently write on theater arts and health, here are eight benefits of going to the theater, and the influence it has on the audience:

1. Theater Leads to a Better Understanding of the Drama

The theater gives us, through its strong staging power and the live experience, a new perception potential in which further perspectives open up for us. This gives spectators a diverse understanding of the drama and the plot as well as the characters.

In addition, research has shown that students who attend a live production of a play they are reading in school have a significantly better understanding of what is on the page.

2. Theater Improves Attention Ability

In a play, we cannot pause and rewind if we do not understand something immediately, like in a film. We are forced to listen and consciously get involved in the exciting staging, to concentrate more and, in particular, to observe and analyze the gestures, facial expressions and the spoken word. In these ways we consciously strengthen our senses and can perceive, grasp, and understand the play in a much more diverse way – and without distraction from the outside.

3. Theater Is a Natural Form of Self-Expression and Creativity

The theater enables a mode of expression that corresponds to the natural urge of humans, even if this subsides with age. It is natural to use your physical expression on emotional outburst; no one can show emotions without the body being involved.

Theater, with its special form of self-expression, actually complements the roles we all play in everyday life.

4. Theater Opens the Mind and Imagination

Everyone experiences a theater production according to their own values and ideas, regardless of how strongly the director has given a picture. The form of representation at the theater always leaves room for creative, imaginative worlds of thought and interpretations.

5. There is Immediacy Only in the Theater

The immediacy that we spectators experience live, how the characters express their feelings with words and immediately process them, let us feel the power of action with every word. Perceiving the interactions of the people live is fascinating and is unique to the theater.

6. Theater Promotes the Emotional Experience

The fact that the viewer concentrates particularly on what is happening in the theater itself stimulates the ability to perceive. As spectators, we perceive every gesture, facial expression or action, every word, every scream and every emotional expression much more strongly than in other media. As a result, we experience emotions in the actors and consequently also in other people much more directly and learn to assess them better.

We get a better sense of minor internal emotional changes, both from ourselves and from others, and can react to them much faster. Live theater strengthens our empathy and sensitivity, for which we are often very much appreciated, especially by our fellow human beings.

7. Theater Promotes Tolerance and the Social Structure

When we experience discriminatory or unjust topics live on stage, an event in which we cannot intervene, we learn to perceive such moments more consciously and to be more open-minded in dealing with our fellow human beings.

Empathy is a person’s ability to relate to one another, whether it is the other person’s feelings or his thoughts. According to a study made by Joelle Arden for the International Conference on Performing Arts in Language Learning, the capacity to share, react, and understand the lived experience of others through performance could increase one’s emphatic levels and lower sensitivity to rejection.

Theater is one of those means to appeal human emotion. What separates live theater from a television program, or a movie is that audiences consume and share emotions in real-time with actual, flesh-and-blood human beings – the performers.

8. The Theater Influences Our Character and the Way We Think

The psychologist Gustave Le Bon explains in his work “The Psychology of the Crowds,” from 1895, how strongly the theater can exert an influence on us. That reason is our emotionality. As spectators, we are left to the atmosphere of the theater room. It takes us under its spell and leaves us to our very own instincts and feelings.

The more we get involved in the staging, the easier it is for the thoughts and emotions to overcome us. We experience the unheard of, experience injustice, experience love, experience grief, experience happiness and joy.

According to researchers, the effects of seeing a play or a musical aren’t just emotional; they are physical too. Watching shows and musicals is a great way to raise your heartbeat without ever leaving your seat, say scientists. According to research, watching a live performance can have the same impact on your heart as almost half an hour’s cardio exercise.

Based on research commissioned by major theatre organizations, the audience’s focus on the events on stage puts them into a state of ‘flow’ -- a sense of total engagement and concentration that’s associated with positive feelings such as happiness and fulfillment.

And being part of that has the same benefits as being part of a community – if only for a couple of hours – heightening the impact because we have a sense of it being a shared experience.

Look at the myriad ways that The Sharon Playhouse has touched our community and beyond.

Here are some of the achievements of The Sharon Playhouse during the just-concluded 2023 season (but please do watch out for our youth Holiday Show, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, playing December 13-17 in the Bok):

·   Provided jobs for 250 professional theater artists, actors, technicians, musicians, and educators

·   Welcomed 16,000 patrons to the Playhouse

·   Offered over 95 live, in-person performances of 22 theater productions

·   Produced 10 fully staged youth productions, four of which were original works

·   Offered 55 on-site educational theater classes for more than 700 students and participate in three off-site school residencies with 300 students

·   Provided theater education and training to more than 1,000 students

So put down your phone, stop streaming, never mind the SM posts – and join the experience of live theater. There’s nothing, literally nothing, like it!

Thank you all for your patronage The Sharon Playhouse’s record-breaking 2023 season. And stay tuned for announcements about upcoming productions and the 2024 season. For more information – and to make a donation to help us keep you mentally and physically fit healthy – please go to www.sharonplayhouse.org.

A Berkie -- Something Terrific Out of Something Rotten

The Seventh Annual Berkshire Theatre Awards (Berkies) were held in November, and The Sharon Playhouse production of Something Rotten won the award for “Outstanding Production of a Musical.”

We asked Amy Griffin (Director) and Justin Boccitto (Choreographer) what made this production so special.

Amy said: “I think the success of the show is a result of the talents of so many—the creative team, cast, and all the staff at Sharon all brought their A-game. Something Rotten is a fantastic piece, and I think the “secret weapon" our production had was that everyone onstage was giving a true comic acting performance. When you assemble a cast for a farce, it’s not enough for someone to sing beautifully or to be a highly-skilled dancer; the full company, both principals and ensemble, must have a wonderful sense of comedy and be brave enough to dive into big comic acting choices. As the director, my job was to encourage everyone to embrace their funny and to fully commit to a comic acting performance. Everyone in our company--from the Broadway veterans to the talented young artists making their professional debuts--leapt in with both feet into the hilarious comic world we were creating! It brought me so much joy as a director.”

According to Justin: “The success of the show relied heavily on the cast. We had a tremendous amount of talent on stage, and I believe all the performers really elevated the material. I also think that Something Rotten pushed the envelope for our audiences regarding content. The musical is a more edgy, modern show but still had something for everyone!”

ENCORE CORNER

MEET THE TEAM BEHIND CURTAIN UP!

Publisher: The Sharon Playhouse Editor-in-Chief: Emily Soell, President of the Board of Directors*
Editor/Reporter: Jacqueline Markham-Priaulx*
Managing Editor: Rod Christensen
Design Director: Justin Boccitto
Reporters: Lee Davies,* John Christian Lange*
Advisors: Carl Andress, Artistic Director; Michael Kevin Baldwin, Associate Artistic Director/Director of Education; Sarah Cuoco, Education & Company Manager & Wendy Prause, Business Manager

*Members of the Board of Directors

All of us at Curtain Up! thank you for reading our newsletter. We send you our Best Wishes for a Happy Holiday and New Year!!!

Back to ABOUT