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Leaders at Faust: An Interview with Ronja Wahlstrom

I love teaching drama and directing stories. It is very rewarding to see children finding their skill set within the world of theatre..." 



During this period, we would like to share with you a series of interviews with our leaders and other creative members in our community.

 Ronja is one of our Group Leaders at Faust. Growing in Sweden, Ronja specialised in physical theatre at Nordiska Folkhogskolan in Gothenburg and then started working for Teater Albatross, where she directed various productions. In 2012 she moved to London and got her BA (Hons) in Performing Arts at Kingston University and studied more classical theatre such as Stanislavski, Shakespeare, Chekhov and Meisner. 

Before joining Faust, Ronja taught drama both in Sweden and London for all ages. During her last year at Kingston she was Head of Children’s Drama Classes where she also taught for a year. Her wide knowledge from traditional drama to physical theatre, gives her a broad spectrum and interesting content for her workshops.


 What current creative projects are you working on now that you would like to share?

Since workshops are not running at the moment, I have been doing charity work in Pui O with free drama workshops to raise money for cancer awareness. I am also exploring how to adapt teaching Stanislavsky, Meisner and Chekhov’s acting techniques to children aged 8 to 11 in a fun, simplified and creative way.


What impact did drama have on you growing up on your confidence?
I was never good at anything in school and it made me feel really stressed about the future. We didn't have drama classes in school where I grew up so I never really knew that this was my passion. I would spend my days off making up stories, dressing the neighbors kids up in costumes and directing stories with them for fun. As a 15 year old, we did a short play in school and my teacher said "You should be an actor Ronja". I was shocked, and had never thought of drama and acting as a profession.

I started taking after-school drama classes in town and loved it! I grew in confidence and I felt so fulfilled knowing that there was something out there I was good at. I love teaching drama and directing stories, it is very rewarding to see children finding their skill set within the world of theatre and I truly believe it's something for everyone to find in it.

Ronja in action during a performance of Poetry Planet from Faust's Touring Theatre team (Kennedy School, January 2020)

Who are your heroes and inspirations?
I have been very fortunate to work with some truly amazing teachers and directors in my time. For me, they are my heroes. They aren’t well-known in the world, but they guided me to where I am today and I am very grateful for that.


What’s your favourite Faust moment?
When a mother came up to me to apologize for her naughty son. I then said, truthfully, that I haven't had a single problem with her son and actually he is a brilliant actor. She then teared up and shared that she never had such positive feedback from a teacher before. 


A short personal message for your students here:
Thank you for being patient with us during the school closure period. We all can't wait to start up the drama workshops again and we are very excited about Term 3! In the meantime, I hope you are all safe and enjoying as much as you can. Load up with lots of ideas for when we start up the workshops again, and we will see you then!



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