Joan Van Ark was cast as the flower girl in a play after being rejected for the role she had auditioned for. She thought the experience was fun and decided to take acting more seriously. She discovered that she adored acting, which became a significant aspect of her life.
Van Ark attended the Yale Theatre School after meeting actress Julie Harris while performing in Denver. Harris encouraged Van Ark to study acting and drama. Van Ark was only the second woman to enroll at the prestigious school and the youngest student ever to obtain a scholarship there.
“My parents took me to meet the dean in New Haven, Connecticut, after I wrote to him. He gave me a scholarship offer, which was predestined.”
In 1963, Van Ark made her acting debut in The Miser at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. She relocated to the South to work with the national touring company Barefoot in the Park after spending a year at the Arena Stage in Washington, DC.
