We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amanda Erixon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amanda below.
Amanda, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
I came up with the idea to produce Astrid Lindgren plays in Swedish in New York through meetings and gatherings with Swedish families. I applied for a scholarship that supported the idea of bringing Swedish culture to the U.S. and I received it and was able to execute my play. This playwright is very famous over the world for her children stories and her plays had never been produced before in the original language in New York. I figured it could be an opportunity for Swedish/American children to see her iconic stories live on stage, the way I was introduced to them as a kid. It was exciting to follow the ticket sales to the two performances and actually see that the interest I assumed and hoped would be there really was.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’m an actress, director and producer. I found my way to the theatre through singing and music school. I have a degree in Musical Theatre (Kulturama, Sweden) and Acting (Stella Adler Studio, New York). I have worked as a singer at a hotel in Turkey and I have been singing in a vocal group with friends for many years in Sweden. The last few years I’ve spent most of my time in New York working in plays, with short films, and with some singing performances. Last year I received a scholarship to produce my own Astrid Lindgren play in New York and in June this year we performed two shows of Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter where I played the role of Ronia. I’m currently playing Maria in Twelfth Night at The Players Theatre in West Village.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I got my idea for the Astrid Lindgren play in 2020 and I started to make plans for the production and to reach an audience by holding a workshop for children in the Swedish church. A few days after the workshop covid hit and I had to put the idea on hold for two years.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I learned from producing, directing, and acting in Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter that it’s so challenging, rewarding and also so enjoyable to have these three roles in one production. I learned that I could have done more work on the script before the rehearsals started and I could have been more specific in my ideas. Once the rehearsal process starts and you see the material on its feet with actors there are so many other aspects of the story that you have the opportunity to explore with. I learned a lot about myself and how I would approach the task differently in the future.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://amandaerixon.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_amandaerixon/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-erixon-4476a3262/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@amandaerixon2762
Image Credits
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