Faculty Profile - Divine Intermission

 

Since 1998, Linda has graced our stage with a presence second to none and helped aspiring actors discover their talents and hone their acting skills. While the road to Hammond was circuitous at best, she has been instrumental in helping the stars shine at home, across South Carolina, and even internationally.

 

Few would guess that Linda holds degrees in biology and art history at the University of South Carolina and had plans to become a marine biologist. She spent a summer doing field research at the renowned Belle Baruch Institute near Georgetown where she had the opportunity to explore marine biology and environmental science. From a large family of scientists, Linda never had a doubt that she would follow in the same footsteps.

 

After graduation, she began contemplating graduate school, but took a detour in the form of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London to study Shakespeare because theatre had always been a passion. According to Linda, “I saw a modern version of Much Ado About Nothing in London’s Regent Park Gardens. It was so inspiring, and took me out of myself and into the world.”

 

She decided then that instead of becoming a marine biologist, she wanted to be an actress. Shakespeare provided the perfect curtain call.

 

When she returned home, she entered graduate school to earn an MFA in Acting, completed a fellowship at the Shakespeare Company in Washington, DC as a company member, and worked around the east coast. It was then she and fellow classmates founded the South Carolina Shakespeare Company.

 

In 1997, Linda was directing a play that called for a large cast. After putting out a call for actors and actresses of all ages, a group of five Hammond students auditioned.

 

“They were so easy to work with. These students had heart, brains, and passion. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them and as we were wrapping up production, I promised we would start a junior company.” Fate soon intervened in the form of a phone call. Hammond was looking for a drama teacher and the students called and encouraged Ms. K. to apply.

 

According to Linda, “Although I had taught at the college level, this was different. I soon came to realize that it was as much about the students as it was about the pairing of an avocation with a vocation. I can’t tell you the joy I get from teaching them. Theatre prepares you for life beyond the stage. It is the art form devoted to the way people think, feel, and interact with each other and the world. It tells the stories of all of us.”

 

While we won’t find Linda studying and exploring marine life, several years ago she was one of only 25 artists in the United States chosen by The Juilliard School for a Directing Shakespeare Fellowship, where she studied with directors from New York City and The Globe in London and worked with drama students from Juilliard, and New York and Columbia Universities.

 

Life prepared the perfect stage for Linda Khoury, and although she can’t walk past Mike Rice’s science classroom without a glow coming over her, she knows without a doubt she is exactly where she is supposed to be.

 

And who better than William Shakespeare to sum it up. To be or not to be? That was the question.