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Monday, June 20, 2016

Chris Clark


This is my friend Chris. No, this is our friend Chris. He’s probably your friend, too.

Chris is one of my oldest friends (as in, I’ve known him a long time) (maybe not as long as you, Ken Craig, IT’S NOT A CONTEST).


Chris is FUNNY. He’s smart. He’s friendly. He’s got a great attitude and laughs a lot. He’s talented. He works hard and is creative. He’s a husband and a father and a son and a brother and a leader and an award-winning director and an actor and a teacher and a million other things.


(As a self-indulgent aside of highlights, in an attempt to give you an idea: my first memory of Chris is from the year 1997, I’m pretty sure. I saw him & Lisa at church and knew they were The Cool Kids. Fast-forward to about 2005, we ended up in the same blogging circle which naturally meant [or at least evolved into] same circle of friends. In 2013, he not only allowed me to sit in on one of his classes so I could brush up on auditioning, the trajectory of my life was changed as he and the other directors/producers at HCTO cast me in In The Heights. That same year I got to work with him a few times in some film work. In 2014 I became a Theatre Performance major at Utah Valley University, which department he happens to chair. Just last month I got to share the stage with him in a production of A Month In The Country at UVU.)

So...turns out, Chris has ALS.

Remember ALS? The Ice Bucket Challenge? Lou Gehrig’s disease? Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis? (jk about that last one-- no one knows that one)

It’s the worst. And it’s unfair. And it doesn’t make sense. And it’s UNFAIR.

People who know and love Chris and Lisa and their five kids have been aching to know what to do, how to help...that is, aside from not knowing whether or not to laugh when Chris makes hilarious jokes about what’s going on.



The Clarks have a lot ahead of them in the years to come, so a benefit is being held. 100% of proceeds go to the Clarks.

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP:

~ Go to xanadubenefit.com and take a look around.
~ Plan to attend the remount of Xanadu (yes, THAT Xanadu) at Hale Center Theater Orem. Chris directed this show in 2012 (it was so hilarious I saw it twice). Much of the original cast will be in this limited 8-show run, so get tickets today, I promise you won’t be sorry!
~ Attend the Silent Auction on June 25 in Cedar Hills, Utah.
~ If you hurry, you can still make a donation for that Silent Auction!
~ Purchase items or make a direct donation via the site’s shop.

And of course… #XanaDontGetALS.

YouGuys, I’m sure we all have countless stories of how our lives have been touched by the Clarks. Now’s the time to step up and show how much #WeLoveChrisAndLisa.






*Yo, all the beautiful photography you see in this post? That's Justin Hackworth. Check him out.

1 comment:

Emily said...

I'll be there on July 2nd. Can't make the auction but we will continue to do what we can. Chris went to school with Nathan. We are huge fans of him and Lisa.