For Larry Clark, working at the University of Alberta is about being part of and contributing to a rich and vibrant community.
A little more than a week ago, I met with Larry - Technical Director in the Department of Drama - at the Timms Center. Larry came in, hands dusty from putting the children's castle outside the Early Learning Center back into use. Larry's daughter Melanie is at the daycare run by the center, which for Larry is a tiny community within a community. And, as he tells me, it is an incredibly lucky one: filled with healthy, active children. Only two blocks away at the University of Alberta Stollery Children's Hospital, Larry points out, there's a different community, where children and parents endure the pain and suffering that comes with illness and disease.
Ever since his wife, Marie-Josée Trempe, started working with the Make-A-Wish foundation in October of last year, Larry has felt spoiled to have two healthy children. He's also become keenly aware that there is so much that goes on at the hospital that is invisible to many people. So in an effort to highlight this work and to give back to the community, Larry will be rappelling down the 23-storey Coast Edmonton Plaza Hotel as one of 70 participants in the Make-a-Wish Foundation's Rope for Hope event on July 13th. Now in its fourth year, the event, which is the foundation's signature fund raiser, raises money for local children suffering from life-threatening medical conditions.
Heights aren't new to Larry who has worked as a rigger and technical director for 30 years in the entertainment industry. Larry took Sophia Birchall (Communications and Medical Outreach Coordinator, Make-A-Wish) and me up on the catwalk at the Timms Center theatre to get a sense of his work environment and affinity for heights. A close look at his work space convinced us that heights are not an issue for Larry. Scaling a 70 foot structure is a regular occurrence for him. As part of his work at the Timms Center theatre, Larry is responsible for all operations, managing and directing staff and students from different disciplines and enabling them to put on a great performance or show. Acting is the only aspect that Larry leaves to the experts. He is incidentally also in-charge of coordinating the technical aspects of practicums, that final hurdle to get your graduate degree at university!
Rappelling down the 23 stories of the Coast Edmonton Plaza Hotel will be the easy part for Larry. This particular event holds special meaning to Larry because he sees it as his chance to highlight what children and parents are going through in one part of our campus community, and in Edmonton: "I don't know if there are really more cases, or if I'm more aware, but there are children who are fighting more than anyone should ever be called to, with procedures and hospital stays and everything anti-KID." Larry knows that there are compassionate members of the U of A community who have dedicated their careers and time to helping these families, and rappelling for Make-A-Wish will allow him to apply his unique skill set to further uplift those efforts.
To learn more about Larry and his efforts, visit his Make-A-Wish Rope for Hope page.
Larry Clark is the Technical Director with the Department of Drama. In his current role, his work focuses on the development of systems for the integration of automated technology for the stage with emphasis on innovation in rigging design and integration of current and proven techniques in lighting, video, sound, and stage mechanics in live performances. His primary teaching areas include Production Crew, Technical Production. Graduate Supervision.