Award-winning playwright Barbara Lindsay recently visited the OLS Bellevue College Intro to Theater course, performed one of her newest plays, and led a discussion with students.
Actor/writer Lindsay, based in Seattle, has won many awards and playwriting residencies. Her plays have been performed around the country and internationally. “Every continent except Antarctica,” she reports. She is also a colleague of Intro to Theater instructor Mark Waldstein; together, they gave a classroom performance of her one-act play “ASK. TELL.”
The play concerns a grandmother and a young man waiting outside a hospital ER. They soon discover they are both there for the same person. Coming from vastly different backgrounds, their conversation is prickly at first; gradually, each begins to see the other’s perspective. It’s a story of adaptability and open mindedness, two important values taught at OLS.
“I enjoyed the experience of performing my play for the students,” Lindsay said afterward. “Since this play is about an older woman grappling with the generational differences between her and her grandson’s boyfriend, I was concerned that the students might be judgmental toward her…but they seemed understanding and sympathetic.”
Students were able to read the script beforehand, giving them an opportunity to see how a play goes “from the page to the stage.” The course is structured around the many different jobs that go into a theatrical production: Not only actors and directors but also playwrights, designers, and managers—all of whom work collaboratively to create the shows at professional theaters.
In a reflection assignment, one student commented: “I thought it was a lovely play and performance. It was interesting going from reading a script to seeing it with actors. Seeing the expressions and emotions from the actors adds a whole new dimension to the experience.”
“Talking to the person who wrote it made me feel the emotion of the story a little more,” said another student. “I enjoyed doing this.”
About the OLS Introduction to the Theater Course
Intro to Theater is an elective course OLS students can take as part of earning their associate degree in Occupational & Life Skills at Bellevue College. In this course, students explore the theatre experience from a variety of perspectives, including the audience, the playwright, the actor, the designer, and the director. Students also attend a live theater performance.
About OLS Bellevue College
Occupational & Life Skills Bellevue College (OLSBC) is an associate degree program for students with learning disabilities. In our uniquely supportive skills-based program, students apply academic knowledge through community activities, service learning and social experiences. Students identify a career pathway, gain marketable, workplace-ready competencies, develop better interpersonal skills and complete an internship in alignment with their career goals.
Learn more about our program at an upcoming Information Session, open to all prospective students, family members/guardians, educators, counselors and other service providers. Come learn why OLS Bellevue College is one of the best colleges for students with learning disabilities.
Last Updated March 13, 2025