Anyone who has ever been a part of, or seen live theater knows that at the center of the production is the director. For 31 years, Walter Wolfe led Hannon Theatre and his Loyola classes with authority, but has now officially retired. Caroyln Guido-Clifford, the new Artistic Director for the Hannon Theatre, Acting Workshop and Cinematic Arts teacher, is now making sure that the Hannon shows and these classes are run efficiently.
Guido-Clifford had always loved theater, deciding to study it in college and then pursuing it in her career as an actor and director. Eventually Guido-Clifford moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where she started teaching at a playhouse for many years until she moved to Los Angeles. Guido-Clifford wasn’t very sold when she first heard the idea of the job at Loyola but applied and realized how great the community was deciding to stay here at Loyola.
“I saw this job on a job board, kind of on a whim and said ‘I don’t know, is that something I really want to do?’, but applied. After my first interview, I loved the community here, I loved what they were building and with each interview everything felt a little more right, especially the ability to lead a program like Hannon.” Guido-Clifford stated, explaining why she came to Loyola.
As the Artistic Director for Hannon Theatre, Guido-Clifford is in charge of teaching all of the actors their roles in the show, and chooses the shows for the upcoming seasons. As a teacher, Guido-Clifford teaches Acting Workshop which teaches students how to embody a character, how to make a performance meaningful and many other good acting techniques. For Cinematic Arts Guido-Clifford teaches about the basic overview of filmmaking which includes pre-production (writing and producing), production (directing and other common studio jobs) and post-production (editing and sound designing), along with the history of filmmaking.
Guido-Clifford also mentioned a variety of goals she is shooting for while working here at Loyola, however the main thing she was focused on was community. Whether you were in a show or in the audience. “It’s important to me that we feel like a company all year round. Just like if you feel like a football player even when you aren’t in season. Whether you’re in the cast, crew or aren’t able to participate in the show, everyone is still a part of Hannon.” Guido-Clifford adds, “Something extremely important to me is audience legacy. Making sure that the students are getting excited about what the shows are, and that they are coming to see them. One of the ways that I’m doing that is, I’m lowering student ticket prices to five dollars making it easier to allow kids to see the shows.”
Guido-Clifford also explained how she wants to explore, and add on people’s understanding on what theater is. Making sure that big titles like Hamilton, and Wicked, aren’t the only kinds of theater that people know, even if they are less popular.
William Och ‘27, the assistant stage manager for the Hannon Theatre Company, described Guido-Clifford by saying “Working with Ms. Guido-Clifford has truly been a delight. She is a vibrant and energetic director that constantly motivates the actors.”
Daniel Fernadez ‘28, the lead actor in the Fall play and current student in Acting Workshop, affirms Och’s description by commenting about how her teaching methods are very direct and helpful along with saying “She has allowed me to have a wonderful introduction into the Hannon Theatre Company and my favorite class, Acting Workshop.”
Overall, Guido-Clifford has an experienced background in teaching theater and many plans for this upcoming season. Hannon Theatre Company’s next performance is The Rainmaker starting on November 13th and closing November 16th.
