She is proud to be the granddaughter of first-generation immigrants and a registered member of the Sokaogon Chippewa Community. She is a scholar of comedy and is dedicated to creating new, experimental works that inspire positive social change. She uses her extensive background in physical theatre to craft pieces that are athletic, visceral, and visually striking. Jamie is the founder of Chicago Playwrights Group, a writing workshop that has supported over 60 theatre creators. She was the co-founder and artistic director of Grassroots Theatre Project, and she served as a company member with Dal Vivo and The Moving Dock Theatre Co. Her plays have been presented by Duluth Playhouse, Union College, New American Folk Theatre, Broken Nose Theatre, The New Coordinates, The Arc Theatre, Links Hall, Physical Theatre Festival Chicago, Adventure Stage Chicago, Clock Productions, Red Tape Theatre, Food and Performance, Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, and others. Recent awards include Regional Finalist for the Gary Garrison National Ten Minute Play Award from the American College Theatre Festival (The Ascension of Maxi), the $5,000 Third Place Award in the Alfred P. Sloan Script Competition at Carnegie Mellon University (Cloud Club), and a Certificate of Merit from The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival National Playwriting Program (Eden in Silence). Jamie is the recipient of a Frank-Ratchye Further Fund grant from The STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, a GuSH research grant from Carnegie Mellon University, and three artistic grants from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Jamie is a professional theatre educator and scholar who empowers students of all ages to write and perform their own stories. She holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University and a BFA in Acting from Viterbo University. She has specialized training in playwriting, screenwriting, writing for TV, red nose clown (Paola Coletto), bouffon (Nathaniel Justiniano), commedia dell’arte (Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre), the Michael Chekhov technique (Dawn Arnold), and Balinese mask performance (I Ketut Kantor). Jamie is a member of Dramatists Guild of America, Playwrights’ Center, and the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. For more visit jamieolah.com Voices Project: https://youtu.be/WaM8yuvYu9E
