Meet the Cast! numero tres

Candace Christensen (plays the Clair)

Bio:
Ph.D. Student in Social Work. I work at Hartland Partnership. I supervise MSW students in their practicum working with people that have a refugee background. Likes: performing arts, theatre and dance,learning Spanish, traveling, hiking, cooking.

Acting Experience:
I have been acting since high school. I have a Bachelors degree in theatre. I co-founded a feminist theatre company a few years ago (Avalon Isle, Womens Theatre Group).

What interested you in getting involved with this performance?
This project combines two of my passions: theatre and social justice.

What do you hope to get out of this experience?
I hope this experience changes the prevalence of sexual violence in the University of Utah community. That outcome would make me very, very happy :-).

What has been easy so far?
Nothing about this project has been easy... which is just fine... I love a challenge!

I have to say that working with the team... Kristy, Rob, Kristin, Shireen, Karen, and Trevor has been not only easy, but incredibly enjoyable... It has made all the difference to have a group of committed, focused, passionate people working together on this project.

What has been difficult so far?
Finding funding for the project has been difficult. That has come through in small ways. But, it would be nice to have more substantial support. Recruiting a lead actress has been more difficult than any of us would have imagined. We have had three actresses quit on us... I wonder if there is something really scary about playing the role of Sam... hmmm... We had some challenges finding a performance space in the community that does not charge for use. We did end up finding the Utah Arts Alliance Space. Derek Dyer, the Exec Director, is generously donated that space to us for use on two nights in April. We have had a difficult time finding a home for the service learning course that is expected to be born from this pilot project.
That will be our next barrier to really and truly tackle. Completing the IRB forms to obtain permission to evaluate the project has been a little tricky. I think that is because this is my first time working with IRB.