Mr. Harrington takes a bow: A play in two acts

Mr.+Harrington+takes+a+bow%3A+A+play+in+two+acts

[A man enters, stage left.  He walks with confidence, exuding pride and wisdom with every single stride.  He takes a seat at his desk, beginning his everyday duties as the English Language Arts curriculum associate.  Just then, a knock is heard.  A girl enters the room, prepared to gain all of the knowledge about the man that her notebook can hold.]

The scene is set in an office, somewhat small in size but the man makes good use of his space.  

The door is painted with a mural depicting the ocean and sky. Inside, the room is decorated with various works of art. The shelves are filled with books, and pictures of him and his family are sprinkled throughout. The walls are decorated with posters of plays that he has directed – some signed by the performers. In the corner is a coatrack on which hang props from some of those same plays.

Kevin Harrington: Good morning! It’s nice to meet you!

[The two smile, shake hands, and take their seats.]

Danielle Anzelone:  Nice to meet you, too! Now, I just have a couple of questions to ask you…

Harrington: Okay, let’s get started.

Anzelone: How long have you been here?

[He ponders for a second in attempt to recall the exact numbers]

Harrington: This is the beginning of my ninth year in Massapequa and 33rd year in education.

Anzelone: And have you ever taught before?

Harrington: Yes, I taught for thirteen years in Glen Cove I was an English Language Arts supervisor for eleven years for Baldwin schools, which meant I taught a couple of classes and was the chairperson of the department.  I also taught as an adjunct professor at Molloy College in their department of communication arts.

[He speaks and presents himself with confidence, proud of his experience and accomplishments.]

Anzelone: So, what’s your favorite part about working in the English department?

Harrington: Well, in my role as a curriculum associate, I am responsible for the supervision of instruction and curriculum for kindergarten through grade twelve.  Some of my days are spent on the elementary level and I’m in kindergarten and primary grade classrooms and then coming up here to the high school and being with the older students and being able to see the continuum of the curriculum throughout the grade levels.  I also love when I am invited to be a secret reader in elementary schools.  In addition, I provide workshops for teachers throughout the district and observe teachers throughout the district.

Anzelone: And you also direct the plays and the musicals, correct?

Harrington: Yes, right.  So my second year that I was here, the superintendent contacted me because there was no one available to do the high school musical and that’s when I considered doing it.  Actually, I considered doing it for that one year but I loved it so much.  I love sharing my passion for theater with students and I wanted to continue doing that. I have done the last seven musicals — seven or eight, I guess, just let me think about this… let me get a program [he flips through papers in his shelf, searching for the evidence of his work]. I did one.. two… three… four.. five.. six.  I directed six musicals and three non-musicals here at the main campus and I work with many, many talented students here.  

Anzelone: So what’s your favorite part about doing the musical and the play?

Harrington: It’s sharing my passion for theater with young people.  [His face lights up with enthusiasm. Clearly, he loves his job in every single way possible.]  It’s watching the creative process from the audition to the final product.  I am so proud watching the students grow through the rehearsal process. Theater changed my life and I hope that by working on the show I have been able to inspire other high school students to help them reach their potential.  

Anzelone: What will you miss most at the school?

Harrington: [He begins to tear up as it truly hits him that his time left here is limited.  He worked on his final production just a couple months ago and all involved were heartbroken following the last performance.]  I will miss the people.  I will miss the students, the students who I have worked so closely with on the shows.  The kids, I’ll miss the most, along with my amazing staff and my friends and colleagues who are administrators here in the district.  I am very proud of the relationships I have built with my staff as well as my fellow administrators.

Anzelone: Okay, what would you say is your favorite production?

Harrington: Oh my gosh, I couldn’t tell you what my favorite production was.  I think there was something very special about each one of them.  I always chose the shows because of the theme that would help young people make sense of their own lives and the world around them.  

Anzelone: What first got you into English and theater?

Harrington: Since I was a young kid in elementary school, I loved to read, I loved to write, and at that time I loved to perform.  At that time I was fortunate enough to have amazing mentors and teachers along the way.  My college degree is in English education but my masters degree is in Musical Theater from NYU.  I have a professional diploma in professional administration from LIU.  

Anzelone: What’s your favorite memory from either the productions or just MHS in general?

Harrington:  [He takes a long pause to reflect on his time here].  Not so much a memory but it’s really watching the students and the staff soar.  For example, I have supported the staff with their programs such as Catch a Wave, which is spearheaded by a member of the English department; the college essay workshop nights; the media studies program which includes the broadcasting and journalism classes; and all three of those programs won the New York State English council programs of excellence awards.  So, I guess if I had to capsule, it’s really mentoring both students and staff and supporting their dreams and their aspirations.  

Anzelone:  What will you take from your experience here?

Harrington: The importance of mentoring and supporting the work of other people.  

Anzelone: What advice would you give to any students interested in English?

Harrington:  Learn everything you can from your teachers.  Be a sponge.  And always consider rereading because because as you continue on this journey of life, you are able to see books through different lenses as you grow and mature.  Writing is a great vehicle to make sense of this world we live in and to make sense of our own personal experiences.  Through reading, writing, speaking, listening, drama, we can change the world.

