Olson retires after 24 years of set design in Concordia’s Theatre Department
Photo credit: CUNE Theater Department
By Josiah Horvath
“I almost said no,” said Bob Olson, scene designer and shop supervisor for Concordia’s Theatre Department for 24 years. “But she talked to me, and I said ‘I’ll do one.’”
Olson, who retired from Concordia after the spring 2024 production of “Little Women,” was recalling how Dr. Mira Weigmann, who directed plays from 1986 through 2009, talked him into the job. Following Olson’s retirement, Concordia hired Natasha Tupper to cover set design.
During his time at Concordia, Olson designed many sets for the student productions and received an award from the Kennedy Center for the scenic design of the musical “Into the Woods” in 2003.
Logan Matters, a Concordia graduate who worked under Olson, said that Olson brought “historically accurate, artistic taste” to his work, and Adam Prince, a student actor who graduated from Concordia last spring, said Olson “thrives in the details.”
Olson is known among colleagues and students for his catchphrase “picky, demanding and unreasonable,” which fits his approach to his supervision of set design.
“Some of the design triumphs are quite obviousto the audience,” said Dr. Vicki Anderson, professor of education and a friend of Olson, “but some are simply what it takes to make a set work smoothly for the actors, [though containing] some innovative design features.”
Some of Olson’s accomplishments include the rotating cube set for “Mary Poppins,” the perspective of “Diary of Anne Frank” and the complicated sliding wall system of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” among others.
Professor of Communication and Theatre Arts Bryan Moore often directed the plays featuring Olson’s sets.
“He’s always been a passionate advocate for our theater program,” said Moore. “I value the way that he looked at working on shows not just for the product but the process of putting the shows together.”
Students worked with Olson to build the sets, and he would teach them valuable skills such as using power tools. Matters said Olson created a work environment full of laughter.
“If you’re not having a good time, you’re probably doing it wrong,” Olson said.
Olson’s brother, Scott, de- scribed him as a good-hearted person who will help someone if he can.
“He’s helped a lot of young people learn more about the plays and how to set them up,” Scott Olson said.
Olson enjoys music and is known for his memory of facts about songs and movies from the 1960s and 1970s.
He said he has enough knowledge to teach a class on the history of rock-and-roll.
