Jane Lynch: A Montecitan Learning the Oxford Way

I met the American actress Jane Lynch by total coincidence this summer in a store in Oxford, U.K. Jane is best known for starring as Sue Sylvester in the musical television series Glee, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. She also starred in Best in Show – which is one of the funniest movies ever.

I was with my family in London this summer and we decided to do a day trip to Oxford. As we were wandering around a store filled with Oxford merch and supplies, we recognized Jane, who also lives in Montecito. We immediately started talking about Montecito and the three-week course she was doing in Oxford over the summer while living in a student dorm for that entire time. 

Jane was telling us some stories of being there and I was impressed how she was learning new things and living “as a student,” and she agreed to tell me about it in an interview:

Q. It was great bumping into you at the varsity shop in Oxford by coincidence this summer.

A. Yeah, that was really funny and how kind of synchronistic that we are from the same town?

Yes! I would love to find out more about the program you attended in Oxford when we saw each other.

My spouse is an alumnus of UC Berkeley and she is part of a new alumni foundation. The trip to Oxford is one of the trips that they were sponsoring: going to Oxford for three weeks and taking a class – from a choice of 10 or 11 different classes. So she chose Jane Austen, and I chose Shakespeare. And so we went! We flew into London and drove to Oxford, moved into a dorm, and started classes. We worked in class from 9 am until 12:30 pm, with a tea and biscuit break around 10:30 am, and three field trips, one each week. It was just magnificent. We had to write a paper and we had to do a presentation. They were a wonderful three weeks.

That’s great that you got to kind of relive your college experience. 

I did. And what was great about it: I wanted to be there, and I wanted to learn. I loved being in college [before], but I wasn’t a curious student. I wasn’t that interested in anything except being in plays. And it was really fun to work with a wonderful teacher, a wonderful tutor, Lynn Robson. With her, we took five plays that she chose and just took them apart and really got deep into them. We went to see Romeo and Juliet in London, we visited Stratford-upon-Avon, and also this great walking tour in London from the Middle Ages. It was really a terrific trip.

I wonder if you learned anything in terms of acting skills that were specifically in English technique versus what you studied in the U.S.?

Well, we didn’t study acting. We studied the plays themselves. But I did learn a lot by watching the British actors perform Shakespeare. And I was in a Shakespeare company when I was a young person in Chicago, and I studied Shakespeare – you know from the acting point of view. When I was in school, I went to Cornell and was in the professional training program there. So I had classical training in the more classic place, but it was really wonderful to see the folks who were born and bred in England using their playwright. You know, Shakespeare is from England, and they just relish the words and were really able to capture the poetry and the drama – and the comedy – all at the same time. It was really fun to watch, just really enlightening. And it didn’t make me want to act Shakespeare, but it did make me appreciate him and just how wonderful it is to go to the theater in London.

Oh, yes, the theaters in London are really beautiful. In terms of dorms in Oxford where you stayed, what was it like to be kind of back in the college experience and set up, and did you eat in the college halls? 

So we were in a dorm and because we were together, we were in a room that had two beds. But when I say beds I’m using that phrase very, very lightly because they were cots. So after the first night we’re laying down, I’m going, “I don’t think so.” So we ordered gel foam mattress covers from Amazon and they came the next day and it changed everything. It really made that whole experience much better. And you know, the college buildings are built in the Middle Ages and they’re just gorgeous to look at, and the grounds are wonderful. Three meals a day in the dining hall, which looks like the dining hall in Harry Potter. This beautiful old building that was built in the Middle Ages! We had about three dinners a week where we had to dress up and they were called ‘high table dinners.’ At some point, each of us got to be up at the high table with the tutors and the faculty. We had people serving us, a wonderful crew of waitstaff serving us our food and everybody did the prayer in Latin before we even sat down. We stood at our tables before, and then the president came in. I don’t know if he is actually the president of the university, but he comes in and bangs the gavel, and then after the prayer, we all sit. So the tradition and the regimented ritualization of being in that kind of school that goes back so many centuries was really amazing and inspiring. And really, it touched us deeply. We loved it.