[The bell rings, signaling not only the end of the period, but the end of an era in some way.  Mr. Harrington is set to leave the week preceding Thanksgiving and it is definite that the school will never be the same without his presence.]

Anzelone: Thank you so much for your time!

Harrington: My pleasure!

[End scene]

The scene is set in the office of The Chief in room 131.  The room is painted blue with several murals explaining the classes and activities that take place in the rooms such as the journalism and the broadcasting programs.  There is a partition that closes off a section of the room for the editing staff to work and develop ideas.

Danielle is sitting at the computer, constructing her piece about Mr. Harrington when three of her subject’s pupils enter the room.

[Enter Michael DiRusso, Tyler Knabe, and Dante DellaPorta]

DiRusso: Hey, Danielle, what are you working on?

Anzelone: Mr. Harrington’s retirement article.  

Knabe: Oh yeah, he’s leaving soon.  I remember when I first heard about it I was in such denial and deep depression.

DiRusso: You know, I honestly felt bittersweet at first, too. It is the end of an era seeing him leave but I know that he will continue putting on great shows and inspiring more youth so instead of being sad I’m just grateful that he has done all that he has.

DellaPorta: Yeah, I was shocked. I doubted it at first, but then once I found out it wasn’t a joke, I reflected back on the times where I cherished him directing the musicals and plays. I knew it wasn’t gonna be easy seeing him go. But all good things must come to an end.

Anzelone: What plays did you all do with him here?

DiRusso: I worked with him on Monkey’s Paw, Cinderella , and Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon.

Knabe: I did those with him too!  You know, The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon was one of the most…interesting I should say. Harrington gave me constructive acting tips while allowing me to add my own tweaks to the performance which in my opinion is what makes him a wonderful teacher and an amazing director.

DellaPorta: I’ve done Oliver, My Fair Lady, Tell Tale Heart, and Grimm Brothers. Sadly I did not participate in Cinderella, which I will admit, I regret not participating in.

Knabe:  He ignited the passion in me to be an actor when I grow up. Through his fun and informative experiences he has shared with us, I knew since day one “Wow, maybe this is what I am meant to do” and it’s honestly all because of him.

DiRusso: I know what you mean.  He showed me that if I work hard I can really achieve anything. If someone told me two years ago about all the fun experiences and great friends I would soon have I would’ve never believed them. Thanks to him I now believe in myself much more in all aspects of life.

DellaPorta: Yeah, he has challenged my inner doubts that I would be a good performer. I remember coming to him, and saying “I don’t know about this, I might not want to be in this year’s production.” To which he responded with, “Oh stop it. I already have a character for you.”  He encouraged me to set aside my doubts and dive in head first. He could tell that I was very talented on stage and seized the chance to bring me to my fullest potential. I cannot thank him enough for that.

DiRusso: I remember the first time I met him, I was in the hallway and admittedly, acting rather animated at the time. He simply asked me the blunt question “Are you an actor?”

[They all laugh]

Knabe:  Remember when he would catch us goofing off and we would all laugh?  The times he caught us doing something stupid, and he would just stand tall and give us that classic Harrington stare.

DellaPorta: Wait, do you guys remember that time he dabbed? I never thought I’d witness that in my entire lifetime

[They all burst out laughing, recalling the hilarious event.]

DiRusso: You’ve got to love that guy.  Yet, there were definitely some who were not fans of how he ran things but he was fair and efficient and I was instantly drawn.

DellaPorta: He may not look like the happiest guy on the earth all the time, but he’s definitely one of the wisest and most reliable people I know.

Anzelone: So I guess you’re all going to miss him?

DellaPorta: Definitely, he always taught people to take a risk when it comes to getting up on stage and I think that really helped a lot of people.

Knabe: I’ll miss his booming and energetic elegance, and most of all his true devotion to his actors and the play..

DiRusso: We may have given each other a hard time here and there but I really will miss him.

Anzelone: If he walked in right this minute, what would you say to him?

DellaPorta: Let’s see… I’d say, “You’ve certainly left a lasting impact on my life, and many others as well. You’ve done much in your journey both here at MHS, as well as the countless places and people you’ve motivated. Thank You, Mr. Harrington.”

Knabe: Keep ANNUNCIATING my friend.

DiRusso:  Well, we better get going, we have some work to finish.

Anzelone:  Yeah, I have to finish writing this but thank you guys so much.  I think I’m going to include some of this.

DiRusso: No problem. See you later.

[Exit DiRusso, DellaPorta, and Knabe]

Danielle continues to type away as she adds some more detail to her piece thanks to the help of Mr. Harrington’s former students.

[Enter Mr. Harrington]

Anzelone:  Oh, hi Mr. Harrington.  It’s funny you’ve stopped by, I was just talking to some of your students…. anyway, I just had one more question before I can wrap things up: What are your plans after retirement?

Harrington:  Um, I’m going to take a little bit of down time… [He chuckles].  But, I am planning on pursuing work in the area of musical theater and doing some theatrical work in Manhattan.  

Anzelone: That sounds so exciting.  Well I wish you luck with your future and hope you enjoy every second of it.

Harrington: Thank you very much.  Well, it was a pleasure meeting you.

Anzelone: You too, thank you!

[Exit Mr. Harrington, stage right]

Curtain

0.00 avg. rating (0% score) - 0 votes