Meet the undergraduate student playing Clare in the Department of Theater’s upcoming production of Poor Clare
A young, anxious Kashmere Shafik walked away from her first theater audition in tears, declaring to her mom she would never do anything like it ever again.
A callback for that production changed her perspective—and helped her fall in love with the stage.
“I was over the moon,” said Shafik, who ultimately was cast in the ensemble of the Beck Center for the Arts production of Will Averill’s The Trials of Robinhood. “I couldn’t believe that I had gotten cast after I thought I ‘failed.’ After that, I just kept trying out for anything I could and kept chasing that high of performing.”
That includes several roles since coming to Case Western Reserve University. A third-year student majoring in theater and psychology, Shafik has performed in several Department of Theater productions, including Adrianna in The Comedy of Errors, Gwendolyn in The Importance of Being Earnest and Catherine in Pippin. Her next billing is in the titular role of Clare in Chiari Atik’s Poor Clare Oct. 2–11.
She also has performed with CWRU Footlighters as Heather Duke in Heathers, and in several short student-written plays through the Players’ Theatre Group’s Play in a Day events—through which she earned notable credits such as “bed bug" and an “egotistical filmmaker.”
Members of the community might have also seen her on the stage as the lead singer of her band, Bite Me. The group performs at many campus events, including the Fall Harvest Festival, Battle of the Bands and Springfest.
Shafik also has participated in a number of student organizations, including Players Theater Group, Footlighters, Muslim Student Association, Se-xy, Henna Art Collective and a brief stint with the Case Juggling Club.
“When there isn’t a microphone in my hand or lines in need of memorization, you can find me eating ice cream and playing board games with my friends in our apartments,” she said.
From the west side suburb of Westlake, Shafik found CWRU offered an aspiring theater major something many other institutions couldn’t: the ability to combine the arts and another area of study—in her case, psychology.
Her next educational step is to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree before heading to New York City.
“I want to move to New York City and audition for anything and everything,” she said. “I want to work very hard for my dreams and not stop until I reach them.”
When the time is right in her career, Shafik also plans to complete a master’s degree in speech-language pathology and eventually work with children.
While performances of Poor Clare are sold out, the Department of Theater will host three other productions this academic year: Romeo and Juliet in November, The Antelope Party in February and Company in April. Learn more about the department’s 2026–27 season, but first, get to know Shafik.
Answers have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
1. How has CWRU helped you grow in acting?
CWRU provides an atmosphere for developing actors that makes it hard not to grow. It has been made very evident to me by my professors in the theater department that they are very focused on my well-being, advancing my talent, and on how best to help me in my theater journey. Not only do I learn a plethora of acting skills, vocal techniques, and theater history in my classes, but I have been allowed the chance to apply these practices in real productions. Through the CWRU theater department, I was given the opportunity to audition for a Cleveland Play House production, in which I was cast, and through that experience was able to understand what it was like to work in a professional theater setting.
2. What do you enjoy most about acting and which have resonated with you most?
The thing I enjoy most about acting is connecting with the audience. Whether it be performing in a character that an audience member can relate to specifically and find relief in, or by adding to the humor of a production by just being a voice in the play that contributes to someone laughing for the first time in ages, the best part of acting is making even one person feel a little more seen, or someone feel a little less alone.
The best feeling in the world is coming out of a show to people saying ‘That made me laugh!’ or better yet, ‘That made me cry.’ I’ve had a few people come up to me after performances telling me how much my character has impacted or inspired them. For me, those are the moments I know that I’ve succeeded at doing what theater is supposed to do: help people feel.
3. Can you describe Clare? Do you relate to her at all?
Clare is harmless, naive, strong-willed and extremely pure of heart. She is a beloved daughter, sister, and citizen of Assisi. She is devoted to her family, but the moment she realizes that she might be harming someone else with her lifestyle, she commits herself to a life of growing and learning to be better without a second thought. She is scared of change, of course—who isn’t? Yet she conquers her worries with an open mind and a skip in her step.
I relate to Clare in many ways, but I would say the most prominent characteristic we share is our stubbornness when it comes to what we want. Clare is not satisfied with how she is living her life, so she decides to take steps towards changing. That is a quality that has always come easily to me. If I’m not satisfied with how I’m going about life, I have no choice but to change and grow!
4. What are you most looking forward to about playing Clare?
Clare is a whirlwind of emotion and feeling. It is very apparent how she evolves throughout the play. I am most looking forward to sharing her story and helping her become who she wants to be at the very end, while hopefully inspiring others in the process.
5. What would you say to someone coming to a performance of Poor Clare?
Allow yourself to be delighted, curious, embarrassed, ashamed, proud and hopeful. It’s the duty of every production to make you feel something; you just have to let your heart move to the rhythm of the performance and don’t be scared to let yourself be emotional.
6. What is your dream role?
I have already been awarded the magnificent honor of playing Gwendolyn in The Importance of Being Earnest, which was certainly a dream role for me. But other dream roles include Eurydice in Hadestown, Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Dot/Marie in Sunday in the Park with George, Marian Paroo in The Music Man, and Amanda Prynne in Private Lives.
7. What experience at CWRU do you think has been most instrumental in helping you get closer to your career goal?
Definitely, my opportunity to perform as Loren in Epiphany by Brian Watkins at Cleveland Play House. I mean, it certainly looks nice on my resume, but being given the chance to showcase what I’ve learned over the years in a professional setting and to work with professional actors, guest artists, the director, and the crew at Playhouse Square has given me more experience than I ever could have imagined at this age.
8. Is there anything else you’d like to share?
CWRU is really a land of never-ending opportunities. I really owe it to this university for pushing me to be the greatest version of myself that I can be. Without my professors, classmates, bandmates, friends, and community, I would not be thriving as much as I am. Thank you, Case Western Reserve, for helping me move closer to who I want to be.
If you’d like to follow my theater or band journey more, you can follow me on Instagram (kashmere_shafik_performing).
