A rising star in Summerville and beyond, teenage actress Olivia Gainey is one of Best of Charleston’s youngest Best Local Actress winners in recent memories. But she isn’t letting that title get to her head. Gainey says that one of the most important lessons she’s learned in her years of acting is that no actor is an island: “You cannot perform on your own. This goes for taking direction; sometimes you need the outside view of a director to tell you whether or not what you’re doing is convincing. You need those prop masters. You need those light techs. Every person is so important when creating a story.” Last year Gainey starred as Anne Frank in the Flowertown Players’ production of Diary of Anne Frank. In an interview with the Summerville Journal Scene, Gainey said performing in the play gave her a new outlook on life. That powerful play was just one opportunity for Gainey to act in a city that she loves. “I love how mostly everyone knows each other in our theater community and I love our support and respect for one another,” she said. “I love that I’m not limited to one theater to perform at, and I love that I get to work with every age group and every different type of person.”
—Connelly Hardaway
Runner-Up:
Becca Anderson
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No newspaper subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations from downtown to North Charleston to Johns Island to Summerville to Mount Pleasant.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.