BELOW, ready for her close up. Since childhood actress and drama teacher Asa Olsson has wanted a theater, and now carpinteria’s Plaza Playhouse Theater is it.
Interview by MArK BrIcKLEy Photos by frAn cOLLIn
any know asa olsson as the Cultural arts Director for Girls Inc., where hundreds of young women have benefi ted from her mentoring and drama instruction. fewer may recall that olsson’s journey to Carpinteria began in orsa, sweden.
she was 9 years old when swedish fi lm director Ingmar Bergman made
the acclaimed drama “Virgin spring” near her hometown. olsson’s father took her to see the fi lming each day. that early memory foreshadowed her lifelong passion for acting. olsson became a successful swedish actress featured in stage, radio, and television productions. Before moving to the united states she toured with sweden’s leading theater troupe, svenska riksteatern, in the 1960s and ’70s.
now retired from Girls Inc., olsson is playing two new roles in her life ‒ that of board president and artistic director of the plaza playhouse theater on Carpinteria avenue. like all her other roles, this is one she was born to play.
Q: did you develop your
acting talent in sweden? I always wanted to become an actress. From as early as I can remember I created my own plays. We went from house to house to present them. My dad supported me. He was a businessman but an artist at heart. My mother was a painter. I was admitted to an apprentice acting program in high school. Then I went to Stockholm. It’s where theater really happens in Sweden. It’s really alive there. My acting took me all over the country. I worked with one of Sweden’s largest acting troupes for 12 years.
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