Карлен Хирш уходит на пенсию после десятилетия работы сценографом в старшей школе острова Маунт-Дезерт

BAR HARBOR — Mount Desert Island High School Drama Scenic Technical Director Carlene Hirsch is getting ready to gracefully step into her retirement after a decade of stage design and a lifelong pursuit of the arts. Hirsch grew up in Presque Isle and attended the University of Maine, Orono for her undergraduate and master’s degrees in Theater. During her studies, Hirsch directed several plays, built and designed numerous sets, created costumes, and did stage makeup. Upon completing her master’s, Hirsch worked on the sets of several of Stephen King’s movies for six years. She was a set dresser for “Creepshow 2,” lead greensman for “Pet Sematary,” and second unit coordinator for “Graveyard Shift.” Hirsch is no stranger to MDI; she became the assistant director of Summer Festival of the Arts, a three-week summer arts intensive, in the late ‘80s. Her work there facilitated theater production, musicals, dance classes and a plethora of visual art classes for young artists. “When I had my daughter, our summer vacations were spent on the island while I worked at SFOA,” said Hirsch. “Over the years of renting places on the island during the summer, I fell in love with the island. I always said I wanted to retire here.” During the school year, Hirsch was a longtime drama director and teacher at Bangor High School. She also was a leader in the Maine Drama Festival, an annual competition for high school theater programs. After 20 years of diligent service to her students, Hirsch retired from Bangor High School. Casey Rush, longtime teacher at MDIHS and director of the one-act plays, brought on Hirsch during her first retirement to become the scenic technical director. Hirsch has a list of all the plays she has directed; her first MDIHS creation was Tarzan in the fall of 2016. From there, she designed four plays a year for the high school’s fall musicals and spring one-acts. Ten years later, Hirsch has decided to retire to take care of herself and her health, residing at her sister’s home in Presque Isle. She will design her final MDIHS Drama play this fall, “Urinetown,” under the direction of MDIHS teacher Miranda Snyder. “The arts have been my life forever,” said Hirsch. “Being involved in an artistic way has been what I’ve always done, whether it was theater or film. It feels quite odd to know that I’m done, almost. It feels strange to have so much time on my hands.” During her retirement, Hirsch hopes to create more visual, practical art. “I’d like to explore more of the native arts of the area, like glasswork. I love the tangible, practical art that can be used in different ways. I like that, something that is usable and beautiful,” said Hirsch. When asked what she will miss most, Hirsch reflected on the feeling that comes from a performance, a feeling she has felt time and time again in her persistent work in the arts. “A good production of theater is not just one person. It’s not the director or the designer or the leads, or just the chorus. It’s everybody putting everything they can into it. That’s the one thing that I’m going to miss the most: the absolute camaraderie of completing a mission of putting on the best show you can for your whole audience. Everyone in the production working towards that one vision, it is thrilling. When they get that ovation, they know they’ve done well.” As Hirsch begins this new chapter of her life, taking her final bow, she will be deeply missed by the many students she has inspired and by her colleagues.