A tribute to Mistress of the Arts

By Evelyn C. McDonald
Arts & Culture Reporter
August 29, 2019 9:00 a.m.

For over 20 years, she’s been the smiling face of the Amelia Community Theatre (ACT). Next month, Linda McClane will transition from managing director to being one of the dedicated volunteers that keep the theatre running smoothly.

Linda has been on the island for nearly 40 years. She and her husband John, a Fernandina native, met at the University of Florida where she minored in theatre. The arrangement was that he would come back to Fernandina to enter his father’s practice at the eye clinic on Atlantic and 14th when he completed his medical training.

After she graduated, Linda taught high school English. When John went to Chicago for his medical residency, Linda went to work for the Illinois Institute of Technology in Alumni Relations. That gave her good experience in reaching out to people to get them to engage with the Institute, experience which would be useful to her in her ACT work.

Linda became involved with ACT in 1981 when John began his career. At first, she was a volunteer, doing everything from painting scenery to distributing flyers. When the current managing director Ellen Green moved away to take care of family, she suggested to the theatre board that Linda replace her. And as they say, the rest is history. Incidentally, that history included a very successful capital campaign that lead to the building of the Main Stage.

Like many of us, Linda is looking forward to retirement though she acknowledges there are a lot of unknowns about it. She will continue to be involved as a volunteer and in fact will be directing the play “Radium Girls” at ACT next year. She’s excited to be able to audition for roles, something she couldn’t do in her current position.

She admits that one task in her retirement is going to be getting all the things done around her house that she has been ignoring over the years. She is interested in attending the various arts and culture events in town. Her two sons live out West and she is looking forward to visiting them a bit more.

Linda has been a mainstay of the local arts scene and has given much back to our community. ACT will be honoring her with a reception Saturday (and we hope Dorian will not attend). If you can attend, great. If not, please wish her well in her next venture.

Evelyn McDonald moved to Fernandina Beach from the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. in 2006. Evelyn is vice-chair on the Amelia Center for Lifelong Learning and is on the Dean’s Council for the Carpenter Library at the UNF. Ms. McDonald has MS in Technology Management from the University of Maryland’s University College and a BA in Spanish from the University of Michigan.