Mustang Monthly
Spring Musical Sponsorships and More
Save the date on your calendars for at least one performance of the 2019 Spring Musical “PIPPIN" -- Thursday through Saturday, May 2, 3 & 4 at 7pm with a 2pm matinee on Saturday. The production features a cast of 48 students in the story of a young man on a quest for the meaning of life. Immaculate’s production of “PIPPIN” is an original concept version of the 1972 musical; it takes place in the mind of Pippin and will feature two Leading Players (instead of one), who serve as his consciences, one good, one bad.
Plus, Immaculate's musical this year promises to be like no other high school production as it will be performed in the round, meaning the stage will be in the middle of the gymnasium and the audience will surround it on all four sides. The Spring Musical is reimagined and directed by Matt Farina and produced by Kathleen Czel, English teacher.
Sponsorships and program ads are now available; please help support the student actors, stage crew, costume and set designers and more who work so hard to produce another top-notch production. Go to www.immaculatehs.org/pippin to purchase sponsorships and ads by April 12. Also, you can purchase premium seating and general seats beginning April 13 by going to www.immaculatehs.org/pippin. Hurry, tickets sell out fast for premium seating!
The performers are:
Leading Player Light Abby Giansiracusa
Leading Player Dark Nicole Kolitsas
Pippin Zach Demko
Catherine Sarah Almeida
Charlemagne Matthew Christe
Fastrada Victoria McFarlin
Berthe Gigi Chapleau
Lewis Arthur Michaelsen
Theo Bart Flaherty
The Players - Emma Baughman, Ethan Beaulac, Alyssa Campo, Gabriella Casturani, Remy Chila, Zachary Clark, Kevin Coonan, Allie Demko, Alanna Emiliano, Amber Fairchild, Anna Flaherty, Elizabeth Flaherty, Robert Fontenelli, Vincent Fontenelli, Grace Garvey, Emilia Getzinger, Perry Ghosh, Jack Gibowicz, Alison Harco, Ernst Koch, Sara MacKinnon, Drew Mitchell, Erica Penny, Lauren Pruner, Anna Richards, Matt Riggs, Stella Sabo, Alyssa Suarez, Alexandra Terzis, Camille Vail, Jenna Vieux, James Vigar, Hannah Ward, Evan Walker, Lilly Zuccala
Carol de Giere, the biographer of Stephen Schwartz, the lyricist and composer for "PIPPIN," visited the Immaculate cast and crew on February 27. She discussed the history of the musical as well as the cultural and musical influences that inspired Mr. Schwartz to write songs for the musical. Mr. Schwartz was an Academy, Grammy and Tony Award winner during his lifetime.
Highlights of A Night of Comedy
Immaculate High School’s A Night of Comedy on March 15 was not your typical stand-up mic night, but a unique blend of student talents, theatre and comedy that entertained students and adults alike in an informal setting in the IHS Dining Hall. It was presented by the IHS Drama Club.
The brainchild of senior Emilia McGuinness Getzinger, A Night of Comedy consisted of three one act plays—“The Snow Globe” (original, written by Emilia), “Fourteen” (Alice Gerstenberg) and “A Marriage Proposal” (Anton Chekhov) — with stand-up comedy acts in between each show performed by IHS students. Emilia also organized and directed the evening, which was produced by Alexa WIld, IHS English teacher.
“As the director, I conceived the idea and chose the shows, and helped my classmates/comedians write the stand-up comedy routines that are funny and relevant for the Immaculate High School community,” said Emilia. “The goal for this production was, as the title implies, comedy; by presenting these plays and acts that focus on humor in the midst of confusion, we hoped to evoke joy in the audience,” she explained.
Emilia wrote “The Snow Globe” in April 2018. “Originally, I thought of the play as an ‘inside joke’ with theater artists: its illustration of backstage chaos and actors’ lack of preparation resonated with every community and high school actor I knew,” she said. “Yet when I took notes on the play in order to develop my vision and better understand the characters, I found it to be relatable even to those who had never stepped foot on stage.”
“The absurdity of theater mirrored the absurdity of life. When I realized this, I began considering ways to make the play resonate even more with non-theatrical audience members. Costumes would look just like students’ weekend attire. Props and set pieces would easily be found at school or in someone’s living room. The stage would not look like some foreign place, but like the stage at my high school,” Emilia added. The play takes place in modern-day Manhattan and utilized simple but accessible scenic and costume design to draw attention to the dialogue and “lead the audience to contemplate the absurdity and the humor in their own lives.” Performers, crew and designers included:
THE SNOW GLOBE: Brother: Drew Mitchell ‘20; Sister: Elizabeth Flaherty ‘20; Stagehand: Angelina Radeschi ‘20; Stage Manager: Robert Fontenelli ‘21; Props Mistress: Lizzie Varda ‘20
FOURTEEN: Mrs. Pringle: Sarah Almeida ‘20; Elaine: Michaela Shovak ‘22; Dunham: Robert Fontenelli ‘21
A MARRIAGE PROPOSAL: Ivan: Ethan Beaulac ‘21; Stephan: Vincent Fontenelli ‘21; Natalya: Camille Vail ‘20
SINGERS/MUSICIANS: Nicole Kolitsas ‘21; Sarah Almeida ‘20; Vincent Fontenelli ‘20
COMEDIANS: Drew Mitchell ‘20; Robert Fontenelli ‘21; Ethan Beaulac ‘21
COSTUME DESIGNER: Lizzie Varda ‘20
Immaculate Celebrates March is Music In Our Schools Month
On March 22 the Tri M Music Honor Society hosted an Open Mic Night to showcase the many and varied talents of Immaculate’s students. Acts included guitar, band and jazz combo performances as well several singers and a sneak-peak performance of “PIPPIN” songs. The event helped celebrate March is Music in Our Schools Month, which also saw students participate in music trivia contests, Friday lunch karaoke and more.
