“I came back to Notre Dame after being a student here for the most simple of all reasons–they hired me first,”  said Steven Stary.

Now the NDA graduate has been a teacher  here for 22 years. 

Stary went on to say it was an easy decision to choose a place he knew very well over moving to a new town.

The English/history teacher became involved with theater when he was in middle school. In high school he says he didn’t do much theater because he could not sing. 

“I know now that there is SO much else to do, even in a musical, that doesn’t involve singing.” 

Stary even started UW-Madison as a theater major before switching to a more English and history based major. 

“When I came to NDA as a teacher, there was finally a Drama Club that did plays and activities other than musicals,” he said. 

While Stary was moderator of the Drama Club, they did four plays per year and ran Cabaret Night, making their hands very full.  They also did some work with SNC’s Knight Theater group, which included some NDA graduates, and worked with a small theater group called Heritage Players where they did plays about local history. 

“Whenever I would get to do any kind of comedy bit, I really enjoyed it,” said the man known for his wit and love of Moby Dick.

Though Stary doesn’t moderate the Drama Club anymore, he currently runs the Fencing Club which is on hold because of the pandemic. 

“It’s fun,” he said. “You get to hit people with swords and not get in trouble for it. You don’t need to have any experience. We start you with the basics and build from there.” 

The future of Fencing Club attendance is hazy with the virus. 

Stary also attends Civil War reenactments, specifically cemetery walks where about seven people from history played by actors stand in their graves at local cemeteries. Up to 

150 people attend each walk for two or three nights. 

“We do events at Ft. Howard Cemetery, Allouez Catholic Cemetery and Woodlawn Cemetery,” explained Stary.