Andrew High School’s McCarthy recognized for support of theatre

Congratulations to Andrew High School English Division Chair Mary McCarthy for receiving the Illinois High School Theatre Festival Administrator Support Award. The award is designed to honor an administrator who has demonstrated a long-standing and consistent support to his/her school's theatre program and outstanding support that goes above and beyond the normal support given by an administrator. High school drama teachers from around the state nominate an administrator who has gone above and beyond to foster the theatre program in their school. Nominations are considered and then the award determined by the Festival Planning Committee, which is a group of high school drama teachers who volunteer to plan and run the Festival for more than 3,000 participants. The award will be presented during the Festival’s January 12 Opening Ceremony at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

There are a myriad of ways Mary McCarthy has made Andrew High School THE destination school for the fine arts in District 230, according to Andrew High School theatre teacher Sheila Furey Sullivan. Mary began as a tech director, then became a director, then an administrator, and in her final role as division chair, has supported theatre in any way she could. She hand-selected most of the theater and fine arts educators and has had a pivotal voice in theater decisions at the school and district level.

Three years ago, McCarthy agreed to and organized a Fine Arts Signing Day. This ceremony celebrates Andrew students who plan to study theater, art, music etc. at the collegiate level. Additionally, McCarthy saw a need for a smaller, black-box space to support smaller productions. She presented the need for a more intimate venue, and that need resulted in a black box theater which is called the Studio. Its primary purpose is to support theater and the fine arts.

Finally, McCarthy has been advocating for theater curriculum beyond one offering. She took the lead across the district of three schools, with the end result of two classes in the theater curriculum sequence.

Furey Sullivan says, “Overall, Mrs. McCarthy is the voice of compassion and creativity. She is a fierce advocate of her teachers, as well as a staunch supporter of students being exposed to art. Because of Mary, our students' experiences and appreciation of theater has been elevated.”