Augustana student’s award-winning work debuts at Premiere Playhouse’s showcase

One hour. That’s all the time you have left to live. One hour before a meteor crashes into Earth. What would you do? Would you run to your boyfriend? Stay with your parents? Call your sister one last time? Or maybe do something you've always wanted to do?

That was the question Mikennah Oleson asked herself when she wrote her second play, “Aftermath,” which was nominated for the John Cauble Outstanding Short Play Award in Des Moines, Iowa, and won the Premier Premieres Competition at the Premier Playhouse in Sioux Falls. From Feb. 13–16, her play was fully staged, solidifying her as an emerging playwright.

Currently a junior at Augustana, Oleson is pursuing degrees in English, secondary education and theater. She has nine years of experience in theater as an actress, designer and co-director across various productions — but it was in writing that she truly found her calling.

Brenden Larson, a freshman and active member of the theater community, acted in the “Aftermath” productions and received an award for his performance at the same event where Oleson was recognized. Reflecting on their first meeting, he recalled being struck by her confidence as she represented Augustana Collaborative Theatrical Society (ACTS).

“Immediately when I met her, she had this huge presence — an incredibly intimidating human being," Larson said. "But it's all show. She's really a sweetheart under all of that."

Oleson wrote “Date,” her first play, in a single day during a summer job in 2023. The short 10-minute script was presented at the Claire and Donison Play Festival at Augustana in the fall of 2023, where it was selected for a staged performance.

"I watched my play,” Oleson said. “I saw the words I had put on the page being performed by the actors, and I cried. I couldn't stop. It was surreal.”

“Aftermath,” on the other hand, required a much longer and more meticulous writing process. 

She began drafting it in early July 2024, and the revision process lasted about 200 hours. Her influences include works like John Cariani’s play “Almost, Maine” and the television series “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” utilizing an episodic style that connects different groups of characters.

Jayna Fitzsimmons, assistant professor of theater and Oleson’s mentor, spoke highly of her student’s passion for the art of theater.

"Working closely alongside Mikennah through script revisions and staging confirmed many of the things I have come to know and appreciate about [her]," Fitzsimmons said. "She is dedicated to doing her best work, she is eager to learn and she is always pushing herself as a writer."

In August, the first big news came: Oleson’s “Aftermath” had advanced past the first round of competition, which considered 68 other submissions in addition to hers. During one of the public readings, she sat in front of three judges evaluating her work.

“‘You are funny,’" Oleson remembered one of them telling her. "That was one of the best compliments I've ever received. ‘Aftermath’ is a dark comedy, and I know I'm funny, but I didn’t know other people thought I was funny."

Fitzsimmons said that Oleson’s sense of humor is one of her most distinctive traits. 

"There is a joyful quality in Mikennah’s writing that leaps off the page," Fitzsimmons said. "I could tell she had a lot of fun crafting this play."

“Aftermath” reached the semifinals in September, which required a staged reading with actors to assess the play’s performance potential. Shortly after, Oleson received the confirmation that she had made it to the final round. This January, the ultimate moment arrived: she won.

The first thing Oleson did when she received the email was call Fitzsimmons, crying, her hands trembling as she held the phone. 

“I'm such an ugly crier,“ Oleson said. 

Aware of this and struggling to put her joy into words, she forwarded the email to make sure it was real — only to find that her professor had started crying too.

After ending the call, she simply looked at her boyfriend and said: "I am a real person."

He laughed and agreed, as if it were obvious. But what she meant was that, in that moment, people knew who she was. She was a real writer.

"There are other people who believe in me that don’t even know my name,” Oleson remembered thinking.

Seeing the audience's reaction during the February performances was an unforgettable experience, Oleson said. She described that the predominant feeling was relief — relief in seeing people laugh and cry, relief in knowing that the words she had once written achieved exactly what she had hoped. 

However, even surrounded by compliments and achievements Oleson also reflected on the challenges of the artistic path and how, too often, the field doesn’t receive the recognition it deserves.

"Every day, I have conversations with people who tell me how ridiculous this is, how much of a waste of intelligence it is,” Oleson said. "Do you have any idea how many times people have told me I should be a lawyer? More than I can count."

She recalled a particularly meaningful moment when she attended a student association meeting to request funding for a theater club trip. The student senate was reluctant to approve the request, doing everything possible to cut the budget. Despite the frustration, Oleson fondly remembered the support she received from some international senators who fought hard for the approval — especially one who came up to her, hugged her and apologized for not being able to secure the full amount.

Because of that, Oleson dedicated this award not just to herself but to the entire artistic community, which constantly struggles for recognition. For her, winning this award only solidified her calling. 

"It might be a little silly to think, but truly, I can do this,” she said. "It’s as if I could look people in the eye and say: Look what I can do. Look what this can do."

In addition to impacting the audiences who come to see her work performed, Oleson has become a positive influence for her peers.

“I don’t think I would have as much confidence as an actor as I do now without her,” Larson said. “She’s been such a guiding light throughout my time here at Augie.”

Oleson has many passions — angry literature, pop and funk music, the color pink, YouTube videos to fall asleep to — but she knows what she needs to do for the world: "Create art and leave something behind when I’m gone, so people will remember me."

With that dream in mind, she plans to keep writing, pursue grad school and become a professor.

"One day, a girl or a boy will read or watch one of my plays and think that the world is better with art in it,” Oleson said.