It hasn’t always been easy.

At times Ron Clark and Jody Hovland had seven part-time jobs between them.

Waiting tables, grading tests, substitute teaching and doing whatever else to make ends meet.

With the time they had left, they would pour over scripts, block out scenes and study lines in hopes of one day doing theater fulltime.

Their hard work paid off.

In 25 years, Iowa City’s Riverside Theatre has grown from a trio of friends to a theater company producing world premieres, cutting-edge plays and more.

What’s kept the couple going?

“An artistic impulse to be working,” Clark said.

As with any company, there have been highs and lows, but no matter what, the two say they have never taken the theater for granted.

They often work 18-hour days, eating dinner at 10 p.m. to live their dream. Truth told, they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Hovland said she still gets shivers every time they launch a new show.

Through each new venture, she said she’s reminded that “anything is possible.”

As for the future, the two look for it to only get better.

“We are still dreaming big,” Hovland said.

— Deanna Truman-Cook

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