As the second decade of the 21st century comes to a close, I’m reflecting on those unique “Academy” moments that are indelibly imprinted on my memory. For your enjoyment, here are the 10 things I will I remember forever.
10. Maxine Zhou’s Epic Painting
The visual arts are magical to me: I just cannot understand how someone turns a blank canvas into something beautiful. Over the years I’ve fallen in love with many students’ pieces, and Maxine’s representation of The Academy is one of my all-time favorites. She was kind enough to sell it me, but by then I had forgotten how truly large it is — it’s more than seven feet long! After having it framed, Tim Butler and I carried it several blocks back to school, stopping traffic and generally creating quite the scene along Milwaukee, Ogden, and Chicago Avenues. As desperately as I want it in my apartment, it will live at school forever — it’s in the recording studio now — because it’s just too big to move!
9. The Power Goes Out
I’m pretty sure that it was November 2015 when the power suddenly went out. Undeterred, and figuring that ComEd would restore service quickly, we forged ahead with classes and rehearsals. One hour became two, and then two hours became four. Eventually — realizing that it gets dark quickly in November — we made the decision to close school early and send everyone home. I made the announcement one floor at a time, and as I was telling Theatre and Musical Theatre to pack up their stuff, BOOM — the lights came back on. I’ll tell you this: it’s no fun to tell 140 exhausted, stressed-out students that school has just been *un*canceled
8. Mary Caraway’s Christmas Tree
“The whole building is in a bad mood,” Ms. Caraway said one December, “and it’s your fault. I think a Christmas tree will fix it.” She winked. I knew I was in trouble.
Within minutes, she had mobilized, and I started receiving dozens of texts from students and alums: Christmas tree emojis. Drawings of Christmas trees. Photos of Christmas trees.
All day, Mary smiled bright as the sun and with fake innocence in her voice. “I think I hear your phone buzzing.” All night, my phone buzzed hundreds of times with the full might of the Caraway Army. Stories about Christmas trees. Songs about Christmas trees. Films about Christmas trees.
You all know how this story ends: she got her Christmas tree.
7. It’s Snowing
In the winter of 2012, Pam Jordan put me in charge of deciding when to close school because of weather. During the first snowstorm, students — exhausted and desperate for a break — got the idea to inundate me with “it’s snowing” texts. That quickly turned into tradition, and now I get blasted with messages the moment the first snowflakes fall of any snowstorm.) It’s cute when it happens at 3pm. It’s a whole other story when my phone explodes with 100 texts at 3:00 *in the morning*.)
6. Buck Blue’s Puppet Army
Few places are as anxiety-provoking as our haunted building at 2:00 a.m. Several times a year, the Theatre Department’s fire escape door pops open from the wind and trips the alarm, and someone (that’s me) has to come to school to fix the problem. In December of 2010, I found myself inching my way through the pitch-black theatre, listening to the fire escape door slam open and shut behind the curtains — wind howling everywhere, the curtains billowing in every direction.
There was no way to fix the problem without detouring through the costume shop. Every theatre is said to be haunted, but I don’t believe in ghosts: except at 2am, at The Academy, in the Theatre. I was on edge.
I slowly moved closer and closer to the fire escape door, listening to it creaking in the wind and banging against the wall. And then… My flashlight found the army of larger-than-life puppets Buck Blue had built for Christmas Carol. I almost passed out from the terror. Christmas Carol is one of the coolest things we’ve ever done. But to this day I still get chills remembering how terrifying those figures where that cold, dark night.
5. Starry Night
In 2012, Media Arts junior Alex Girav made a deeply moving film that I’ve been talking about ever since.
In Starry Night, Alex tells the story of a little boy whose mother has died. He lives in a terribly bleak apartment with his father, and the two of them are desperately trying to figure out how to cope. The little boy is obsessed with the idea of space travel: he spends his days dressed in a space suit playing with his spaceship toys; before bedtime he stares out the windows, fixated on the stars in the night sky. He longs to escape: literally, from the earth, and symbolically from the crushing weight of the loss he feels.
The film is brilliantly effective. It’s simultaneously heartbreaking and hopeful, bittersweet and joyful. At its premiere, the audience cried and laughed, everyone touched by Alex’s prodigious empathy. I remember thinking then – and have repeated often since — this is what art is for.
