Robert Olsen:  

Life I moved to NYC from KCK in 1986. I was lucky to have performed Off Broadway and in regional theaters, orchestras and choirs. I made my living mostly in real estate, which, in NYC, isn't a bad place to make a living. Tom, my partner since 1998, and I sold our modest slice of Manhattan real estate in August of 2008 year and moved to a tiny village in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Our son, Mickey, is enjoying living in the country and seeing all the wildlife! School If it weren't for theater and music, high school would have been miserable for me. I wasn't a very good student - I just didn't get it. As for my biggest crushes - I'll keep that to myself to save me and others a lot of embarrassment. Sadly, I had no teacher in high school that inspired me. I did find other students inspiring and have kept in touch with the most inspiring every since. However, she was a grade ahead of me. And would I do it all over again? Good God, NO! College I went to Emporia State University and double majored in theater and music education. I knew then that I wanted to be an actor, but thought that I should have my education degrees to fall back on. I imagined myself teaching high school theater (because it was so good for me when I was in high school) or junior high school orchestra (because my teacher at West was inspiring for me). After college I was a substitute teacher for two years in the public school system and at the Kansas State School for the Blind. I decided during those two years that I really did want to perform and not teach. College was good for me, but like high school, I got more outside of the classroom than in and mostly because of theater and music. In college I had teachers that let me explore and find myself and really grow. Workplace My first job was at the Wyandot Swim Club where I worked the concession stand for three summers. After that I worked at Red Lobster one summer and th...Expand for more