Name: Clare Mulligan
Year: Class of 2015
Major: Economics
Minor: Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
Sophomore Clare Mulligan came to college with a number of diverse interests, ranging from theater to Economics, and she’s picked up a few more since her arrival at Wash U. Fresh from her Campus Comedy pre-orientation program, Clare joined Mama’s Pot Roast, a prominent short-form improvisational comedy troupe on campus. She has also appeared in a number of shows with the Performing Arts Department, including 2012’s Radio Free Emerson and 2013’s Oedipus at Colonus. Outside the theater, Clare writes and serves as treasurer for WUnderground, Wash U’s satirical newspaper, volunteers with Stressbusters, plays the harp, and is a member of Delta Gamma Sorority. Clare found time in her packed schedule to sit down with Her Campus to discuss the pros and cons of juggling passions and why she never considers giving anything up.
Her Campus: What would you say is your favorite thing you do?
Clare Mulligan: My favorite thing? That would be Pot Roast. It was very influential on my Wash U career. When you join as a freshman, it’s really great because you have these friends who areseniors, and you can say, ‘Oh, I’m going out to a senior’s apartment,’ and you feel really cool [laughs]. And it’s just a nice outlet. There’re two times a week where you can just say whatever you want. It’s fun.
HC: Is improv ever hard? Can you ever not think of anything to say?
CM: There are definitely some games that are really hard, where it’s hard tofocus on what’s happening in the scene or make callbacks to what happened earlier, but that’s why we practice, everyone has bad practices, and everyone has good practices, andhopefully by the time of the show, you’re not awful [laughs].
HC: Is there any hierarchy within the group, in terms of how you practice?
CM: We have a rehearsal captain, who is in charge of the games we play during each rehearsal, andthe games we play in the shows, and she structures everything; and we have a president, but she mostly is in charge of business. Soif someone wants us to do a show for them.
HC: With all these interests, are you still able to consider studying abroad next year?
CM: I am kind of nervous about that, but everyone in my suite is going abroad in the spring of junior year, so I feel like I don’t really have a choice. I do feel sad about missingfinal shows, and saying goodbye to seniors, but we’ll see. Maybe I’ll come back for a weekend. We’ll see.
HC: Where do you want to study abroad?
CM: London. The City of the Bard.
HC: Is that what it’s called?
CM: [Laughs] I was trying, and I couldn’t think of anything else!
HC: I heard you have some other study abroad plans.
CM: Yes! This summer, I will be traveling to the city of the bard for a month to study Shakespeare at the Globe Theater; that’s why I called it the City of the Bard. The Bard is Shakespeare.
HC: I think we got it. So, if you’re going to be gone for a month of the summer, will you still be able to get a job or an internship?
CM: I actually have already lined up an internship with NARAL [Pro-Choice Missouri]. I don’t really know what I’ll be doing, but it seems like good experience, and they make really good ties with their interns, so it looks like I’ll be sticking around in St. Louis until July when I head off to…The City of the Bard [laughs].
HC: In the past, what was a typical Clare Mulligan summer?
CM: Well, since I live in D.C., the city of the Obama, I, in the past, have had internships within the city since it’s a big, popular space for internships. It’s a big city; there’s businesses there. . . and companies and organizations… Population: 500,000 and growing!
HC: So, now that you’re a Campus Celebrity, what’s next for Clare Mulligan?
CM: Well, to top that would be quite an achievement. Probably, like, Student Body President, cover of [Student Life’s] Sex Issue, be Chancellor Wrighton… I don’t know. Star in Cats: The Musical.
HC: Well, you are starring in something this semester, aren’t you?
CM: Yes! I am in the wonderful play Five Lesbians Eating a Quiche, [produced] by Thyrsus, coming at you on March 29th and 30th of 2013! So stay tuned! [Laughs] It’ll be a blast.
HC: So, it sounds like you have a lot coming up, a play, an internship, the ‘City of the Bard…’ Any closing words of advice for people interested pursuing in the same kind or the same amount of activities on campus?
CM: Well, if you’re interested in theater, hang out in the PAD Lounge [upstairs in Mallinckrodt]. You meet cool people there. That was the best thing I ever did sophomore year. And, in general, just limit yourself to stuff that you really, really care about, and what makes you happy, because if it’s stressing you out, it’s not worth it.