Clark Taylor is Mount Vernon’s Director of Theater Arts as well as a Performing Arts Instructor, working primarily with Middle and Upper School students. This is Clark’s eleventh year at Mount Vernon, having previously founded and led the Theater program at the Wesleyan School for fourteen years.
Clark is a multi-talented, professional theater artist, painter, composer, props builder and sculptor who plays an array of musical instruments. Hailing from North Alabama where he was born and raised, Clark originally relocated to Atlanta to join a new Shakespeare theatre troupe and embraced various types of performances across different mediums. Not only did he moonlight as a ‘singing messenger,’ delivering best wishes for holidays and birthdays through festive song, but he also performed as a street character for several iterations of the annual Georgia Renaissance Fair. Along the way, Clark developed a passion for mentoring young artists, which led to his pursuit of becoming an educator and earning a Master’s degree in Production & Design.
At Mount Vernon, Clark especially enjoys teaching classes that enrich the curriculum and allow students to pursue independence and the MV mindsets. For example, students write a play, select student actors and directors, and produce the show.
Closely connected within the Atlanta arts community, especially the Alliance Theater and the Atlanta Shakespeare Company, Clark is a creative force and a Renaissance man. It is therefore no surprise that his Cherry Log Christmas Carol, which the Mount Vernon community experienced this past weekend, is a cherished tradition at the School. Clark had been performing the Christmas Carol in its original Victorian form for many years, but eventually decided to give it an Appalachian twist and even added a blue-grass band on stage with him, the play’s solo performer. It is this adaptation which makes this holiday staple truly irresistible.
During his limited free time, Clark enjoys his family (when they manage to gather), as his two grown sons live on the west coast. He can also be found playing on various stages in Atlanta and has even played accordion in accompaniment to the Indigo Girls! Thank you, Clark, for sharing your creativity and passion with the MV community!