Meet Clara Burrus, they are joining us for our next production of It’s the Most _____ Time of the Year: Oil on Canvas written by Erin McCarson and directed by Jessica Johnson.
In this production, it's Thanksgiving Eve, and Jean and Doug couldn't be more excited about the holiday season. The halls are decked, the trees are up, and the kids, Rosemary and Bing, will be arriving any minute. Son-in-law Mike and new grandbaby Suzie round out the family gathering, and loving tolerance and charity abounds. But Jean has arranged a surprise for them all that makes them question her sanity, and as Thanksgiving Day dawns, the family must decide: How far will they go to make Jean's ultimate Christmas wish come true?
We reached out to Clara to tell us a bit about themselves and about what their experience has been like working on this production!
1. What is your favorite or least favorite holiday season tradition and why?
I love Christmas morning. I’m generally not a morning person, but Christmas is the exception and I always wake up excited. My family typically gets together for breakfast to celebrate and I have such fond memories of those times throughout the years. The atmosphere on a Christmas morning is just perfect.
2. Do you relate to your character or to any character in the show? How similar / different are you?
While I’m currently still flushing out who Rosemary is and getting to know her, I think there are some definite similarities between the two of us. Her anxious energy from trying so desperately to remain in control under stress is something I can certainly relate to at times. I think many of us can probably relate to something within each of these characters actually. They’re so human and normal within their daily (dys)functioning, allowing us to easily see ourselves and our loved ones within them. To me, that’s one of the biggest recipes for a good Christmas story and a main reason why I fell in love with this show the first time I read it.
3. What are the top 5 songs on your holiday season playlist?
Have yourself a Merry little Christmas by Judy Garland; Christmas in New York by the Porgues; The Christmas Song; In the bleak midwinter; Silent Night.
4. What is one memorable gift you've given or received and why has it stuck out as something special?
One year I wrote a letter to Santa, asking for a puppy for my mom. We had recently lost our dog Logan, that she’d had from before she had our family. I wrote that my mom seemed sad, and I thought a puppy might help her feel better. Of course being a nine year old little girl, I was the one that really wanted a puppy, but I also couldn’t think of a better way to help my mom be happy. We woke up Christmas morning to a little white fluff ball we named Gabriel, and it was to date the most excited I think we’ve all ever been for a gift. My mom still has my letter.
5. How did you get into theatre?
I’ve always loved to listen to and tell stories. My whole life it’s been one of my favorite things so I think theater was a natural progression for me because of that. I guess I started in our Christmas nativity play as a child, but when I was really little my play group did Jack and the beanstalk at the local library. I was Jack’s mother with probably some of my best dramatic work to date. But my first big stage show was in middle school, when my chorus teacher auditioned and cast me as Annie. It was like I’d completely lost and found myself performing, and I’d never felt anything like it before. From that moment on, it was home.
Biography
Clara has been performing for over two decades and is a native of WNC. This is her first show at the Magnetic and she is thrilled to be working with such a wonderful cast and crew. She is a graduate of UNCG’s School of Music (Bachelors of Music in Voice Performance) and ETSU’s School of Nursing (Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing). Excited to finally be back performing, she was last seen in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Narrator) at Haywood Arts Repertory Theatre, and in Asheville pre-Covid at Montford Park Players in Robin Hood: Quest for Justice (Maid Marian). Clara currently works as a Registered Nurse at the Charles George VA. But all her free time is spent with her amazing family, her wonderful husband Dominic, and their various fur and feather babies.
It’s the Most _____ Time of the Year: Oil on Canvas is showing December 3-18, 2021. Grab your tickets here: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=129115