Whenever I have the opportunity to speak to an audience about why the arts are so critical in our lives, I talk about Starry Night. (Alex was kind enough to allow me to tell this story in my recent TED Talk Life at the Intersection of Excellence, Purpose, and Passion.)
4. The Fist Bump / Stand By Me
We see life-changing art so often at The Academy that it almost becomes routine. Every week, in every department, students are proving that their work has the power to inspire, to unify, to broaden perspective, to heal, to give voice, to mobilize, and to bring joy.
In my 27 years as part of the community, I have been profoundly impacted by work across all six disciplines. Maxine’s abstract of The Academy, Antoniette Hartsfield’s senior piece, every single note Akenya Seymour sang her senior year, Gabe Delli’s virtuosic Christopher in Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Jacky Tang’s La Planete, the entire cast of Ragtime… I could name 100 more.
So, it’s near impossible to pick one moment to represent all of the stunning work y’all have produced in this place. But, I’ll try. Randy Duncan’s Stand By Me is one one of the most iconic pieces every performed by our our dance department, and this moment between Joey Massarelli and CJ Johnson is the perfect, joyful end to such a spirited piece.
3. Justin Tranter’s Gala Speech (“Be F-ing Prepared”)
There are so many Justin Tranter moments from the last decade — really, since the late 90’s — that are absolutely unforgettable, from his appearances at the AIDS Benefit, to the opening of the Justin Tranter Recording Studio, to his performance of “Cake By The Ocean” and some of his other hits at Showcase in 2016.
But one memory stands out as not only one of the best nights of my career, but as one of the best nights of my life. We presented Justin with our “Legacy and Leadership Award” at our Gala last spring, and his incredible speech elicited laughter, tears, and a well-deserved ovation. His remark "Simply being joyful is an act of resistance" made the speech an instant classic.
2. Revolution!
In 2010, virtuoso filmmaker Jack Dunphy made a Media Arts bumper (the “turn off your cell phones” video that starts off their shows) that he called a “love letter to The Academy”.
The film tells the story of a group of Academy students who revolt to get better bathrooms. The plan works, and — emboldened by their success — the students start revolting for everything they want. “If anyone wants anything from Old Man Patera, now’s the time to ask for it — HE’S GONE SOFT!” yells Jack.
Soon, the students have everything: flat screen TVs, moon shoes, pogo sticks, massages, classes taught by teachers, even a bumper-less Media Arts show. But things go horribly wrong, culminating in Tynan and Deprez interrupting the show by talking — to each other — on their cell phones. Distraught, Kameryn Carter flees the building, only to run into Juan. Juan consoles her with his wisdom, and convinces her to reinstate the Media Arts bumper. Once again, Juan saves the day.
The film is, of course, exceptionally well-made and hysterical from start to finish. It’s also a true celebration of the cast of characters (from John CIbula to Tim Tynan to Juan) and the setting (our old but beloved building) that make this community so special.
Thank you, Jack, for making this. (And, rest in peace John Cibula.)
1. Mary Caraway, “Hallelujah”, and “Stand by Me”
Sometimes we need to experience deep pain in order to fully appreciate the beauty in the world around us.
One of the most painful days in Academy history happened last April, when our beloved Mary Caraway passed away. I didn’t even try to not sob in front of the students and faculty when I told them the news. I’d never felt heartbreak like that in my entire life.
And then some beautiful things happened.
Our community came together in authentic and powerful ways. We canceled classes to just be with one another. A knitting group formed. Teachers and students did origami together. Some students set up Mary’s Christmas tree.
Days later, several dozen students gathered around the piano in our lobby to sing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" while dancers improvised to the music. In the middle of a blistering jazz set, music senior Adam Chlebek worked his way into an emotional solo rendition of "Stand By Me," and the entire audience sang along.
This is what art is for. We don't teach or learn art because it raises test scores or makes us better collaborators. We don’t teach or learn art because we hope it makes us rich or famous. We teach and learn art because art makes our lives better — and in times of heartbreak, at least a little more bearable.
At The Academy, we’ve always taken care of one another. And Mary Caraway has never stopped taking care of all of us.