When most people think of a community service award, the first thing that pops into their head usually does not involve theater. However, Middletown High School sophomore Maureen McCarrick proves that community service can involve anything.
McCarrick recently won the Community Service Award for the state of Maryland. She and her family has been helping the Myersville community for around six years now.
It all began the summer of McCarrick’s fourth grade year, when she and her two older siblings, Colleen and Brendan, started performing plays in their backyard. The admission was a can of food, which the McCarrick’s donated to the local soup kitchen.
Since then, the organization has grown. It is now called the Kids’ Theater, and the number of performers has increased over the years. The plays have been performed at Myersville Elementary School, Doub’s Park pavilion in Myersville, and nursing homes. There is no set admission price, but the recommended donation is five dollars.
The money earned by these plays has been used in multiple beneficial ways. Once, it was donated to Community Agency School Services (CASS) to buy school supplies for children. Another time the money went to a Middletown Middle School student who needed a service dog. On another occasion, it helped buy an 18-year-old a handicapped bicycle.
The Kids’ Theater’s most recent play, this past December, was to benefit of Myersville and Middletown families who had lately lost a father and husband due to death, one of the families being that of the late Frederick police officer, Richard Bremmer.
The performance was the first ever winter production by the McCarrick’s, and Maureen predicts it will not be the last.
“We’re planning on doing it not only once a summer, now, but every winter, too.”
She thinks the play, “T’was the Night Before Christmas,” was a huge success, with over thirty actors and actresses.
McCarrick and her sister are already in the process of planning their annual summer play.
“We’re pretty sure it will be “Peter Pan,” says McCarrick.
They plan to perform it on the MHS stage.
“The only problem is finding a way for Peter Pan to fly.”
McCarrick said she is predicting it to be an even larger production than the past. “Already around 50 people have volunteered to help,” she said.
The plays are generally not extravagant. McCarrick said she and her mom go to the Good Will and pick out anything that would make a good costume, then take it home and modify it. For one of the plays, “Enchanted Sleeping Beauty,” McCarrick played Sleeping Beauty.
“Me and my mom glued the details on my dress by hand,” she said.
The plays are advertised with flyers hung around Myersville and Middletown neighborhoods usually. McCarrick says they have advertised on radio stations, occasionally, and once even advertised on the Myersville Bank scrolling sign.
The Community Service Award is given to one middle school student and high school student in every state. They winners receive money and a fully paid four-day trip to Washington, DC in May.
With all the performances McCarrick has been involved in, one might expect her to be involvedin the school theater. However, McCarrick says she is not interested in acting in school plays.
“One of the benefits of the Kids’ Theater is that someone like me can have fun acting without being professional,” said McCarrick.
She is, however, involved in other school activities. McCarrick is a member of the MHS cross-country team, and plays on the MHS lacrosse team. She also has a horse, which she enjoys riding.
McCarrick plans to go to college after high school, but still wants to help with the Kids’ Theater. She said her sister is especially interested in keeping the plays going.
Maureen McCarrick and her family’s service to their community show that not only big organizations can affect people. The McCarrick’s have helped multiple people, brought together friends and family, and have had fun doing it the whole time.
“I like helping the community,” said McCarrick. “It’s a lot of fun helping someone and knowing you’re making a difference.”
