OLIVIA HARTLE
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Olivia has had quite the adventures as of late. She recently directed Destiny is Judd Nelson, a hard hitting tale about New Yorkers trying to find their way, performed at the New York International Fringe Festival this summer. Busy as Olivia is, serving as the Artistic Director of BIG Theatre Company founded by CPTG alumni, teaching improv comedy and mentoring our own improv team The SJU Bad Astronauts, or just being awesome, she took some time to chat with us. |
Olivia in GRIMM: The Musical
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"WE WORKED REALLY, REALLY HARD TO BRING OUR
CRAZY IDEAS TO LIFE!"
How did you transition from college to the real world?
Immediately after graduating, I landed an audition and was cast by the Walt Disney Company as a character performer at Disney World. I moved to Orlando and worked there for a summer, and I absolutely hated it. I returned to New York and started auditioning, performing and taking classes, while working 3 part-time jobs. I remember at one point I was feeling particularly downtrodden about what it actually felt like to be “chasing your dreams” in New York City, and fellow Chappell Players alumna, Leeanne G-Bowley, gave me the most perfect analogy for the post-graduation transition. She said that graduating from college and transitioning to the real works is akin to being born -- it’s a change as great as going from breathing amniotic fluid to breathing oxygen. Hearing that really helped me put things into perspective. I realized that I had to learn how to breathe in a new way in order to be in this new world.
Did being involved in the Chappell Players prepare you for life after college? How so?
Absolutely! Being a Chappell Player has taught me one of the most absolutely invaluable lessons of my life: how to successfully work with a team. Us Chappell Players spent so many hours, such long days and nights, honing this skill -- and we made a lot of mistakes. But we learned how to build with our mistakes, to utilize everyone’s individual strengths, and to support each other to stretch and grow. And we worked really, really hard to bring our crazy ideas to life. Under Nick Caccavo’s leadership, we created environments where we could brilliantly succeed and brilliantly fail -- and we kept getting back up to do it all over again.
Immediately after graduating, I landed an audition and was cast by the Walt Disney Company as a character performer at Disney World. I moved to Orlando and worked there for a summer, and I absolutely hated it. I returned to New York and started auditioning, performing and taking classes, while working 3 part-time jobs. I remember at one point I was feeling particularly downtrodden about what it actually felt like to be “chasing your dreams” in New York City, and fellow Chappell Players alumna, Leeanne G-Bowley, gave me the most perfect analogy for the post-graduation transition. She said that graduating from college and transitioning to the real works is akin to being born -- it’s a change as great as going from breathing amniotic fluid to breathing oxygen. Hearing that really helped me put things into perspective. I realized that I had to learn how to breathe in a new way in order to be in this new world.
Did being involved in the Chappell Players prepare you for life after college? How so?
Absolutely! Being a Chappell Player has taught me one of the most absolutely invaluable lessons of my life: how to successfully work with a team. Us Chappell Players spent so many hours, such long days and nights, honing this skill -- and we made a lot of mistakes. But we learned how to build with our mistakes, to utilize everyone’s individual strengths, and to support each other to stretch and grow. And we worked really, really hard to bring our crazy ideas to life. Under Nick Caccavo’s leadership, we created environments where we could brilliantly succeed and brilliantly fail -- and we kept getting back up to do it all over again.
Olivia backstage for Urinetown with Michael Wirsch and Jon Randhawa
What is your favorite Chappell Players memory?
I have so many!! I’m really nostalgic. But one that stands out for me is the end of my freshman year, when we had to clean out the old theatre to prepare for the big renovation. We sifted through decades of history that night, which sparked so many questions, conversations, ideas, memories and laughs, and we spent the whole night working together. At one point, in the wee-hours of the morning, we had constructed a giant garbage pile in the middle of the stage, and we created a little performance where Joe Cantalupo was the Garbage King and we were all dwellers of the Garbage Kingdom. There was singing, dancing, bizarre storylines and outrageous characters. It was beautiful and insane and absolutely magical… like so many of the things we did together.
Any advice for Chappies?
Do something. That’s advice that Mick Napier (founder and artistic director of the Annoyance Theatre) tells improvisors who don’t know how to start a scene. If you do something, and then build with it by saying “yes, and…”, you will make discoveries. Then from there, you just keep doing, building, yes-and’ing, and discovering. And that’s life. Do something!
Do something. That’s advice that Mick Napier (founder and artistic director of the Annoyance Theatre) tells improvisors who don’t know how to start a scene. If you do something, and then build with it by saying “yes, and…”, you will make discoveries. Then from there, you just keep doing, building, yes-and’ing, and discovering. And that’s life. Do something!
