Originally published on May 23, 2017.
Theatre has always been a passion for Mary Way. Mary found herself drawn to Southern Utah University after attending a summer Shakespeare program at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the professional theatre company on the campus of SUU. Mary was captivated by the Adams Shakespearean Theatre, and said having one of the world's most accurate Globe replicas on campus was a huge bonus.
SUU helped Mary realize her love for theatre was rooted in a love of literature, rather than a love of being on the stage.
“SUU gave me a clarity and realization of what I wanted to do,” said Mary. “I have this vivid memory of my junior year, I was walking through the library looking for some books for one of my classes when I was struck with this feeling. In that moment I just knew this was the type of atmosphere I was looking for.”
Mary said the freedom of study that SUU provides, as well as the intimate class sizes and accessibility to one-on-one time with the professors, gave her the possibility to combine several areas of research interest.
After graduating from the English program at SUU, Mary applied for the Shakespeare MA programs in the United Kingdom. Mary ended up at the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. After finishing her MA program she earned a full time job at the newly opened Shakespeare's New Place/Shakespeare Birthplace Site, primarily as a period interpreter.
“My time at SUU and The Shakespeare Institute gave me breadth and depth of knowledge about Shakespeare and performance studies,” said Mary. “While my time at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust gave me a passion for heritage work.”
