When Marilyn McCormick was called to the principal's office at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, she thought she was in trouble. She couldn't have been more mistaken.
Instead of being on the hot seat, she learned she had won the 2016 Excellence in Theatre Education Award, presented by Carnegie Mellon University and its Tony Awards partners, The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. To say she was surprised is an understatement.
"I didn't even know I was nominated, much less be in a position to win it! The more I think back on that, the more I can't believe how totally clueless I was," McCormick said upon hearing the news via speakerphone. "When I found out [I won], I turned around and all my students were there screaming and yelling."