Harry McEnerny's Final Act
Theater Arts Department Professor Harry McEnerny IV recently announced his retirement, bringing his more than 25-year career at Castleton to a close at the end of the semester.
While students have come and gone, they have had the same energy and passion – something that helps motivate McEnerny to be his best.
“Castleton students are fantastic, always have been,” he said. “They always come in with the willingness and a drive that I think is unrivaled. Then they want to do stuff.”
The Early Years
McEnerny, known by his students and colleagues simply as Harry, was born in New Orleans, Louisiana during a hurricane. He grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to a mom who worked in nonprofits and a dad who worked in computer systems.
McEnerny spent his time as an undergraduate student at Randolph-Macon College (RMC) studying sociology. At the time, RMC didn’t offer a theater degree, but students had the opportunity to perform in a handful of plays each semester. His love of theater grew during this time, and he found himself center stage in many of these productions.
As a student, McEnerny fell in love with the liberal arts educational model. At one point, he was taking courses across seven different disciplines. It wasn’t until Charlotte Fitzgerald, one of his favorite sociology professors, sat him down that he realized he only needed four more courses to complete a degree in sociology.
The liberal arts weren’t the only thing that McEnerny fell in love with at Randolph-Macon College though. It was here where he met his wife, Monica, who now serves as associate professor of education at Castleton.
McEnerny dreamt of a future in professional theater, but at 25-years-old, he and Monica had two young children at home. He didn’t want to put his family through the hardships that would have accompanied beginning a career in professional theater.
So he began working odd jobs ranging from drywall construction to shoe sales. During this time, he kept his love for theater alive by performing in plays at Barksdale Theater in Richmond, Virginia.
McEnerny soon found himself at Randolph-Macon once again, working as the college's technical director. As the theater’s technical director, his responsibilities included building sets and more. This role made him realize his passion for educational theater.
With the new goal of working in educational theater at the collegiate level, he returned to school, pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in directing from Virginia Commonwealth University. Given his experience on-stage, in technical theater, and now graduate studies in directing, he had the necessary skills to fill any role that might come his way.
An Experience Unlike Any Other
Growing up and living in the south, McEnerny initially applied to positions in the region. He soon began to cast a wider net, applying to jobs in areas that seemed “interesting to move to,” he said – places such as Walla Walla, Washington – but received no response. In January of 1996, he stumbled upon a job listing for a theater arts professor at then-Castleton State College. After completing a phone interview, he flew up to Albany, New York, and drove from there to campus for his in-person interview. He landed the job, and shortly after he and his family landed in Vermont, calling the Green Mountain State their new home.
At Castleton, one of the learning curves McEnerny encountered was the size of the Fine Arts Center’s main theater space. He had spent time in smaller venues – similar to Castleton’s Black Box Theater – with the audience on three sides of the stage. In his first main stage production, McEnerny chose to personally paint a backdrop. While the detail was exquisite up close, if you were sitting even halfway up the seats in Casella Theater, it looked like a bunch of fuzzy clumps. It was at this point that McEnerny began to understand the magnitude of working in a nearly 500-seat theater.
He shares that experience with current students, instilling in them confidence in their technical theater skills.
“If you can run this theater, you can run any theater,” he said.
Not only does Casella Theater have a moving, hydraulic pit, but it has an attached scene shop, three catwalks, a full sound booth, and several other features commonplace in professional venues. These features benefit students because they can gain practical, hands-on experience with a number of venues and features that will set them up for success after graduation.
McEnerny’s contributions to the university – especially the Theater Arts department – are undeniable. He was named a faculty fellow for the 2010-2011 academic year. He has directed more than 40 performances and taught a variety of classes including acting I and II, dramatic theory and criticism, musicals (which includes a trip to Broadway), and others. When you ask theater arts students why they chose the major, more often than not, he’s one of the top reasons they list.
His relationships with alumni are just as important as his relationships with current students. And sometimes, those two groups intersect.
When McEnerny first began teaching at Castleton, Kelly McGee was a senior preparing for graduation. More than 20 years later, he was reviewing audition forms for Castleton’s production of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime,” and came across a student named Luke McGee, who turned out to be Kelly’s son. It was at this point that McEnerny realized he was teaching the second generation of some of his students.
A Contemplative Look Back – and Ahead
With his time at Castleton coming to a close, McEnerny shared that what he’ll miss the most – both in the classroom and on-stage – is the people.
When it comes to his post-Castleton plans, McEnerny is not entirely certain where his next chapter will take him, although he knows that it will most likely involve being “engaged with people moving toward something better,” a feeling that he found at Castleton and wants to continue experiencing. He expects he could find this in many places – whether it be working at his local library, coaching, or even returning to theater in a non-collegiate setting.