By Darren Jackson-Wilkins
If you have spent any time around the Santa Cruz theatre community, chances are you’ve crossed paths with Rebecca Haley Clark. Whether onstage, offstage, or in the classroom — Clark is known for creating sacred spaces where folks feel empowered to take risks and tell their own stories.
Born and raised in Santa Cruz, Clark’s artistic journey has taken her from local stages to New York, Brazil, and Scotland before bringing her back to the community that first inspired her love of theatre.
A graduate of Columbia University, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and a recipient of a Fulbright Program research grant to study Shakespeare and race studies in Rio de Janeiro, Clark has built a career exploring how theatre can spark conversation and build community.
Deloris brings a couple of the nuns to a bar. • Photo Credit: Bari Lee
She continues this career here in Santa Cruz where she works to mentor the next generation of artists as the Director of Education at Santa Cruz Shakespeare.
Returning to Cabrillo Stage is especially meaningful since, although Clark makes her directing debut this year, it is not her first rodeo. She returns to the company where she first worked as an intern in 2008 for Jesus Chist Superstar. Talk about the power of a community!
The key element a director brings to the table is vision. Their vision becomes the guiding light for everyone involved in the show and is what resonates with audiences, new and old. When asked about her directorial vision for the show, Clark warmly shared that she wanted to highlight worship.
Clark reminds us that, “Worship can happen anywhere there is a community that is coming together. It can take many different forms. It makes our community stronger and brighter.”
Clark believes the theater is one of the most sacred places. Thinking beyond just religion, a sacred place allows us to discover moments of joy together.
Deloris on stage with her backup singers (From left: Melissa Martinez and Haley Clarke) in Las Vegas. • Photos Credit: Bari Lee
As a Santa Cruz native that has travelled far and wide, she notes: “Cabrillo Stage is special because it brings together the study and the play. We can put our problems outside for a couple of hours and come together and raise our voices.
We can focus on what brings us together rather than our differences. Now is a time we need joy more than anything”
Sister Act is most famously known for its infectious music and larger-than-life comedy with a heartwarming, feel-good story at its center.
This story reminds us of the transformative power of community and what can happen when we help others to find their voice — singing voices, included.
Andrea Hart, Artistic Director of Cabrillo Stage, describes Clark’s vision wonderfully: “This production will be filled with heart and soul and the kind of energy that reminds us why gathering in theaters is so essential. That electric experience that you can’t stream, you can’t download and you certainly can’t count on AI to create it for you.”
Who better to lead this than Clark, someone notorious for reminding us that community is at the center of everything we do.
As you watch the show, consider where your places of worship are. Where are the sacred places in your life?
As the production prepares to open, remember you’re seeing a story told by members of our very own theater community led by someone who truly believes in it.
Rebecca Clark and Cabrillo Stage invite you to come out and experience a moment of joy and togetherness, in a way that we especially need right now.
TOP PHOTO: Deloris (Karriyma Pekary) leading her singing nuns. • Photo Credit: Bari Lee