The Education Foundation is proud to put the spotlight on Centre Stage by awarding it the 2014 Ruth Finns Award. It is the first time that the foundation is honoring a student group.

Centre Stage is a drama club founded by two students, Cathy Mackey and Bryan Nesdill, at South Side High School in the spring of 2008. They had the vision to bring together general education students and students with special needs to write, act and produce a play. Through their efforts and with the support of volunteers, families and school staff and administrators, Centre Stage has grown, and reaches out to an ever-widening circle of young people of all ages and levels of ability. What they share in common is a bond of friendship and lasting memories, as they work year-round to put on full-length theatrical productions.

From its inception as a small project in a Language Arts class with a skeleton crew and a few overturned tables serving as a set, Centre Stage has grown to produce full-length musicals. It has staged performances that include the “High School Musical, South Side Style” (2009), “Camp Rockville” (2010), “Slick” (2011), “The Wizard of South Side” (2012) and “Neverland, A South Side Story” (2013).

“Centre Stage is not just another school club,” said Noreen Leahy, assistant superintendent in charge of special education. “In my opinion, it is the heartbeat of South Side High School. Not a day goes by that we are not amazed by the creative contributions of the people that help put this show together. There is no test that could ever measure what our students learn when they make Centre Stage happen.”