For Randolph-Macon College alumna Alexandra “Alex” Clark ’15, things have come full circle. Her lifelong dream—”I wanted to study literature from the time I was a child,” she says—has turned into a reality, and Shakespeare plays a central role in that reality.

Clark, an English major and Shakespeare aficionado, is pursuing her passion by teaching and by learning. She recently began working at the American Shakespeare Center (ASC) in Staunton, Virginia, and is preparing for graduate school: This fall, she will join the Shakespeare and Performance program at Mary Baldwin College. A 2015 January Term (J-term) class helped Clark realize that she wants to spend her life studying and sharing the Bard’s many works.

All the World’s a Stage
“My senior year J-term course, Shakespeare and His England, was the starting point for all that I have done since graduation,” says Clark. The course, taught by RMC English Professor Marisa Cull, focused on Shakespeare’s plays, which students read and analyzed. At the ASC’s 300-seat Blackfriars Playhouse—the world’s only re-creation of Shakespeare’s indoor theatre—students attended rehearsals; participated in workshops; attended plays; and performed brief scenes on stage. The course was life-changing for Clark.

“After spending a week at the ASC, I told Professor Cull that I wanted to make a career of studying Shakespeare,” recalls Clark. “I can’t thank her enough for everything she has done for me.” Cull, who also served as Clark’s academic advisor, says January Term gave Clark the chance to focus on her passion for early modern theatre.

“It was such a wonderful experience to see her grow in that course, and it’s been absolutely inspiring to see how she’s taken such an initiative in the months since to set this path for herself,” says Cull. “It’s a testament to how driven and independent she is.”

From Internship to Career
Shortly after graduating from RMC, Clark began an internship in the ASC’s Education Department.

“My first big task was to create a searchable catalogue for every thesis that was produced by Mary Baldwin College’s Shakespeare and Performance program,” she explains. “This project made me realize I had not pigeonholed myself by choosing to study Shakespeare; on the contrary, there are so many things to enjoy and discover by examining his life and work. After that assignment, I began archiving materials from the ASC’s past shows and events, and I helped create character maps for study guides.”

Clark recently began working at the ASC as an education artist. One of her roles involves facilitating workshops for adults and students.

“Our workshops for students focus on the literature and performances of Shakespeare, and we offer leadership workshops, for business professionals, that use Shakespeare’s characters to showcase what good and bad leaders are like,” she says. Clark is also setting her sights on two future goals.

“I want to write a paper and present it at the Blackfriars Conference, a Shakespeare conference held every odd year at the ASC, at which scholars from around the world present their ideas and research,” she says. “Eventually, I want to earn a Ph.D. in Shakespeare from a university in England; after that I plan on teaching, or working for a theatre company. The possibilities are endless.” The Blackfriars conference is one that Cull regularly attends.

“At the conference I present my own research, and this past year it was a special experience to have Alex there, as she was working at the time as an intern,” says Cull. “We sat through several talks together and chatted about them afterwards; it’s wonderful to see a student engage in the academic community at this level. I can’t wait for the day that I’m in the audience listening to her present!”

Good Advice
Clark played field hockey at RMC; was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta; served as a tour guide and campus ambassador; and was a member of Sigma Tau Delta. With that kind of experience, she finds it easy to give advice to new Yellow Jackets.

“Get involved and try new things,” she says. “Randolph-Macon helped me find my path and passions in life. Be bold, explore, and don’t look back.”