April Olt lives and breathes theater.
Her parents had a saying when she was a child: “She has two volumes – loud and louder.” Her love for performing arts evolved from youth theater to high school productions to earning a BFA in theater performance at Illinois Wesleyan University and an MFA at Roosevelt University Chicago College of Performing Arts in directing.
It’s safe to assume she’s experienced.
“I would hope!” Olt says, laughing.
While she always adored being on stage acting, after taking all kinds of performing arts classes in college, she realized what she really wanted to do – direct.
Jeffrey S. Hall Photography
“It took me until then to realize how I’d been seeing theater all along,” she says. “Through the lens of a director – seeing the big picture, blocking and places where each actor goes. … I was good at it.”
After living in Chicago and New York City, Olt returned to Ohio where she settled in Columbus, a city she says is underrated in artistic support and opportunities. She worked for several theater companies around the city including SRO Theater Company, Curtain Players and Gallery of Players at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Columbus. In 2012, she accepted a job as theater director at Grandview Heights High School.
Immediately, Olt – or admiringly dubbed Ms. April – made waves in the school’s performing arts program. For one thing, she refuses to treat her students differently because of their age.
“Until I moved here, I hadn’t done children’s theater because most of my work had been with adults,” she says. “So, I treat them just like I would professionals. I have high expectations and they live up to them.”
To emphasize this point further, during performances, Olt sits in the audience rather than backstage, a move that certainly had everyone scratching their heads at first.
“My belief is it’s my job as a theater educator to make myself irrelevant,” she says. “I let my students run the whole show because that’s how they’re going to step up and learn.”
This boost of independence allows the students to own the show, awarding them a sense of pride and entitlement during and following the production.
“The first show I did at Grandview, I sat in the audience and there was a ton of reactions and whispering,” Olt says, laughing. “I thought, ‘Where else should I be?’”
GHHS is one of the smallest public schools in central Ohio, but that doesn’t hinder student involvement. In fact, participating students come from all backgrounds, making the performances a gumbo of athletes, engineers, actors and more.
“It’s really great to see all the different group dynamics come together,” Olt says. “The parent’s chip in, the community helps and everyone gets involved.”
Just one moment of satisfaction in her years of directing was during a performance of Legally Blonde. A student, Anna Field, was stage manager, and Olt brought in a professional to teach and help her through the process. On the night of the show, Olt told her she would call and oversee the performance all by herself.
“You could see the pride in her face,” Olt says. “She was thankful that I trusted her.”
In the middle of the show, a minor hitch happened and Field was forced to make an executive decision. Moments such as this allow students to take charge and learn real responsibility without an adult hovering over their shoulder telling them what to do, Olt says.
The day we spoke to Olt, she was actually preparing to hold auditions for the winter play, She Kills Monsters: A Young Adventurer’s Edition. Already, more kids have signed up to participate in the show than any performance since she started at GHHS.
This is the first school play featuring a LGBTQ+ character in the school’s production history. The plot tells the story of outcasts needing a place to express themselves and be who they feel they are, not how others see them. So many students want to be a part of this show that teaches acceptance and differences.“
As a director, your performances are every rehearsal,” she says. “I get this excitement when an actor discovers a character, finds a moment or makes a connection – it’s constant gratification.”
While her love for theater is apparent and she enjoys what she does, Olt’s attitude is what takes her position from a job to a passion.
“It’s not just about me,” she says. “It’s about giving that knowledge and creating a positive, artistic environment where everyone can be themselves.”
Upcoming Shows
She Kills Monsters: A Young Adventurer’s Edition
Nov. 7-9 | Grandview Heights High School
The Music Man
March 5-7, 2020 | Grandview Heights High School
Mallory Arnold is an associate editor. Feedback welcome at marnold@cityscenemediagroup.com.
