By Anna Beyette ’17, Contributor
Mr. Mark Femia has accepted a job at Francis Parker School in San Diego, California, beginning next fall. His new position as director and teacher at Francis Parker is an incredible opportunity, plus, as Mr. Femia puts it, “it’s in San Diego.” Francis Parker is a private school that is looking to expand its performing arts. While they have good visual and studio arts, they were in need of a director who could help them develop the dramatic arts, and Mr. Femia is the perfect person to help them do this. He will be leaving in August and traveling via Route 66 to begin this new journey.
Mr. Femia has been a tremendous part of the Cincinnati Country Day School community, and not just in the arts. Many of the students and faculty have made personal connections with Mr. Femia through taking his classes, participating in the school theater productions, or simply talking with him in the hallways. Mr. Femia’s improv class is one of the most popular electives in the school, and his choir classes inspire and motivate students to take interest in music and the arts. Not only does Mr. Femia teach several daily classes, he also has directed at least two shows each year. Each year Mr. Femia has put extraordinary time and effort into these shows. From first rehearsals to opening nights Mr. Femia transforms a group of high school students into a team, and a family. From his hard work many great shows have come to life including Anything Goes, All Shook Up, and his Masters Project The Mystery of Edwin Drood. In addition to all the tireless effort he puts forward to help each student shine, Mr. Femia never runs out of kind and encouraging words and advice to bolster enthusiasm and confidence in his students.
This past year I have had the honor of co-leading Country Day’s theater club, Ovations, with Kaylin Hoffman, a job that allows me to work closely with Mr. Femia. He has helped guide many students to amazing heights and places, never letting them feel like their dreams and goals are impossible. Each morning for the past two years I have started my day in Mr. Femia’s choir class, and every day upon entering the room I am excited to see what music we will be learning (it could be anything from Scat to Avicii to a Broadway hit). Anyone who has taken a class from Mr. Femia has certainly delighted in the witty conversation and clear enthusiasm he teaches his classes with; I know I certainly have.
Although every good director must say no sometimes, Mr. Femia is always open to new ideas and possibilities. Whether it be an idea for advertising the musical, a new mashup possibility for the choir, or any number of ideas that can be thought up by a bunch of teenagers in his classes, Mr. Femia is willing to attempt them. We have been so incredibly lucky to have Mr. Mark Femia in our Country Day community. Words cannot express how much he has given our school. For eight years we have been honored as a school to have Mr. Femia on our faculty, and although it is always bittersweet to say goodbye, I truly believe Mr. Femia will impact Francis Parker School for the better as he did with Cincinnati Country Day School. We wish Mr. Femia success and joy in his new adventure.
