Meet the Educators: Olivia C.
Olivia returns for a second year at Speak About It and is looking forward to another transformative year on the road.
Her bio may read, "Olivia is a Boston-based actress and occasional barista," but that description just scratches the surface when it comes to Speak About It educator and actor, Olivia Caputo.
A NYU Tisch School of the Arts graduate, she's been in numerous productions in the Boston area, and brings energy and experience to stage in Speak About It. Olivia is also passionate about language—whether that's foreign languages (she's fluent in Spanish) or affirmative language about sex and consent—she loves it all!
Being an educator with Speak About It is no easy task: there's the long hours in the mini-van with your cast mates, the wild tour schedule, and the tough conversations you have with students, staff, and fellow educators about sexual violence. But, in many ways, these challenges are what make Speak About It one of the most rewarding jobs out there. And, as a finisher of many half marathons and tough mudders, Olivia is clearly no stranger to a challenge.
Learn a little more about Olivia and why she's diving back in for a second year.
Why do you love working with Speak About It?
I have learned a lot from this show. Hearing it over and over again has made me realize the importance of this work and of consent for all of us in college and beyond. It has helped teach me how to better respect people, whether it's by working to use their preferred pronoun or by leaving them space to absorb this information at their own pace and in their own way.
Our boss, Shane, always says that we're doing this for the one person in every audience who really needs it, and I don’t see why we as educators can't be included in that count. I needed this show too. I am a more compassionate person thanks to this show.
You’re on year two, what do you hope to learn on tour this year?
Spending a couple weeks going everywhere with the same five people teaches you a lot about yourself. I’m excited to see what getting to know a new and different group of people will do for the way I take space in the world, and how it will change my performance in the show and in future productions.
What's your favorite self care practice?
I really like to work out, and, especially on tour, running was a great way to grab some alone time and get some exercise. I’d go early in the morning and take my phone; I got some beautiful photos up near Colby and at Williams. I also cannot perform without doing my vocal warm-ups. That's an important ritual for me.
You’re an actor: why is theater an important way to share Speak About It's message with students?
We’re getting to these students in a sea of orientation events, and all of a sudden, here we are, this group of young people making terrible dad jokes and telling them about how sex can be great or how it's okay to wait for whatever reason and then we give them tools to make it so. I think that theatrical contrast can provide comic relief, but also help to reach them and help them have an amazing college experience.
If you had to give a TED talk on something, what would it be?
Something to do with linguistics and translation Even the gendering of language could be a good jumping off point. As my Spanish teacher, Señora Furste, used to say, “los problemas son masculinos; las resoluciones son femeninas” (“Problems are male; resolutions are female”).
We're looking forward to having Olivia back for another year...and can't wait to hear her future TED talk on gender linguistics too!
Olivia and cast-mates in D.C. for a show this Spring.