Anyone who has ever had any interaction at all with Opera House Arts knows Linda Nelson, our Founding Executive Director and current Producing Artistic Director. But do you know enough about her outside of the Opera House? Of course not. We’re here to fix that.
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| Our fearless leader at age 3 (jaunty eye patch not pictured) |
Where did you grow up?
Stonington, Connecticut. I grew up as a…we called them wharf-rats. I grew up on and off the water. I had my first volunteering position at the Mystic Seaport.
How would your elementary school classmates remember you?
As a one eye – I had to wear a patch over my left eye – not because I was a pirate – but because I have amblyopia and that’s the treatment. You wear a patch over your good eye to strengthen your bad eye.
Name four fictional character with whom you’d be okay being stuck in an elevator. Why?
Harriet (from Harriet the Spy) – I was just like her. She’ll document our time in the elevator.
Beebo Brinker (from Beebo Brinker) – In the 1950’s, before it was cool to be gay, she moved from the hinterlands to New York City when it was all jazzy and beat. She was a real groundbreaker.
Tom Sawyer (from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer) – I love Tom because he’s a bee charmer. He can sweet talk anybody into following him anywhere, into any of his adventures, doing anything. I think it’s often a much maligned and neglected skill.
Katniss Everdeen (from The Hunger Games) – Well…that’s self evident. Whether we’re middle-aged women or young women, she’s the swashbuckling heroine of our times. She’s smart too, which I like about the character. And she’s very much a young woman, not trying to be anyone but who she is. She comes from rough circumstance and makes the most of what she has.
If you were a cartoon character, what cartoon character would you be?
Speedy Gonzalez. I already use his catchphrase when I drive.
When did you first fall in love with theater?
When I walked into the main door of the Opera House and stood in the stinky, falling down, dark, raccoon inhabited theater.
Come and hang out with Linda tonight in the Ivory Tower for the preliminary round robin read- through of the next “Our Own” production, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Appropriate. Email Linda at lnelson@operahousearts.org to let us know you’re coming, or call 207-367-2788.
