Illustration by Mark Poutenis, Bromfield '88.  CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

The moment the Bromfield Drama Society has always assumed would never come is almost here: Michael McGarty, the Society’s leader for the last 34 years, will be retiring in June.

McGarty, Bromfield’s longest-tenured teacher, has created in his time at the school a drama program renowned throughout the state and the country. This year, Stage Directions magazine selected the Bromfield Drama Society as the Northeast winner of its “High School Programs that Rock” contest.

Since the 1970s, McGarty has directed plays for the Massachusetts High School Drama Guild (MHSDG) Festival, reaching the final round of competition more than 20 times and winning the festival in 2002 with Acts & Contrition. This year, McGarty directed Defying Gravity, which reached the festival finals. In addition, McGarty currently serves as the chairman of the MHSDG Board of Trustees.

More impressive than the trophy cases full of awards that the Bromfield Drama Society has accumulated under his direction, however, is McGarty’s extraordinary ability to connect with his students. Rebecca Turner, a Bromfield senior who starred in Defying Gravity and began working with McGarty in seventh grade in Oliver!, says, “He is always there for his students, whether they need help with a monologue, comments on a paper, or just a sympathetic ear. He encourages students’ dreams and simultaneously cuts through their fears.”

Andrew Korstvedt (Bromfield Class of 2009) notes that McGarty possesses a “no-nonsense, perpetually exasperated approach to teaching” that leads students, including Korstvedt himself, to feel “more like a peer than a pupil.” In his time at Bromfield, Korstvedt knew McGarty as a theater director, French teacher, newspaper supervisor, and Academic Bowl team coach; “I know him as much more than a teacher; he is, first and foremost, a close friend.”

Those who know McGarty well are acquainted with his idiosyncrasies—his sweater vests, his mug full of tea, his keychain, and his knack for giving backhanded compliments to students. As Turner points out, though, “A backhanded compliment from him is worth a mountain of praise from anyone else.”

“The opportunities he gives his students are extraordinary,” says Turner. “I speak with friends who tell me how jealous they are of Bromfield’s drama department, how their schools would never consider putting on the types of shows we do, or give the theater as much importance. All I can do is shrug and say, ‘We have an incredible director.’”

Jordan Davy, a Bromfield junior who also acted in Defying Gravity, says, “I could give Mr. McGarty a thousand thank-yous for the time he has spent teaching us. I honestly love being a part of the Drama Society and the bonds that have formed throughout the years.”

McGarty, Davy says, taught her to take pride in Bromfield productions. As this year’s Drama Festival comes to a close, Davy is “proud of the work the entire crew has put into the play, the relationships we have built, and the end result.”

Ted Zayka, who began assisting McGarty last year while a graduate theater student at Emerson College, hopes to succeed McGarty as the Drama Society leader next year. “Bromfield drama enjoys a rich history and great reputation, largely as a result of McGarty’s hard work and determination,” Zayka says. “I would love nothing more than to continue the tradition.”

McGarty, Zayka notes, has an innate ability to impart knowledge to others, but not from lecturing or showing them himself. “He will tell you, ‘Get from A to B,’ but he rarely tells you exactly how to do it. He’d rather have you learn from your own success or even failure,” says Zayka. “The learning is much more complete and deep… and he realizes that.”

Because McGarty trusts his students to make progress by challenging themselves, his pupils in turn have a trust in him that, Turner describes, is “unshakable and unconditional.” Students who have studied and acted under McGarty’s guidance have had such success because, as Turner says, “his passion transfers to everyone around him.”

Zayka realizes this as well, calling McGarty’s teaching and directing attitude “infectious.” Zayka continues, “He has such tenacity and pride in his profession that he works tirelessly and endlessly towards creating something that is the best it can possibly be, whether that is a play on the stage, or a student’s success in the classroom. His approach toward this is inspiring, especially after 34 years!”

Students who have been under McGarty’s tutelage attest that, more than any other Bromfield teacher in the last three and a half decades, McGarty has shown boundless support for his students in accomplishing the goals they have sought. Those who have been a part of the Drama Society, even if for just one or two shows, have felt his extraordinary presence. McGarty, never telling others what to do but rather asking questions to lead them to realize what they need to do, has been a great mentor and an enormous influence to anyone willing to put in the effort to succeed.

“I would not love theater as much as I do today without McGarty,” Turner says. “I would not have the confidence I do without his guidance. I would not be who I am without his teaching.”

Turner speaks for all of McGarty’s students, past and present, when she says, “Michael McGarty is the Bromfield Drama Department. It has been an honor and a pleasure to be in his shows.”