Olivia Raine Atwood who is bringing her sold out, well reviewed one woman show to Fringe! Atwood talks to us about her upcoming shows, being a fitness expert and what we can expect from her sold out show.

So we understand that your one woman show is based on time spent in hospitals during Covid evaluating them. When did you decide it would make a great one woman show, while it was happening or when you reflecting on what you had just been through?

It simply never once crossed my mind when I was going undercover in the hospitals that I might one day do a show about it. At the time, it was just a zany job that I had. I told the story many times over the years, just a crazy odd job that I had, you know, we all have those odd jobs! And then it gradually occurred to me that most people’s odd jobs weren’t as odd as preparing the hospital pandemic response in 2020. I first performed the story in 2022 and it went so well I did it again and again and again and now here we are. I mean…I’m an actor. I had no place testing hospital systems before a massive global pandemic. I don’t even really know how to put on a bandaid. They always stick to each other. Impossible.

The show, “Faking It,” has been selling out and receiving rave reviews from NY to Denver to LA, what do you is capturing the audiences attention in such a positive way?

Have you ever been at a party, and someone tells you they’re an accountant or a consultant or they work in tech and you’re like…well, I have no questions about that, dead-end. I recognize that some of you readers are probably smart and might have questions about consulting but I, Olivia, have no questions. But then someone else tells you they are a flight attendant, or a carpenter, or an autopsy-performer and you’re like, SIT DOWN, BUCKLE IN, I HAVE QUESTIONS. I think and hope people leave my show feeling like they found the hottest career hot bed of questions at the party. I hope people leave saying, “My god, did you even know about that?” 

Writing this show, I tried to reach into my brain and explain and perform every single detail of my experience. I tried to put my memories on the stage, with my physicality and my movement and my cadence. I hope people watch the show with their jaws agape.

In August you are headed to Scotland for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Have you been to Scotland before? When and where can folks find tickets for your show if they head over there?

I’ve been to Scotland twice before, the first time on a wild bike ride through the country and the second time to hit up the Christmas markets. Scotland is doing it right. First of all, you have unreal bike paths. Well done. Second of all, you have unreal Christmas markets. The spirit of Christmas itself lives in the Edinburgh Christmas market. I have never felt more merry in my life than I did while sipping a mulled wine and strolling about the booths. I also almost died on one of those spinning high up carnival rides though. That is the closest I have come to death in the last four years and I remember thinking, okay, if I die on this ride, at least I will die surrounded by Christmastime magic. 

My show is going on for the whole month, the 2nd-24th. You can find tickets on my website, liv-thedream.com/shows, or at https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/olivia-raine-atwood-faking-it.

You also have a very successful matchmaking business, what do you think is the number one thing that makes people compatible with one another. The number one thing that tells you these two people should NOT date?

I think the number one thing that makes people compatible is what kind of punctuation they use. People fill out my matching form, and let me tell you, I’m never gonna match someone who exclusively uses periods with a triple exclamation mark girlie. That’s a dead end. I like to match similar writing styles with similar writing styles. Run ons with runs ons, fragments with fragments. That said, sometimes I’ll match a run-on person with a fragment person, because the run-on people need someone short and sweet to keep them in line. 

On the other hand, people should NOT date if baseline they wouldn’t be friends. I get this a lot. Listen, you may THINK you WANT to date that guy, but have you ever in your life even gotten ALONG with someone like that? Sometimes your expectations of who and what you want don’t gel with who or what might actually work for you. Be open-minded. 

As if you weren’t busy enough you are also a fitness enthusiast. What is the most under appreciated form of exercise? And the most over-hyped?

PILATES!!!!! I love Pilates. Specifically Lagree Pilates, shout-out to Sebastien Lagree. Nothing gets you as in shape as moving as slowly as molasses on a massive machine that looks like the torture device in Princess Bride. Ladies have already cracked the Pilates code, but I would like to formally invite all men to try Pilates. It will change your life. 

As for over-hyped, anything that suggests it’s a shortcut. There are no shortcuts. There is no new-fandangled equipment that promises to change your life with almost no physical effort from you. You can’t hop on a machine that will vibrate you around a little and call it a day. The only short-cuts I know are when I take Glencoe instead of Lincoln in Los Angeles and miss the light at the corner of Lincoln and Maxella. That’s a short-cut. Anything else, no dice.

What are your summer plans, besides heading to Scotland?

Other than going to Scotland, my summer plans involve learning to style a baseball cap. I’ve never been into hats, much. I have enormous ears that really preclude me from the hat game. But I tried on a hat the other day, and the sun protection was so elite. So I need to figure out the ear thing. Maybe the key is double-sided tape? I’m working on it. 

What country would you like to share “Faking it” with next? Are you thinking of bringing it here to the UK?

After Scotland, I’ve got my eyes on Australia. I’d love to see a kangaroo. I don’t think we talk enough about the fact that they have pockets on their bodies. If I had a pocket on my body, I would be a superior being. God status. No need to carry a bag, you guys, you can just put your phone in my body pocket! It’s deep! Yeah, give me your keys and your wallet, too! 

Favorite book? Favorite movie? Favorite song?

My favorite book is Ella Enchanted. I prefer books for middle schoolers. Those things are timeless. My favorite movie is Titanic and I will not be taking questions at this time. Titanic is simply the greatest movie ever made. My favorite song is Taylor Swift. Yes. Just her. In her entirety.