Sean Carroll is surrounded by posters of musicals he’s worked on during his career at O’Donel High School, all of which have a special place in his memories.
By Chad Feehan / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Fame was the first musical O’Donel High School music teacher Sean Carroll worked on after joining the school’s staff just one year before in 1998.
Now, 25 years later, Shrek the Musical is to be his swansong before his retirement at the end of the school year.
Even though he’s ready to draw a curtain on his classroom time, the looming end of his career as both music teacher and theatrical musical director still feels like a shock to him.
“I don’t really feel like I’ve been teaching that long,” he said. “Everybody says how quickly it slips by. But it’s so true. I’ve been teaching for over 30 years.”
Upon reflection, which he’s been doing more than usual lately, Carroll said it’s the students who have walked through his doors and across his stage who are foremost in his memory.
“I get a little emotional thinking about it because I’ve been so lucky to experience the lives of all these students,” he said. “It’s a lot of quality time where you’re really working with students on what they love.”
Former students of his have gone on to perform in successful bands, and have won prestigious prizes including Junos and NL Music Awards.
Carroll considered taking it easy and exiting stage left without doing a musical this year, but felt it would be a wasted opportunity given the significance of the occasion.
The school's last production, The Wedding Singer, managed to get on stage just before the first Covid lockdown in 2020. If they didn’t do Shrek the Musical this year, students graduating this summer would have missed their opportunity to participate in a big school production completely.
“I’m so thrilled that this is going to be revitalized and hopefully it’s going to be something that continues for many years because there’s so many positives and benefits that come from it,” Carroll said.
Shrek may seem like a goofy musical to put off before calling curtains on one's career, but Carroll could not be happier with the decision, noting how beloved the character and story has become, in addition to its positive messages within.
“It’s all about embracing everyone's individuality,” he said. “We really want to embrace everyone's uniqueness and let them be who they are, whatever path they’ve taken.”
The team also wanted to put off a family show that would bring everyone together, rather than cater to a specific audience of theatergoers.
Working on Fame in 1999 showed Caroll a side of his students he didn’t think was possible before doing a musical, perhaps brought out by its subject matter of suicide, drug abuse, and literacy.
Each show thereafter would continue to hold something special for Carroll, who noted the unparalleled cast of The Wizard of Oz and the almost unexpected success of The Wedding Singer.
“Almost every show was a highlight for these students when they graduated,” he said.
As his retirement draws nearer, Carroll reflects on the time and energy involved in staging a major production like Shrek, which includes squeezing in time on weekends, evenings and lunches.
However, the enthusiasm of the students and staff makes it all the easier.
“I’m not 34, I’m 54,” said Carroll. “You don’t have the same energy. But what I’ve realized, especially in the last week or two, is that it’s giving me energy back.”
Carroll expects to look back on this year and his career on the whole with the satisfaction of going out with a bang.
“I certainly have no regrets taking this on, and it’s really lifted me in my last year of teaching,” he said. “You don’t realize in the moment how much it is going to mean to the rest of their lives, so how can you not do it?”
