Meet Ms. Thompson
Olivia Thompson is the music teacher at the Warren-Prescott school. She is responsible for all of the performing arts activites during and after school. She has been surrounded by creativity since birth. Her mother was a ballet dancer, and her father a carpenter. She basically grew up in a ballet studio and thought for the first 3 years of her life that leotards and tights were the clothes that everyone wore on the street. She dabbled in many activities as a child: gymnastics, figure skating, ballet, swimming, diving - you name it. She started taking piano lessons at age 5, and she was in her elementary school chorus, singing at her director's wedding. But something special happened when she performed in her first real play in 9th grade, "West Side Story". She played the leading role of Maria, and from then on, theatre became a regular staple in her life. Chorus and plays were the guiding forces of her high school years, playing parts such as Hodel in "Fiddler on the Roof", Nettie in "Carousel", Adelaide in "Guys and Dolls" - to name a few. After high school, she attended TISCH school of Performing Arts at New York University. She stayed there for 2 years in the Stella Adler acting studio and then took some time off. She got into a bad car accident which left her house bound for 3 months. During that time, she began writing music, which led to her arrival at Berklee College of Music in 2001. There she studied voice and music education. While at Berklee, she performed around Boston, singing with a Guitarist and then joining an a cappella group. She also tested out her teaching chops with an organization called Citizen Schools, and she worked as a tutor in Ear Training, Harmony and Arranging classes at Berklee. After Graduating, she landed her first teaching job at the Warren-Prescott School. Since her arrival the after school program has grown immensely, the yearly musical has become an annual event, and groups such as the Select Chorus and the 5th grade band have come into existence. She finally feels that all the crazy things she has done in life are now all coming in handy - from singing and dancing, to sewing and sawing - she seems to find a use for all her unique talents back stage at the Warren-Prescott school.
Click here to read her mission statement for the performing arts at the Warren-Prescott
Some things you might not know...
Or probably do :)
She has a Yorkie named Lulu and a cat named Annie (after the character)
Her favorite current musical artists are Ari Hest, and Julian Velard
Her favorite all time musical artists are: Ella Fitzgerald, The Beatles, Joni
Mitchell, Nat King Cole, Queen, Eva Cassidy (to name a few)
Her favorite musicals are: Into the Woods, Les Miserables and Sweeny Todd, and Chorus Line, and - wait... too many
She can solve a rubik's cube in under 2 minutes (she's very proud of that ;)