Kristina Golmohammadi is on a mission. She wants to create a Swedish Children’s Theater in New York City as soon as possible. And why not let children also feed off the energy that is ever-present in the Big Apple? Golmohammadi, an actress who is on a leave from her post as artistic director of the theatrical high school education at Fryshuset in Stockholm, says she wants to work with children, ages 9-11, and create a group of about nine kids.
“That’s the perfect age,” she explains. “Then the children are big enough for you to have a deeper conversation, yet young enough to have their playfulness intact. You communicate with them in a straight manner and they are wonderfully imaginative!”
Golmohammadi is the kind of person you instantly like: warm, inviting, open. She came to New York a few years ago because her husband got a job here.
For a long time, Golmohammadi didn’t do anything. “I took some time to just be, to relax and enjoy life,” she says. “I got to know this city, and it was wonderful.”

Theater and ... Astrid Lindgren
But now she longs to do theater again—children’s theater. And she wants Astrid Lindgren to be the theme.
“We will do dramatic exercises and improvisations but we will also work toward a performance, and for that Lindgren would be perfect. Her language is very poetic, it heightens the senses and talks to the heart. Something happens inside of you when you say or hear a line like: ‘Spelar min lind, sjunger min näktergal’ (if my linden plays, my nightingale sings). Even if you don’t know the story behind those words, something reverberates inside of you on a deeper level, and as a consequence something happens. ”
Like most art forms, acting is not only a way to express ourselves, but also a craft that allows for human growth. To grow as an actor is to grow as a person. Acting develops personality, builds confidence and teaches about human nature. It makes us blossom and can help us become more forgiving of ourselves as well as others. Golmohammadi also believes that theater offers an excellent way to keep the Swedish language alive and vivid for kids in that “middle” age, when it can be difficult to continue to learn another language because of everything else in school, after school and with friendships.
“All children have a natural gift of telling stories and adding something unique and of value to the rest of the world,” she says. “I want to create a safe environment where this can happen. The plan is to meet once or twice a week, preferably in Chelsea, but I am open for other ideas, too."
If you have a child in this age bracket or know of somebody who does, you can read more about Golmohammadi and her project, Svenska Barnteatern i New York, here:
Barnteater i New York

Fryshuset is a project for youth in Stockholm's south originally by the local YMCA (KFUM in Sweden) organization. Since its inception in 1984, it has grown exponentially and now also involves activities in Göteborg and Malmö. For more info, see Fryshuset