Don’t Miss the IHS Spring Concert
The IHS Spring Concert will be on Thursday, April 4 at 7:00-8:15pm in the Bobby Plumb Gymnasium with more musical groups than ever before!! All are invited to hear Immaculate musicians and singers perform a wide range of music, some of the most challenging music to date, including selections from David Guetta, Tom Petty, Neil Diamond, Pink Floyd as well as music from musicals and movies such as "West Side Story," "Annie "and "Back to the Future." Come see the debut of the new music groups the Jazz Combo and the String Quartet, who will perform as well as the Concert Choir, Mixed Choir, The Clef Hangers a cappella group, the Concert Band and the Guitar Ensemble. Graduating seniors will be recognized during the event. Light refreshments will be provided by the Tri-M Music Honor Society at a reception following the concert.
Special Friends Club “Spreads Kindness and Happiness”
Immaculate High School has many clubs, with many designed to help the community. Two years ago the Special Friends Club was formed to reach out to and befriend students at St. Vincent’s Special Needs School in Trumbull. The main purpose of the Special Friends Club is to “spread kindness and happiness between schools.”
The club was founded by Isabella Cipollone ‘18 during her junior year. Isabella, whose brother attends St. Vincent’s, developed the “pen pal” system between Immaculate and St. Vincent’s students. The Special Friends Club has over 40 members and Samantha Kohler, Fine Arts teacher, is the club’s advisor.
“St. Vincent’s school has graciously allowed our club to communicate with its students for the past two years, and the pen pal system between our club members and the students at St. Vincent’s brings joy to both of our schools,” said Angela Vodola, club president. “Club members enjoy making cards for the students, who have special needs and sometimes difficulty in communicating, but the best part is getting cards back from them as all the cards are hand decorated by the students and sometimes by the teachers who help them and write their notes for them,” she said. The card-sharing is done for holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day and Easter.
Angela hopes to expand club activities in the future, including implementing a book drive and other special events including a trip to St. Vincent’s to meet the students. The Special Friends Club also hopes to broaden the program to include other schools with socially isolated students or who would love to be pen pals with Immaculate High School students.
St. Patrick’s Parent Appreciation Night
Parents were treated to a St. Patrick’s Parent Appreciation Night complete with corned beef and cabbage and Irish music and dancing. The night was packed with good food, good laughs and good camaraderie. The event on March 14 was to thank parents for all they do to support Immaculate High School and its students. From attending games, concerts and events to keeping their students school-ready to donating time, goods and money and so much more, Immaculate could not be the school that it is without its wonderful parents and their support.
Students Learn About “Breaking the Cycle of Violence Through Forgiveness”
On March 19, Immaculate hosted the community service group Breaking the Cycle for a student assembly as part of its ongoing Wellness Program. The Breaking the Cycle program, which stems from a faith community, teaches conflict resolution through forgiveness and non-violent resolution. Sometimes that means forgiving oneself.
The first of three speakers was Ann Marie D’Aliso, who shared the story of her son’s suicide and its after-effects. She also discussed how easy it is to miss the signs leading up to such a tragic incident, and how people need to speak out and speak up.
Mrs. D’Aliso warned students to “never judge a book by its cover, because you really don’t know what’s inside.” She also stressed that before you say or tweet, etc. something, think about how you would feel if someone said that about you. “What you say could be a person’s last straw, and the last thing they decide to hear,” she said. Kindness should always prevail.
“We have a chance every day to be a hero by being nice to someone, especially someone who needs it,” Mrs. D’Aliso said. Forgiveness is also key to a strong, happy life. Her husband, Patrick D’Aliso told everyone that the “path to forgiveness is hard and the cross to bear is heavy,” but that it is important for so many reasons to forgive people, and yourself, for mistakes. They reminded students that people will always remember how you made them feel.
The final speaker was Hashim Garrett, who at 15 was nearly killed in a blaze of bullets after years of being in a gang and the drug world. He grew up in a household consumed by domestic violence, and spent much of his youth as a “scared, angry child.” Still, his belief in God was strong and he prayed to make it stop. He believed he constantly saw signs from God, but despite that got into drugs and gangs.
One day he was shot multiple times by another youth using a sub-machine gun, after being set up by his own friends. As he began to die, he realized he wasn’t seeing a bright white light, but a deep, dark tunnel below him. Terrified, he began to pray until his last breath, and by God’s miracle returned to life, though he was partially paralyzed. His mother asked him to read the Bible while he recovered. According to Mr. Garrett, he found more help in the Bible than with all the doctors and psychiatrists combined. “It was transformative. I no longer wanted vengeance, and decided to leave that up to God. I learned about forgiveness through Christ,” he said.
He left the students with four words: What have you done? He asked them to think about their own words and actions – how would you feel if they were directed at you? All in all, the assembly made three major points for students to consider:
1. The things we say or don't say matter. The things we do or don't do matter.
2. If you see someone hurting, reach out to them or tell someone they need help.
3. Forgive - for your own good and the good of others. Keep God in your life and understand that He wants us to forgive; He will take care of the rest. For more information, go to www.breakingthecycle.com.
Students and Staff Donate to Red Cross Blood Drive
The Student Council sponsored a blood drive for the Red Cross on March 13, and over 32 students and staff/faculty members donated about 25 pints of blood.