Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Clark.
Hi Lisa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I graduated with a B.S. in English from Brigham Young University. During college, I was part of the sketch comedy/improv troupe The Garrens, and then, years and many kids later, I co-founded the theater-as-improv troupe The Trillionaires which performs original, improvised plays and musicals in a variety of genres. While raising kids and putting my husband through graduate school, I did a lot of freelance voice-over and acting work which led to some exciting experiences in film and commercials, including the “real mom” in the viral videos for Chatbooks.
I also continued writing and gained experience as a freelance writer for commercials, web series, and scripts. I wrote the book, Real Moms Making It Up As We Go, hosted the feel-good service show “Random Acts,” and headlined the musical improv TV show Show Offs, for three seasons on BYUtv. I also starred in movies like Stalking Santa and was a script consultant, and producer, and starred as “Carrie Carrington” in the film Once I Was a Beehive and Once I Was Engaged.
I currently host the weekly podcast The Lisa Show (www.thelisashowpodcast.com) on BYUradio. My husband of 25 years, Dr. Christopher L. Clark, passed away due to ALS during the summer of 2020, and we have 5 amazing children.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My life has not been smooth, but it’s been interesting and for the most part joyful. Raising 5 kids while my husband was going to school full time and working full time wasn’t easy. Relocating to England for his Master’s Degree was difficult.
Negotiating and renegotiating careers, schooling, and other obligations was tricky. And certainly raising 5 kids during a global pandemic while taking care of my dying husband who had been living with ALS for 4 1/2 years, while working in a relatively new career was a particularly difficult time, as well as his passing and our isolated grieving.
But, I will say, that although those events stick out to me as struggles along the way, they were also buffered and lived with a lot of laughter, faith, help, connection with others, and love. I have come to realize that life is always a mixture of many things and focusing on joy and love can get you through the seemingly impossible moments.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
One of the things I love most about what I do on my podcast, The Lisa Show, is connecting with other people. Getting to have interesting conversations with interesting people is the best thing about my job. And, really, my entire career, from improvisational acting, comedy, writing, teaching, and producing, is all connected to these kinds of connecting relationships.
Most of my career opportunities have come from my improvisational background and saying “yes, and…” to new experiences and opportunities that have put me outside of my comfort zone but have brought me to opportunities and friendships that have changed the course of my life. Living the dream, to me, looks like creating projects (film, TV, musicals, anything really) with my friends and I’m the most proud of the projects that allow me to do just that.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I think success is when your adult kids want to come home and hang out with you. I think it also looks like being able to make your friends laugh and having the best stories to tell.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.byuradio.org/the-lisa-show
- Instagram: @yourfunnyvalentine
- Facebook: Lisa Valentine Clark
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7ZwIxBzgUB7jgAzaHzK_Ww
Image Credits
Aaron Cornia, Mark Owens, and Justin Hackworth
