With mid-terms steadily approaching and fall’s chilly winds blowing summer temperatures off into a hazy memory, right about now is just when most Mac students start to lose their grip. Or, at least I do. But somehow, Claire Dawson ’05 manages to project an aura of togetherness and cool-as-a-cuke composure amidst the general zeitgeist of panic swirling about the campus. Is this just a front or has Claire mastered some sort of Zen understanding of the inner-workings at Macalester? I didn’t ask her, so I don’t know. But I did manage to learn her favorite Shakespeare play, where she gets those cloaks, and how closely connected she is to “Back to the Future.”
 

Shane: So do you work in the Theatre Department?
 

Claire: I do.
 

Shane: What projects are you working on right now? Are you involved with “Tongue of a Bird?”
 

Claire: No, I’m not. I’m actually the makeup designer for “Runaways” right now.
 

Shane: How is that going?
 

Claire: Well, let’s just say I’ve been doing a lot of Google searches for “track marks” and “self-mutilation.” It’s not really pleasant.
 

Shane: Now, is this really supposed to be an honest treatment of the experience of runaways addressed through musical theatre?
 

Claire: Yeah, but it’s pretty gritty. It was produced in the ’80s but [the director] has updated a lot of it. It’s got a lot of rap and hip hop. I like to say it’s kind of like Cats only with drug addicts and homeless kids.
 

Shane: A hip hop version of “Cats?” That sounds like it has the capacity to be pretty terrible.
 

Claire: I know, on paper it does, but I’m confident it’s going to be good. The cast is good, and they’ve involved a lot of first-years which I’m happy about. And the director, Harry [Waters, Jr.] is really excellent. He’s famous.
 

Shane: Famous how?
 

Claire: He was in “Back to the Future.”
 

Shane: I’ve never seen it.
 

Claire: What? How can you not have seen “Back to the Future?”
 

Shane: I get that a lot. Who was he in the movie?
 

Claire: Well, if you’d seen the movie, you’d know what I was talking about. He’s Marvin Berry, he’s supposed to be Chuck Berry’s brother. It’s when Michael Jackson is performing, he calls his brother… believe me, if you had seen the movie you’d be excited, too.
 

Shane: I’m sure I would. So what have been some of your other favorite theatre projects at Mac?
 

Claire: Well, I stage managed “Mud, River, Stone” last year, so that was fun.
 

Shane: That sounds like too much responsibility for me.
 

Claire: No, I like it a lot. I really like to get to be the complete dictator of a production. Or God, Jr. as we sometimes call it.
 

Shane: So, Claire, judging from our shared sophomore-year Shakespeare class, it seems you’re a big fan of The Bard.
 

Claire: Yes, it’s true, I am.
 

Shane: Any favorite plays?
 

Claire: Well, “Much Ado About Nothing.”
 

Shane: ( interrupting ) Really?
 

Claire: Well, the play isn’t that great, but I really like the character Beatrice. She’s really smart, and she doesn’t want to get married. And throughout the whole play, you’re just like, “Watch out for Beatrice.” But I also like “Macbeth”
 

Shane: Who doesn’t like “Macbeth?” Wait, isn’t it supposed to be bad luck to say “Macbeth” in a theatre?
 

Claire: No, it’s OK. We’re not working on a production right now. That’s the only time it really applies. And we’re actually not in a theatre right now, anyway. We’re in the lobby.
 

Shane: Good. I didn’t want to bring any curses onto the stage or nothing. So enough with this fiddle-faddle. On to the important questions: where did you get that fabulous black and burgundy crushed velvet cape?
 

Claire: It was from a website called The Daily Planet.
 

Shane: Like the newspaper in “Superman?”
 

Claire: Yeah, but it’s weird because there was no Superman paraphernalia on the website at all. But it’s been defunct long ago.
 

Shane: That’s a pity. I love that thing.
 

Claire: I love it, too.
 

Shane: But does it really hold up for the Minnesota winters?
 

Claire: No, I quickly learned that it doesn’t. It’s more of a fall thing. But at least I can wear it now.
 

Shane: Speaking of fashion accessories, do you still have those colored contact lenses?
 

Claire: Yeah, you can only wear them a certain number of times, but I’ve still got a few wears left in them. They’re really for special occasions.
 

Shane: Why did you opt for the yellow and black motif?
 

Claire: Oh, I just thought it was freaky and looked fun. I was actually considering getting myself some silver ones too. But you have to order them from the UK because they demand a prescription in the US. Even though they’re non-prescription lenses.
 

Shane: Damn the man. So what is in the future for Claire Dawson?
 

Claire: Grad school. I’m scared of real life.
 

Shane: A lot of people are. What would you go for?
 

Claire: Well, either English for something involving Sci-fi or Young Adult fiction, or Harvard’s Celtic languages and literature program.
 

Shane: Harvard, eh?
 

Claire: Yeah, actually it’s the only school that offers it. I’m taking Gaelic right now at St Thomas. And it’s great, but also really difficult. It bears no relation at all to the English language.
 

Shane: So, final question: is it true that you lived on a boat last year?
 

Claire: Yeah, I did the “Semester at Sea” program. And it was fucking phenomenal.
 

Shane: What was the curriculum like?
 

Claire: Well, we had six weeks of “land class” where we learned about navigation and oceanography, then six weeks at sea, where we sailed from Massachusetts to South America.
 

Shane: That sounds scary.
 

Claire: It was mostly fun, but they would have you be a “Junior Watch Officer” a few times, where you’d basically be in charge of the ship for a few hours, and that was a little bit scary. You were basically making sure no one would die.
 

Shane: I take it everything went well?
 

Claire: Well, I couldn’t get the sail trim right, so we slowed way down, and that was embarrassing, but it was basically OK.
 

Shane: So I take it you don’t get sea sick.
 

Claire: No, I did, but it only lasted like two days.
 

Shane: Two days?
 

Claire: Well, one girl was sea sick for about two weeks. She wasn’t having a very good time.
 

Shane: I would think not. And, just to be clear, you got credit for living on a boat for six weeks?
 

Claire: Sure did.
 

Shane: God bless Macalester.