Chris McCarrell ’02

It may have seemed impromptu for Chris McCarrell, a US alum of the class of ‘02, to give a speech about his experience of finding his passion in theater.  In fact, it was: until very soon before his arrival, he had no intention of giving a speech at all.  However, the speech fit perfectly in the environment of morning assembly at US and in the context of high school.

Just before his arrival to US, Chris McCarrell asked to give a speech during morning assembly.  As we would expect from a Broadway performer, the speech was extremely well delivered.  Mrs. Pribble was careful to note that while most actors usually talk about themselves, Chris provided a personal experience that related to everyone in the room.  Chris’s story about his experience finding acting as his passion was very compelling to a body of high school students who are expected to know what they want to do for the rest of their lives by the time they are 18.  Chris described musical theater at US as an activity that turned on his engine.  This phrase became the core of his speech as he talked about how us students should approach each subject with an open ear, listening for that engine to engage.

If you would like to find out if theater will turn your engine, take Mrs. Pribble’s drama workshop class or try out for the spring musical.  This spring’s production will be The Mystery of Edwin Drood, a comedy based off an unfinished Charles Dickins Novel.  The musical is a murder mystery, featuring 8 possible endings.

Alternatively, if you’d just like to see what the US drama department is up to, come see the fall play, Enter Laughing, which opens the last weekend of October.  There are performances on Thursday October 26th and Saturday October 28th at 7:30pm.  The cast of 11 boys and 4 girls features stars such as Isaiah Paik, Auryon Azar, Mikey Fedeli, and Sawyer Zak.  The entire cast/crew of the show, Mrs. Pribble, and I look forward to seeing you there.