Movers & Shakers Q&A Series: Frances McGarry

Hello Beautiful People,

I first met Frances McGarry during a fifteenth anniversary V-Day Benefit Production of The Vagina Monologues at HERE, in New York City.  Frances is fantastic.  There’s an energy and a force and an aura to this woman that you just want to soak in – I literally watched a room full of people be drawn to her, listen to her, take in her every word in the hopes that they themselves would become better actors, artists, teachers, and people. Frances holds a ph.D in Educational Theatre from NYU. She is an outstanding actress, teacher, mother, wife, and the creator of the first online talk show, First on Line with Fran which offers opportunities for you to join Fran in discussions on how ordinary people are doing extraordinary things in The Arts to make our world a richer, deeper, better place to live. I am privileged to know Frances, I’m blessed to be able to call her a friend, and I’m so very happy to introduce her to you all.

TWT: When you were a child, did you always know that you wanted to somehow be involved in the entertainment industry?

FM: In my secret desires, yes.  I was one of ten children, and I just thought everyone had musical revues after Sunday dinner.  We would have rehearsals on Saturday, and then perform on Sunday.  Everyone had an act! My sister played the piano, and I would perform my ballet combinations.  My other sisters and I would do a rendition of “Come Softly to Me”, by The Fleetwoods.  The memories are endless.  Caruso was played, Italian was spoken, oil paintings hung on our walls – art was always part of my life.  Secretly, I always wanted to be onstage and perform.  But I was so extremely shy! I was raised that children are to be seen and not heard, even though I acted and performed at home, I never was public about it.  It was my junior or senior year of high school, and we were studying the Holocaust, and we were in a Humanities Program.  For back then, it was quite innovative.  We read novels, and articles, and all types of things.  We were studying the Holocaust, and we were doing a mock trial, I played the part of a Holocaust survivor.  I’ll never forget this because Ricky Grimm was playing the prosecutor. He was the captain of the football team, and he was the most handsome boy in school.  He really was into it, and trying to get me to admit a false truth, but I called upon my knowledge of Anne Frank and all of the other things that I had absorbed in class, and I started to talk about what went on in the camp.  When I finished, Ricky Grimm broke character, and to the lecture hall full of students, he said, “How am I supposed to say something after that?”  There was a split second of silence, and then the whole place erupted into applause.  And that was it.  From that moment on I knew I wanted to be an English teacher and I wanted to be a theater teacher, and my dream was to go back to Northport and create a theater program to build on what they started. And I did.

TWT: You are the recipient of the American Alliance for Theatre & Education (AATE) John C. Barner Theatre Teacher of the Year Award, in recognition of your work for a theatre program that you authored and developed.  Can you explain to our readers what Theatreworks is all about?

FM: I started a musical theater afterschool program with junior high kids, and it was so successful, that the high school transferred me to their building to create a theater program under the aegis of the English department.  It was an interdisciplinary course, done with an art teacher, music teacher, a home ec (family and consumer science) teacher, and an English teacher.  What we did with the program was to show how the arts are a collaboration, through the intersecting terms of line color and texture.  So, from an English point of view, we’d go to the text and ask, “What is the line color and texture of that writing.  In designing a set, how do you take the words of that play, line, color, and texture of that play, and translate it into scenic design.” This was done with all of the elements that go into a production, from acting, costuming, scenic design, and music, We start with the script; we start with the book, because the words of the playwright are what you want to get across. We were doing close textual analysis, but from an intersecting point of all the arts.  It was also a hands on experience; they learned to sew, they learned to paint, they learned how to do scale drawings, they learned lighting design – it was an application of collaboration at its finest.

TWT: Just for fun, what is your favorite film (or top three if you cannot pick just one)?

FM: Life is Beautiful, it speaks to my soul.  His story revolves around his art and his antics to protect his family, which he does with theatrical games. It’s a Wonderful Life, sets the tone for Christmas, and I love it.  To Kill A Mockingbird, I love the book and the film.  I taught that book for many years, and the way I would start teaching that book, is to line up a row of shoes, and have them step into other people shoes.  Casablanca, Sophie’s Choice, and The Wizard of Oz. 

TWT: Just for fun, what books are permanently on your bookshelf?

FM: For my scholarly pick, Feeling and Form, by Susanne Langer, for my soul, Your Best Life Now, by Joel Osteen, for the writing part of my soul, A Short Guide to a Happy Life, by Anna Quindlen, and for my aesthetic sensibility, The Human Stain, by Philip Roth, and Little Bee, by Chris Cleave.  Little Bee is the inspiration behind the First 100 Stories Campaign at First Online With Fran.

TWT: What character from musical theater is MOST like your personality?

FM: Auntie Mame. Without a doubt, Auntie Mame. 

TWT: In today’s economy, arts education budgets are being cut. What reasons would you give to a politician for preserving the arts?

FM: They need to look at the Three E’s, Education, Economy, and Ethereal. Arts education promotes the health and well-being of children.  It engages students more fully in school, motivating them to succeed; it helps “at risk” students stay in school and graduate, it plays a key role in the development of a child’s cognitive, analytic, and creative skills.  It builds a child’s confidence and self-expression. Offers students channels for emotional expression and healing, provides a gateway to careers in NYC or whatever city you’re from, for the billion dollar creative sector.  That alone, I’ve witnessed firsthand. It happens. Wake up. Open your eyes.  It will boost the economy. Build a theater. Build a museum. It will create jobs.  And more importantly, it builds a community. Ethereal benefits are such, the arts rejuvenate, they restore, and they are a supernatural gift.  It is a gift from above, whoever you choose to call your creator. The arts are what humanize us.  How can we not have the arts? Wouldn’t this world be better if we worked through our problems and concerns in a creative outlet, in a healing way, rather than putting a gun in someone’s hand?

TWT: What advice would you give to high school students who wish to pursue a career in the entertainment industry?

FM: What I always said to students, and what I continue to say to students, is that if you can’t breathe without it, (whatever art form you’re doing), then do it.  If the thought of not doing it would be like taking away your oxygen, then do it.  If it’s not like that, then don’t do it. 

TWT: What advice would you give to the young arts educators of today?

FM: You have a perspective of the world that inspires, and that allows people to rise to whatever challenges they face.  Artists know how to rise above it, and go to the top. Don’t ever forget that you have the best training to be an educator; your arts background will make you succeed.  My source of inspiration, which is at the dedication of my dissertation, is thus: “There is no use trying, said Alice; one can’t believe impossible things. I dare say you haven’t had much practice, said the Queen. When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” 

TWT: Who is/was your greatest teacher?

FM: My English teachers, Mr. Ernie Taub and Mr. Michael Glennon; they were the ones who made me realize my potential, and that I could do all that I have accomplished. My dad, he stood by me, even though he didn’t necessarily want me in this field, he still stood by me, and his tremendous faith and guidance always helped me. He always said to me, “Non essere impaurito, sono sempre con voi”, don’t be afraid, for I am always with you. 

Thank you, Frances!  And Write Teacher(s) readers, be sure to check out First Online With Fran. You know we’d never steer you wrong.

Live, Love, Learn,

Megan &