Trevor O'Shea bio
The oldest of Michael and Abigail O'Shea's three children, Trevor Ryan O'Shea, was born November 12, 1989.
After Michael earned a Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Michigan, the University of Mississippi hired him as an assistant professor, and the family moved to Oxford. During the long car trip from Ann Arbor to Oxford, Trevor entertained his younger sisters, Angelina and Deirdre, by reading stories, inventing games, and leading singalongs while his parents talked—and argued—in the front seat.
Trevor made few friends in Oxford until he started playing soccer in fourth grade. His social circle expanded further in seventh grade when he tried out for a production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" and won the title role, much to his surprise.
In high school, he joined the drama club and took on increasingly important roles in their productions. Although he enjoyed musicals, his real love was serious drama. He impressed his English teachers with his thorough knowledge of Ibsen and Chekhov, and he read Shakespeare plays for fun.
In his junior year, Andrea Stover won the role of Anybody in "West Side Story" as a freshman. The two became friends and enjoyed debating the merits of the drama teacher's directorial skills, but they never dated.
For college, Trevor attended the University of Mississippi on a substantial scholarship. He started classes intending to major in theater arts but found himself more interested in reading and discussing plays than performing them and changed his major to English.
Still, he maintained close ties with theater students at Ole Miss—including Andrea Stover, who arrived on campus two years after he did—and consulted drama department instructors for his senior thesis on Shakespeare. For graduate school, Trevor opted to leave his hometown to study with Shakespearean scholar David Shapiro at Columbia University.
While visiting relatives nearby, Trevor met Heather, a senior at City College of New York. They dated seriously for six months before breaking up amicably when Heather became too overwhelmed with her studies. They renewed and ended their relationship several times during Trevor's years in New York.
Meanwhile, Trevor's academic interests had drifted away from pursuing a Ph.D. Inspired by Professor Shapiro's popular and energetic style, Trevor changed his career plans. He obtained his master's degree, got his New York teacher certification, and joined the faculty at Harlem's Thurgood Marshall High School.
Although he enjoyed the challenges in the classroom, Trevor quickly became disillusioned with the big-city bureaucracy that controlled the schools. When the school's drama program funding was halved, Trevor decided he'd had enough and resigned at the end of the school year.
He returned to Oxford seeking a less harrowing work environment and to help care for his mother, who'd been diagnosed with heart disease. In the fall, Trevor started teaching at Oxford High School, serving as drama instructor and director of school productions. He also created an elective Shakespeare course for seniors that quickly became a student favorite.
Outside of school, he renewed relationships with former classmates who still lived in the area, including Andrea Stover. He always attended her controversial theater productions out of loyalty to their long friendship.
A year after his return to Oxford, Trevor began dating history teacher Lucy Simmons. They wed in August of last year and are expecting their first child in May.