When we bumped into each other in London, we were there because my mother went to St. John’s College in Oxford. We went to look around the college and I also noticed that the dining halls are really beautifully done, and they have the pictures of all the professors there. It was really interesting to see how students would sit there every day and have their meals. 

I love Oxford, because they always say: “This is the Oxford way.” So we did everything the Oxford way. And they’ve been doing this for a thousand years, the Oxford way. What was wonderful about the class is there were only 12 people in our class. I think I might have been one of the youngest – everybody was in their 70s, in their 80s, and had been taking these courses, some of them even had been coming for 20 years. They’re all alumni of UC Berkeley. There’s only 12 people in your class with your tutor, which means it’s very interactive and it’s very much about conversation. When you speak something out loud, and you’re speaking as you’re thinking, it’s a whole different level of learning.

For sure. Apart from the theater visits and things you’ve learned during your lectures, was there anything else fun you did in Oxford or England while you were there? We went punting – thank goodness we didn’t fall into the water, but it was a really cool experience as well. 

We didn’t do much, and didn’t tour on the weekends. We basically stayed in Oxford, but I don’t know if you saw near Merton College there’s this beautiful walk along the Thames which breaks off into a little river stream. It’s a gorgeous nature walk, and I did that a lot.

The parks are really beautiful, and I feel like England is definitely famous for all the beautiful parks and nature around them.

Yes, especially Oxford. I haven’t been to Cambridge, but I imagine that would be the same. The grounds are so beautiful and they’re so natural. It’s really nice not to be touched by modernity very much. The cobblestone streets and the old storefronts with modern amenities – there was really good coffee, but they’d be in these old stone buildings, which I loved.

I’m glad you had a good experience! Could you tell us about the path that brought you to Montecito and what you love about it?

I had been living in Los Angeles, probably for about almost 30 years, and I was working as an actor, living in Laurel Canyon where I had a cute little house. And Jennifer and I always went to Montecito in the summer for a few days. Around 2010, my family from Chicago started coming out too and we had these really big get togethers in Montecito for four or five days, and we’d stay at the Biltmore and it was just lovely. We just loved the town. And I always thought, you know, when I get old, I’d love to move here. Oh my God. And so during the pandemic, we were actually staying at the Montecito Inn because you know, the Biltmore has been closed (although they are opening in October of ‘24). So we stayed at the Montecito Inn and we were walking around and Jennifer said, there’s a house for sale. Let’s go look at it. We put an offer on it – and we didn’t get it… but now we smell blood in the water! We were ready to go! So we looked at a couple more houses and we found this one and when we made an offer it was accepted – we love it! I’m sitting at the breakfast bar right now, it is so beautiful. And we have a beautiful front yard and we walk every day down to the ocean. 

Sometimes we don’t go all the way to the ocean but we’ll go to Coast Village Road and have coffee, at Bree’osh or Jeannine’s or Lux cafe. I have a friend from Chicago, one of my closest friends, hanging out with me this week and I’m showing her everything we’re doing. We had lunch at the Montecito Coffee Shop, went into the Pharmacy and bought some vitamins. Just wonderful, we love it here!

Hearing the way you talk about Montecito reminds me of the reason we moved here. We visited L.A. and Montecito quite often and we stayed at all the hotels, and at one point me and my brother were like, “Why don’t we just move here?” because we were planning to live in L.A. from Connecticut. And then we decided to move to Montecito and it’s a really great place to be. Are you happy to be home in Montecito?

I don’t want to travel anymore. Although it looks like I’m going to be doing a bit more traveling. I just love being at home. Do you? Did you go to Montecito Union or did you go to a private school?

I did go to Montecito Union and then I’m now at middle school at Laguna Blanca, which is a great school.

It’s wonderful. If I were going to raise kids, you know, I would definitely want to raise them here.

Yes, we love it. And we also lived in Singapore and in London, which is why we have such a close tie to London – as I was born there. So it’s really great to see Oxford and I’m excited because maybe when I’m older I will be able to attend college there.

Yeah, that would be a great place to go to school.

Yeah, really beautiful architecture as well.

Sure. It’s very breathtaking. Just gorgeous.

Well thank you so much for your time. It’s an actual honor to speak with you today and it was fun!

Thank you, Lola. If you see me out and about come up to me and say hi!