Ellie Clark

What is your favorite role you’ve ever done?

Cleopatra, in Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare. Because she was … hard. The play itself spans over … 15 years of history wherein she had twins, from falling in love to fighting wars and taking care of these children and add that on top of Shakespeare’s text and knowing the history. … And it’s very emotionally intense. She was passionate to say the least. 

How long have you been acting?

Thirty-three years.

 What do you enjoy most about acting?

I love humanity; the collaboration of the art itself; live performance — interaction with audience. My favorite part is the rehearsal process — the exploration of finding the character, finding the relationships and developing someone who is unknown to you and understanding why they do what they do, why they feel what they feel.

Why did you choose to come to the graduate program at OU?

Because Shelley Delaney is badass. … She said everything I kind of decided I needed to hear from any school to say yes. … Without any prompt, she laid it all out there. 

What are you hoping to get out of the program after three years?

I want to be a better actor. I’m 36 and I’ve spent all 36 years of my life doing theater, and I decided if I’m doing this rest of my life, I wanted to know as much as I could about it. I wanted to … try to bring as much into a program of my own, so that I could be shaped, guided. So I hope that’s exactly what they’re going to do — say, ‘You have a great foundation and here’s how I’ll make you an incredible artist.’

What's a fun fact about you?

I'm still scared of the dark.

See her as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing Nov. 11-14, 18-21