Dale Fellowship winner Clifton '15 to write play on Romani status in Serbian society

Katherine Clifton ’15 was awarded the 2015 Martin A. Dale ’53 Fellowship, and will travel to Serbia to write a play about the relationship between the Serbs and Romani people in hopes to bring healing through theater.

The fellowship, in honor of Martin Dale ’53, comes with a $33,000 grant, provides the winner the opportunity to spend a year after graduation to pursue a meaningful project “of extraordinary merit that will widen the recipient’s experience of the world and significantly enhance his or her personal growth and intellectual development," according to its citation.

Clifton, who is concentrating in English with a certificate in theater, was a participant in the Bridge Year Program prior to freshman year, and lived in Serbia during that time. She first thought of this project idea while she was there four years ago.

“What could be a way I could somehow facilitate conversation, instigate dialogue and generate empathy?” Clifton said of her thoughts leading her to pursue the project.

Clifton will conduct interviews with Roma and non-Roma Serbians to begin to write her play. She said she intends to assemble their words in a creative way in order to create a conversation between the two groups. She will have four actors portray multiple Serbian and Roma characters by delivering monologues inspired by the words of the people she interviews.

“The Dale will allow me to delve more deeply into what makes us human: what unites us and what divides us,” she said.

With the fellowship, Clifton said she hopes to use theater as “a tool to embrace humanity and challenge prejudices.” In the future, she said she hopes to continue her engagement in cross-cultural dialogue, especially through theater.

Clifton, who comes from Hawaii, says that one of the main inspirations behind her interest in cross-cultural dialogue and internationalism originates from her experiences in Hawaii, which she said is such a diverse place.

On campus, Clifton is an Undergraduate Student Government U-councilor, Wilson College residential college adviser, Orange Key tour guide and a member of the Bhangra team.

As a U-councilor, Clifton created the idea for Wintersession courses, which are personal enrichment classes offered by USG at the end of January.More than1,000students enrolled in over 60 courses during the 2015 Wintersession program, but participation may have been affected by the University closing on the Tuesday of the Intersession break due to inclement weather.

Clifton was also a member of the Mental Health Week committee on USG.

Samantha Cody '17, who is friends with Clifton, said Clifton deserved the award because of her intellect and genuine personality.

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"[Clifton] is full of great ideas and salient questions," Cody said. "I have never had a conversation with her that wasn't extremely thought provoking. ...She is constantly looking to explore new worldviews and consider new ideas. I expect that she will make the absolute most of this experience."

Cody added that Clifton's time in Serbia seems to have impacted her a great deal.

"It was an enormously culturally immersive experience in which she was given the opportunity to establish a connection to Serbia," Cody said, adding that Clifton's connection to the country includes language, a relationship with the people she met there and an appreciation of Serbian culture.

Clifton's personality also stands out, Cody said, adding she recently went to a Bridgeyear semi-formal and hardly knew anyone there.

"I bumped into Katherine, who knew a similarly small number of people but didn't let it remotely get in the way of her having a good time," Cody said. "She was grooving her heart out to the music. ... Against my cynical expectations, I had a genuinely great time just dancing around with her. I would choose her as a dance floor partner every time"