Dan Olson discovered his passion for the performing arts in church. The church choir, that is.

“Once I developed past the awkwardness of pubertal vocal shift, choir was a great way to tease out some encouragement for a song well sung,” he said. “Singing in choir leads to singing great songs, great songs lead to musicals, and, before long, you’re hooked.”

Olson, who moved to Ashland in 2022, is set to take the stage Feb. 2-April 7 as one of the leads in Oregon Cabaret Theatre’s production of “Clue.” The hilarious farce-meets-murder mystery is based on the iconic 1985 Paramount movie, which was inspired by the classic Hasbro board game.

It will be his third appearance at the Cabaret, having previously played Professor Moriarty and others in “Sherlock Holmes and the Final Problem” in 2022 and Major Blunt in “Poirot: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” in 2023.

A ‘Plum’ role

In “Clue,” Olson is Professor Plum, a role played by Christopher Lloyd in the film. He also will understudy Wadsworth, the butler.

Playing a paranoid who often is unaware of when he’s being made a patsy by others might lead an actor to chew the scenery a bit. Olson will stop short of that.

“Professor Plum may think, correctly for the time, that there’s nothing that can’t be taught with just the right stick and/or carrot — and, would you look at that, we’re fresh out of carrots,” he said.

“I’ve been a longtime fan of the original screenplay. I’ve been ecstatic ever since I was asked to be part of the production. Sides will split,” Olson promised. “Make sure to stretch before you see our show.”

Olson, 41, was born and raised in Darlington, Wisconsin, “a place as adorable as the name would suggest,” he laughed.

It’s in the DNA

“I’m from a strong lineage of creatives,” he said. “Woodworkers, portrait artists, crafters, painters, decorators, farmers, chefs, and more.”

Inherited DNA and a memorable performance he saw in high school may have combined to nudge him toward his own creative journey. It was a performance of “Much Ado About Nothing” at American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin.

“It starred (APT core actor) Jim DeVita as Benedick,” Olson said. “It was a mesmerizing performance that rendered accessible the language of the Bard, even for a rural neophyte like me.”

Seeing the actor’s work up close and feeling it wasn’t so far from what he was doing in school encouraged him to consider his own possibilities.

“It gave me, perhaps, an unearned sense of confidence that I could learn to do it at the highest levels,” he said. “It must have left an impression. I’m still trying.”

Marquee player at 12

It wasn’t as though he was inexperienced. When he was 12, he played the lead in his hometown’s Easter pageant show, “Pop Corn’s Easter All Over the World.”

“It started me down a long path of fake facial hair and, eventually, real facial hair,” he said. “No one remembers the show, but I was told that it was a cultural touchstone.”

Olson earned a B.A. in theater performance from Huntington (Indiana) University, and embarked on an acting career, spending many years in New York City.

“I was a vague commodity, but I’ve been learning how to express agency over my career here, and I have been challenged and encouraged to refine my aspirations,” he said.

“I’ve been working with such talented artists, onstage and off, who have helped me connect the dots within my creative pursuits. I finally feel correct in referring to what I have behind me as a ‘career’.”

Frankenstein’s monster

He was working in Osaka, Japan, before he moved to the Rogue Valley in March of 2022 to help his partner through a loss. In Osaka, he was playing a singing and dancing Frankenstein’s monster for a Universal Studios production.

“It was a show I also had done in 2007 and 2008,” he said. “I must have done 2,500 shows for Universal.”

Since moving here, he also has performed for Ashland Contemporary Theatre. Meanwhile, he has been fielding offers from other places where he’d eventually like to play.

“But the most interesting work for my year ahead is right here in the Rogue Valley,” he said, “including a pair of plays at Oregon Cabaret Theatre and a pair of feature films close enough for easy travel.”

He’s also pursuing work with Blackstone Audio for audiobook narration, and with filmmakers for feature-length development.

There are always gigs to help pay the bills. He says, for instance, he has great colleagues at Case Coffee Roasters.

“But the more honest I become about what I want and need in order to feel progress in my career, the more opportunities appear. I’m glad I learned that when I did.”

A bit of serendipitous irony has arisen from his signing on for OCT’s summer play.

“I’m understudying “Legally Blonde” July 5–Sept. 1, and I’m legally blind in one eye,” he said. “The world largely appears to me in 2D, which may explain my fascination with film. I rarely fall off a theater’s stage, though, and for that I’m eternally grateful.”

A save for a save

His loss of vision makes an unsettling story he shared about an onstage mishap even more astonishing.

During a performance of “Sherlock Holmes and the Final Problem,” actor Tony Carter and Olson exchanged saves for each other. In the first instance, Olson went up on a line and started babbling.

“Tony saved me from myself by saying the actual words in the script. I stayed connected to the scene and worked through the rage of blanking.”

Then it was Olson’s turn.

In routine action, a staged threat turned into a struggle for life or death.

“The upper-level railing post we relied upon for its structural integrity gave way,” Olson said. “I tapped into an adrenaline that only appears onstage and pulled Tony back from what would have been, at the very best, a performance-ending fall.”

For more information about “Clue” and other OCT shows, and to purchase tickets, go to oregoncabaret.com.