Kathleen Mark ‘21
Each year, EA’s student productions dazzle and amaze audiences with their student talent, complex choreography, and professional presentation. Dan Clay, US teacher and director of EA’s theater programs, plays an integral role in creating these productions. His passion has long lied with the performing arts, and he is always finding new ways to incorporate theater into the EA academic agenda.
Before he decided on acting specifically, the arts in general had become an interest of Clay’s during his childhood. He explains, “I didn’t think of teaching at that young age, but at that point I knew that I wanted to perform. I think as a kid I dabbled in visual art and music. And I think I always knew I was always going to do something artistic, then I kind of landed on acting.” This interest in the performing arts grew as Clay entered high school. He met a music teacher who inspired him to consider a teaching career. Clay says, “He [the teacher] encouraged us to go past what was normal and put our very best on the stage. I think I kind of wanted to teach because he was kind of a role model for me, and I felt like I wanted to follow in his footsteps and teach kids what I had learned growing up.”
Clay went on to continue his education at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. There, he studied a variety of disciplines. He elaborates, “I studied acting, playwriting and writing. I took a lot of liberal arts classes and I was interested in philosophy, ethics and teaching, specifically, how to use teaching in the classroom, theater as a teaching tool and how to use theater to empower young kids.” Of course, Clay also took many acting and theater related classes, saying, “I really enjoyed teaching theater as an application beyond just performing and how [performing] related to teaching.” After graduating, Clay immersed himself in the world of theater. “I have done a few commercials and films outside of EA, but I did a lot more when I was younger and when I first got out of college.”
Clay found his first job after graduation in a production company called Inter Play Productions. He says, “We were a theater company that performed at schools and did performances around particular issues that high school students were struggling with. We did one for elementary school kids on sexual abuse, one for middle school students on learning differences, and one for high school students on suicide prevention. And that’s when I got into thinking about the power of theater and how that can change someone’s life and influence young kids.” Shortly afterwards, he went to teach at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Clay says, “My friend was teaching at a high school and needed a substitute, so I ended up substituting for her. I taught there for one trimester, and later a job opened up.” Clay taught there and around the Boston area for seven years before coming to EA.
Since arriving here in 2007, Clay has been quite busy with EA productions and work. He says, “I haven’t done a lot [of outside productions] since I came to EA. But I have done some summer theater, some musicals and plays. I used to be part of a theater collective in New England where we would take turns producing, directing, and acting in plays. I have also performed in a summer stock in Maine. My friend is the artistic director up there, so I do plays there in the summertime.” Clay continues, “Up until recently I have been performing at Hackmatack Playhouse in Berwick, Maine. I did Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Music Man, Wait Until Dark, Bye Bye Birdie, and Big River. But right now I have been focusing on doing some original stuff outside of school in the summertime, kind of getting another small theater collective together and doing something small like a fringe festival or performing somewhere locally.”
Clay has learned a lot during his time teaching at EA, especially from his musicals. He says, “My background is a lot in acting, but over the years, I have learned a lot about musical theater and am more comfortable directing musical theater now. My love is still towards directing plays, although I also enjoy directing musicals.” Some of Clay’s favorite EA musicals include Seussical and Les Misérables. “I enjoyed directing Les Misérables: it was a bit of a challenge. I enjoy it whenever the students in the production are super enthusiastic and excited about it and that’s when I get excited about it,” he explains.
All in all, Clay’s rich experiences and abilities have made him a valuable mentor in the EA theater community. Clay concludes, “I learned a lot about myself through theater, and to offer that opportunity to students is really exciting.”