For Sofi Olona, directing has always been about finding the moment when everything falls into place.
Olona, a fourth-year Theatre Arts student at The Theatre School, is stepping into a new role as the first BFA student to co-direct a mainstage production. The production of “Peter Pan,” adapted and co-directed by Associate Dean and Head of Theatre Arts Coya Paz Brownrigg, puts Olona's years of training into practice as she learns what it means to lead a professional-scale production.
For Olona, the path to directing began in high school. After serving as an assistant director for “Clue,” she assisted on “The Wizard of Oz,” where she choreographed a high-stakes chase scene that became a defining moment on her path.
“Choreographing and plotting that felt so euphoric — it was the moment I realized this is what I want to do,” she expressed. “I felt totally in line with myself and excited.”
Olona entered The Theatre School knowing she wanted to direct, initially seeking classical training. But exposure to experimental theatre and collaborative devised work reshaped her artistic interests. Olona cites the Neo-Futurists, whose work she encountered during Discover Chicago, as an early influence alongside Brownrigg’s mentorship, puppetry classes with Claire Saxe and dramatic theory with Head of Dramaturgy Rachel Shteir.
“What I really appreciate about my education is that I’ve gotten to do a lot of experimental work with a very strong theoretical base,” Olona said.
That foundation helped her reconsider the work she had encountered before college. Rather than moving away from those forms, she began to see how the skills she was developing could help her make that work more compelling.
Her opportunity to co-direct “Peter Pan” emerged from a conversation Brownrigg had been having with Dean Martine Kei Green-Rogers about creating a co-directing position for fourth-year students. Brownrigg also incorporated the play into a class that focused on the adaption of “Peter Pan,” inviting students to share their thoughts on the material and apply to co-direct with her.
Olona developed her interpretation and spent considerable time on the application to co-direct before receiving the news over winter break of 2025. She remembers screaming with excitement and immediately FaceTiming with her sister.
The excitement soon turned into focusing on the practical demands of the position. Production and design meetings began in January, introducing Olona to a new scale of collaboration.
Olona is learning to negotiate the dynamics of co-directing with a professor whose experience exceeds her own. She describes Brownrigg as someone she can lean on for guidance while learning to trust her own artistic authority.
“Co-directing is definitely challenging, because collaboration at that level is tricky,” Olona said. “The level of leaning on her versus authorizing myself is something that I’m actively learning.”
Still, Olona’s admiration for Brownrigg goes beyond the opportunity itself. She credits her mentor with shaping her understanding of what it means to lead a creative team.
Brownrigg advocated for the co-director role in efforts to increase Theatre Arts students’ opportunities on mainstage shows.
“Sofi’s instincts as a director are really strong. She’s smart. She’s done the work. Everything I would have hoped that a student was bringing to this process, including talent, she has,” Brownrigg said.
Ross Ortiz, a fourth-year BFA Actor, plays Peter Pan and has grown under Olona's guidance.
“Her leadership alongside Coya inspired me to really sink my teeth even further into my responsibility of playing Peter Pan because of her ambitious spirit and goal-oriented mindset,” Ortiz said.
The production also allows Olona an opportunity to explore the difference between the familiar happiness of Peter Pan and a more unsettling interpretation of its central character.
“It is very joyful in a lot of ways,” Olona said. “However, that is undercut by a sort of sinister depiction of Pan, and I hope that audience members leave questioning Pan’s motive.”
The production represents something she could not have anticipated when she first arrived at The Theatre School, she said.
“I’m incredibly grateful to Coya and everyone that has [helped me] lead up to this,” she said. “And I’m hopeful for other students in the future to be able to do this.”
She also recognizes the work that brought her to this moment, describing herself as patient and hardworking and reflecting on the dedication she has given to her training.
“I’m very happy for a younger version of myself,” she said.
After Olona’s graduation next spring, she plans to stay in Chicago as she continues pursuing a career in professional directing and work toward applying to MFA directing programs. Learn more about The Theatre School’s Theatre Arts program here.