Ulla Collins Axelson ’24
Other clubs, sports, and activities:
Theatre Department Student Liaison, HSEC, theater electrician, and mailroom worker.
Describe your major completely incorrectly.
Taking make-believe very seriously.
If another student was considering your major, what would you tell them?
Theatre is incredibly wide-ranging. I think there’s a tendency to see acting as the main focus, but there are so many opportunities in the industry: dramaturgy, theatre management/arts administration, development, design, or more hands-on work as an electrician or engineer. You can study a lot of interests that aren’t necessarily “theatre-y” until they meet with creativity, and then they become Theatre.
Looking ahead a decade, what's something you'd like to have achieved?
I’d love to have acted in a premiere of a new show. I think there’s a lot of renewed interest in original scripts currently, more people asking for original musicals rather than Jukebox musicals. Being a part of something completely new to the world would be amazing.
You can study a lot of interests that aren’t necessarily “theatre-y” until they meet with creativity, and then they become Theatre.
What’s one piece of advice you’d like to share about your time at Smith?
Try everything and anything—Smith has so many resources. Don’t feel bad if you abandon some of them, because something else will stick.
Describe one moment when a professor was particularly generous?
Tara Franklin has given me so much advice and encouragement over the last four years. She encouraged me to apply for an internship at Chester Theatre Company, which I've now worked at for the last two summers, and made sure I had housing over the summers when I was away from Smith and home. She also introduced me to Tadashi Suzuki's acting training, which has been an incredible experience.
What was your favorite class outside of your major?
”Beowulf“ with Professor Craig Davis. He’s so passionate about teaching the subject and genuinely diving into the topic. You end up revereing the ancient text just as much as he does. I liked his teaching so much, I took his Chaucer class too!
Describe the last production you went to in a one-sentence review.
Sarah Paulson fights Elle Fanning so hard that the set collapses. (“Appropriate” at the Hayes Theatre.)
Do you prefer to see a show from behind the scenes or from a seat in the audience and why?
A seat in the audience. You get to see the culmination of everyone’s work (actors, designers, management, run crew) and allow for full suspension of disbelief, fully immersing yourself in the story and performance. Backstage is amazing, too.
Where is your favorite spot on campus?
Lilly Hall third floor. It’s a bunch of dark, wood-paneled hallways that are always empty. Very spooky.
What was something about your house that you think more people should know?
Tyler rules Green Street with an iron fist. (And our HP rules the HPA with an iron fist.) And it has a very strong living room culture.
What do you think has been the most “Smithie” thing you’ve done in life so far?
I give haircuts to anyone who asks. Last week I cut three people’s hair in a row. I also hosted a WOZQ radio show during my sophomore year.
