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Improbable Players uses theater performances and workshops to address addiction, alcoholism, and the opioid epidemic. The troupe is comprised of actors who are themselves in recovery from substance addiction. Their former Executive Director Andy Short shares what it means to do destigmatizing and prevention work in schools.
“Theater people, we love to believe that the theater changes the world. And oh, it does,” he says.
Andy Short grew up just outside Boston and sadly did not inherit the wicked Boston accents of his parents. He graduated with a degree in Theatre Education from Emerson College. He has spent his career working at the intersection of education, theatre, and addiction. Was the Executive Director of Improbable Players -a theatre company that hires actors in recovery to perform plays about addiction in schools.
As a gay man in recovery from addiction Andy understands how personal narrative and mission can combine to create change in relationships and community. This is the defining theme of his work and career. He is a 2019 recipient of Wayside Youth Coalition’s Community Spirit award and the winner of the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network’s 2019 Excellence Award in the Young Professional category. Andy currently lives in Dorchester, MA with his coffee maker and bicycle.