I am Olivia by name, but Liv by heart
I am a writer, an actress, and a musician. Through my writing, I hope that my readers will be able to bask in the beauties and joys of everyday life. As a writer, I desire to create pieces of work that are gritty and real, evoking authentic emotions and responses.
As an actress, I long for people to see how the theater is a raw depiction of true life in all it’s pain and beauty. As an actress, I strive to put all of myself into my character. Theater is powerful and provokes life response and change. When I am on stage, my goal is to authentically represent my character in a way that calls for a strong emotional response.
As a musician, I desire to use my gifts and talents to connect with all types of people. Music has the ability to speak to every human soul. I see music as a beautiful way to relate to people regardless of their age, culture, religion, and ethnicity. I play the violin by ear and mostly improvise. I also am a singer and prefer singing jazz and soul music. I have a low, sultry voice and am inspired by singers such as Elle Fitzgerald, and Carole King.
Biography:
I grew up in a beautiful town by the Canadian border called Kalispell, Montana. I lived about thirty minutes from Glacier National Park and two different ski resorts. Most of my summers growing up I spent either at the lake or hiking. Every winter, I spent snowboarding or playing ice hockey.
I have three sister and two brothers. My parents are old hippies and we grew up greatly influenced by the arts. Each of us learned an instrument when we were young and would often spend countless nights jamming with family friends till the late hours of the morning. My parents always encouraged us to communicate through the mediums of art, drama, speech, and music.
Our house was always filled with laughter. There was always a constant flow of people which included single moms, friends, strangers, and homeless folks.Someone was always dancing to old funk music in the kitchen. Someone was always making some organic meal or coming up with some random health concoction . I recall walking into the kitchen in the morning just to see my mom open the cage for the birds to fly free throughout the house. Someone was always playing and instrument, drawing something, or acting out a scene from a play. My mom often read classical literature to us in the evenings. This is the environment I grew up in. Sometimes it was crazy but for the most part it was delightful.
Ever since I was a little girl I have been absolutely fascinated by culture and traveling. Every summer since the age of sixteen, I lived in the Czech Republic every summer and taught English at Christian English camps. After high school, I moved there with my best friend, Abby and worked with the Czech Baptist Church there.
During highschool, I learned how to skateboard and spent a lot of my time at Serious Juju Skateworks (a Christian skate ministry) volunteering. Through my experience there, my eyes were opened to the hurt and pain of many of the youth in my community. Many of the youth that skated at Serious Juju came from dysfunctional homes. I saw a lot of the pain of life there and my heart began breaking for those struggling with drug addiction and depression. On Thursday nights, my sister and I would lead musical worship. On Monday evenings I helped teach the girl’s skate sessions.
Having a mom who graduated with a degree in Theater, I often found myself acting in plays she directed. I remember being cast as a hooker and Meth addict in a play she directed. This play showed life in all of it’s depravity and displayed how Christ can heal even the most broken of people. We performed this play at a Christian Motorcycle Convention. Looking out from across the stage, I saw many rough looking people, tatted up, with long scraggly hair. At the end of the play, I looked up and saw an older biker guy with tears streaming down his face. At that moment, I realized the power theater has to captive the hearts of evening the most unlikely people.
I know that in my life through all the random experiences, painful experiences, and wonderful experiences, God has uniquely used these things to show me how I fit into a greater story. God has cultivated in my heart the desire to be authentic and open in my relationships with others. I think that theater is such a raw depiction of the hardships and joys in life. Through the ministry of theater people are able to share their stories. I know that God has shaped me to be in relationship with people and has given me a heart to step into the hardships of people’s life with them. Although, I am still a work in progress, I know that I am designed to use creativity through theater and music to connect with people and share the story of ultimate saving grace and redemption.
I am now involved with a theater ministry at school called Ad Vivum. We desire to be authentic in our acting display the hardships and beauties of life. We perform for churches and youth groups in the Chicagoland area. We also put on drama camps for kids in the inner city. We desire that through our acting people will be able to see our creative creator, King Jesus.
Olivia Roskos 
