by Jenie Michael
Staff Writer

At the Massachusetts Drama Guild’s State Finals, it was announced that Westford Academy Theatre Art’s (WATA) production of J. Caes was the victor of the competition. Furthermore, awards were given to those outstanding performers in the show. Junior Will Clark, who played Marc Antony, was one of those recognized for his outstanding acting.

“I didn’t see it coming at all, especially as the rounds went on. At Finals, there’s a lot of competition. There were fourteen schools, and they each had actors like me. And so, it was hard. But you never know what can happen,” said Clark.

Not only was this role Clark’s first time performing in the competition show, but it was also his first time playing a major character. Previously, Clark was cast in shows such as Chicago,  A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Phantom of the Opera as a member of WATA, but never with as major a part as this.

Clark’s acting career began at age eight in a summer program called “Destination Imagination.” However, his first role in a school production wasn’t until last year, when he was cast in Chicago, as Fred. Since then, he has had a very active membership in WATA, as an actor or as a member of the technical portion of a production, though he prefers acting.

“[Acting] allows you to create a character, to create an environment, which is different from your regular life. That places a sense of power in the actor in that you have control over the world that he or she is creating, and that world has power over an audience,” said Clark, when asked why he kept coming back to acting.

As an actor, Clark has many techniques and tricks he uses to help him better his performance. They include those which were recommended and those which he finds helpful to himself.

“If you can, you should walk onstage, and go through your blocking without the lines. That’s the first step. Next step, start your breathing patterns early. For our 1:00 performance, I had already started my breathing as soon as we were on the bus into Boston,” said Clark, “Don’t waste energy throughout the day. Don’t yell or run around, because energy is cumulative and you need to save it all up for your performance.”

Despite these and other techniques Clark uses to ready himself, he is still nervous come show time. He recognizes that everyone is nervous about making a mistake, and includes himself in that.

“I’m always nervous about [making] a decision on stage that was not rehearsed or that I haven’t talked over with other actors in the scene. If you’re in a performance and you make a choice based on your character, you have to stand by and justify that choice. That is something that can be very nerve wracking but very exciting at the same time,” said Clark.

Regardless of his nerves, Clark plans on further feeding his passion for acting next year as a senior, and even after that. He says that he’d like to stay involved in theatre as long as he can, including in his career.

“I plan on pursuing all aspects of theatre, not just acting, in my life. There are a lot of lessons I’ve learned from it in the few years I’ve participated in theatre at WA, and I would like those to keep influencing me for the rest of my life,” said Clark. “Whether that means I’m acting, or stage managing, or participating in technical roles, I would like to be involved.”