Southern Fall/Winter 2022

JACK DOMINICK ’21
A big part of improvisational comedy is always saying “Yes!”
Jack Dominick ’21 says it’s all about “taking your scene partner’s
suggestion, agreeing with it wholeheartedly, and then amplifying it more, seeing
where it might go. It’s about asking: ‘What is the situation we’re in? Yes — this is
the situation, and we’re going to keep going.’
“As soon as someone says ‘no,’ that’s when it falls flat. For example, if
there’s a duck on your head, and somebody says, ‘no,’ — well, that just takes
all the fun out of it.”
This characteristic of being open to the unexpected and saying, “Yes!” is true
of Dominick, who decided to move to New York City with his girlfriend Aislinn
Cain ’21 in September 2021 to pursue a career as an actor and comedian. He
has most recently been working with The People’s Improv Theater, performing
improv and sketch comedy, and working behind-the-scenes with technical
assistance. He has also been working in production assistance for TV and film
projects around the city.
Dominick earned a degree in Fine Arts Production and Performance, a
contracted individualized major, a program at BSC in which students may craft
their own degree with faculty guidance, through the Krulak Institute.
“I knew I wanted to be an actor, but I also love creating film as well, and
working on behind-the-scenes production,” explains Dominick. “My contracted
degree combined every area of three different majors: film, theatre, and art.
The opportunity to combine them all together has really served me well this
first year out of college. I feel prepared for anything. BSC is a place where the
opportunities are there — you learn, though, that you have to be the one to
pursue them. That’s so true of life, too.”
The Hilltop is near and dear to Dominick’s family. His late grandfather,
Frank McCoy Dominick ’61 served as chair of the Birmingham-Southern
Board of Trustees. Other family alumni include grandfather, Charles Tyler
Clark ’62, father, Frank McNamee Dominick ’91, aunts Susan Dominick
Doughton ’74 and Elizabeth “Betsy” Dominick Pautler ’86, and cousin Sara
Marie Doughton ’04.
Dominick says that in acting and most artistic fields, there is a level of selfawareness
that needs to be cultivated, as well as the art of storytelling.
“Even in improv, when you’re spontaneously deciding what stories need
to be told, or how to tell them — part of that is knowing yourself very
well,” he says. “We had the wonderful opportunity when moving up here
to connect with another BSC alum, Martin Landry ’07, who helped us to
find our current apartment. I asked him what he would do if he were in my
position, having just moved to NYC, with fresh eyes? He said, ‘Make sure
you know yourself.’”
That sort of self-awareness, motivation, and resilience are helping Dominick
carve out a career trajectory that suits his skills, much like he did while at BSC.
“The comedy scene here has been rebalancing and recalibrating after
COVID,” he says. “This community has really been a huge resource and help to
me. What carries you is to treat people with kindness, and to bring people up
with comedy. It’s far funnier to laugh at something silly as opposed to something
demeaning. We need comedy more than ever now, especially a refined type of
comedy — one that’s bringing people up with us, and not tearing people down.”