In Cary Academy’s 7th year, Mr. Matthews–not one to shy away from a challenge–took on a huge endeavor: the first-ever combined Middle and Upper School play. In 2004 Cary Academy put on The Wizard of Oz with a humongous ensemble cast of Middle and Upper School students.
It felt like everyone at Cary Academy that year took part in making that musical a success. The Orchestra Pit was open, and the orchestra played live with the actors. Art students made puppet crows. The tech crew, with the help of Mr. Hayes and Mr. Hamilton, built a raked floor. This enabled the Middle School students—playing munchkins—to pop up from holes in the floor. There was a video created to look like a projection of The Wizard. We even had a real Toto! The cutest little dog who was (almost) always on cue.
I was the stage manager, and it was my senior year; what I recall more than the amazingly bright costumes or the elaborate set was my appreciation for Mr. Matthews, Mr. Hayes, and all the arts teachers at CA. I was about to go off to college to study film, and I had the art programs at CA to thank.
I wanted to grow up to be just like Mr. Matthews and Mr. Hayes. In Middle School, Mr. Matthews told me his favorite color was maroon, so my favorite color became maroon. What can I say? I had a big crush on him.
In Upper School, I started taking tech theater and tech video classes. Mr. Hayes and I talked about literature and poetry while we swept the floor and hung lights together. He was my role model. I even took to dressing like Mr. Hayes in my black blue jeans, mismatched brown belt, short-sleeve button-downs, and brown boots. Mr. Matthews and Mr. Hayes gave me great examples of what it meant to be an intelligent, creative, and sensitive human.
As a TV production teacher with my own classroom, there isn’t a week that goes by where something that happens in class doesn’t remind me of a silly moment from the past. I can only imagine the impact they’ve had on so many other kids.
