In honor of late artist, teacher, and friend Dr. Christopher Layton Clark, Utah Valley University’s School of the Arts (SOA) introduced the Chris Clark Scholarship, an academic grant designed to help UVU theatre students attend the UVU Theatre Study Abroad program.

SOA presented the scholarship to Emilee Simko, a UVU senior studying directing and an aspiring actor, writer, and director, during a livestream at The Noorda Center for the Performing Arts on June 6. Simko will study in London from July 12 to August 10, watching Shakespeare plays, attending workshops, and studying the craft of theater directing.

“I don't really know if I have the words to express how I feel,” Simko said. “I guess I would just say, from the bottom of my heart: thank you so much. This means the world to me to have help to accomplish my goals. Money is so hard and life is so hard, and sometimes you just have to break yourself to accomplish what you need to, and it's just like a breath of fresh air when you get help.”

Simko said she never really got the chance to work with Chris Clark, but she saw a lot of his work. She said if she could talk with him now, she would ask him many questions. “I think that the life that he led was so interesting and amazing,” Simko said. “All the experiences that he got to do. I really just wish I could have learned from him.”

Present at the livestream was Lisa Valentine Clark, Dr. Clark’s wife, to present Emily with the scholarship funds totaling $1,400.

“My late husband, Dr. Christopher Clark — who is continued to be well loved here at Utah Valley University — loved his time here,” Clark said. “Part of his legacy that was the most meaningful to him was to be able to continue this scholarship that he started to London study abroad — he really knew the power of giving students real-world opportunities to see the most engaging, exciting, thrilling theater as part of their education. And I'm really excited to see this happen today to be able to present this first scholarship a long time in the coming years.”

During his time at UVU — which included serving as the university’s Theatre Department chair — Dr. Clark took students to London and Edinburgh through the Theatre Study Abroad program. There, students would witness live theatre in venues like Stratford-upon-Avon, the home of William Shakespeare’s plays.

After Dr. Clark passed away from ALS in June 2020, employees at the UVU School of the Arts wanted to keep his passion for the study abroad program alive. 

UVU School of the Arts Marketing Manager Isaac Walters met Chris in middle school and was responsible for transitioning the project — originally a stage production — to an online memorial.

“He had a huge impact on so many people I know,” Walters said. “He had a very big impact on me. He was there for me as a friend during some of the darkest periods of my life. And I think he was that for pretty much everybody he met. He was a remarkable individual.”

Scholarship funds come from The Ron and Kaye Gunnel Family Foundation, which contributed up to 75% of the amount needed to fully fund the scholarship. The remaining 25% is currently being gathered as part of Dr. Clark’s online memorial and scholarship fund. Additionally, the 2019 benefit production of Xanadu — produced by Dr. Clark’s friends and collaborators and held at the Hale Center Theater Orem — raised enough funds to help a directing student attend the Theatre Study Abroad Program.

“There's something to be said for his legacy, for leaving something behind that will continue to do good year after year,” School of the Arts Marketing Manager Erika Stone said. “I think it’s a wonderful thing for his wife and for his family to know that he lives on. He's going to continue to help people and do the same things that he was doing in life in terms of having an impact on people.”

Dr. Clark’s signature quotation, “Well Roared, Lion,” comes from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While its meaning is up to interpretation, the quotation signifies a voice and a life well-lived, according to Walters.

“For me, [that quote] represents so much about Chris because it’s from Shakespeare, something he loved very much,” Walters said. “And secondly, it’s from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s all about comedy, and Chris loved to make people laugh. It says something about who he is as much as the quality of what he did, which was, of course, extraordinary.”

You can contribute to the Chris Clark Scholarship here.