Maggie Rader Jewell Journey Interviews William Jewell College

When she first came to William Jewell College, Maggie Rader was afraid to stray far from campus, much less cross an ocean.

The path Maggie has traveled would have seemed a dream only four short years ago. She has charted the Everglades as a Pryor Leadership Fellow and studied Shakespeare in Oxford, England. And along the way, Maggie has discovered her lifes passion.

Theres something about opening a script and its just words on a page. You get the responsibility of turning those words into a person, she said.

Maggie knows that creating characters and breathing life into them can touch people, even change them.

But Maggie never imagined she would end up living among the historic spires of Oxford or watching legendary actors perform onstage.

That is until Maggie landed a part in A Conception of Love, a romantic play set in Oxford, England. Playwright Francis Warner who has worked with hundreds of Jewell students over the past three decades as Director of the Oxford Overseas Study Course and Dean of Degrees at Oxford Universitys St. Peters College flew to Liberty for the performance. 


Encouraged by Warners words of praise after her performance, Maggie, who had portrayed a student walking the streets of Oxford, found herself doing just that as a college junior. 


She spent a term in England, studying the works of William Shakespeare, and watching famed actor Ian McKellen a former pupil of Warners breath life into Shakespeares King Lear with the Royal Shakespeare Company. 


After spending hours discussing theatre and the Bard with Warner, Maggie knew that she was meant to perform Shakespeare. Her youthful timidity was replaced by confidence and determination. I thought, If Ian McKellen was sitting in this same chair in Franciss office, whats to say I cant do what he does? remembered Maggie. 


Last fall, Maggie inhabited the role of Lady MacBeth for Jewells performance of the tragic play. She plans to continue studying Shakespeare as a graduate student and use theatre to work with underserved youth. 


It was Shakespeare who wrote, All the worlds a stage. For Maggie, the stage is a way to change the world.

Read More about Maggie's Jewell Journey at: http://tinyurl.com/MaggieRader

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Maggie
• Rader
• Maggier Theatre
• Theater
• William Jewell
• Jewell College
• WJC
• the Hill
• Journey
• Journey Interviews
• Interview