Davidson Community Players is pleased to welcome Todd Olson to its staff as our Artistic Director. Olson brings over thirty years of experience in professional and community theater to the region as an accomplished director and theater administrator. Olson’s experience includes leading The Historic Palace Theatre in Crossville, TN, The Chattanooga Theatre Centre, and the American Stage Theatre Company in St. Petersburg, FL. Todd has directed over 150 plays, musicals, and operas, including My Way (which he co-created) at the Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, and I Left My Heart (also co-created) at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre. Some critically-acclaimed productions, including Stones in His Pockets, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Much Ado About Nothing, Anna in the Tropics, The Seafarer, Suddenly Last Summer, Three Days of Rain, The Exonerated (with Sandy Duncan and Antonio Tarver), I Am My Own Wife, Dennis Lehane’s Coronado, Dinner with Friends, This Wonderful Life, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, August: Osage County, Wit, The Birds, and Around the World in 80 Days.
As a playwright, his works include Casa Blue, the last moments in the life of Frida Kahlo, and Joe Corso Re-Enters from the Wings, which won the 2012 Holland New Voices Playwright Award at the Great Plains Theatre Conference. His most recent play, Althea & Angela, is currently on tour with Knoxville’s WordPlayers Theatre. Todd received his M.F.A. from The University of North Carolina and is a graduate from the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard. He was a teaching fellow at Harvard, and has taught classes at Vanderbilt, Boston University, University of North Carolina, and the University of South Florida. “I like DCP’s history and leadership. It’s exciting to join this team and make Davidson my home”, states Todd. Todd is married to his wife Charlotte, and is father to Jonas, Corinna, and May.
DCP’s Executive Director Matt Merrell is thrilled to welcome the new Artistic Director. “The cultural scene in the entire region will be enriched by having Todd at the helm of DCP’s artistic endeavors, “said Merrell. “The whole community is fortunate to have attracted someone of his extraordinary talents.”