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“Bye Bye Birdie” Flies High

Conrad (Jack Siegenthaller) is embraced by his fan club members.
Photo by Kerry Long
Conrad (Jack Siegenthaller) is embraced by his fan club members.

For Staples Players, there wasn’t much time to relax once school ended in June, as rehearsals started soon after for the summer production of “Bye Bye Birdie,” a 1960s musical. With the premiere on July 26, Players were in a time crunch.

“I believe this rehearsal time was the shortest we’ve ever had to do a summer show,” said Maddy Rozynek ’14, who played Mae Peterson. “We were still running scenes days before it opened.”

Despite the strenuous hours of preparation for an early opening, reviews of the experience from cast and crew were all positive. “I love spending my summer doing this,” said Vig Namasivayam ’16, an assistant director. “Even though it’s hard work, it’s so much fun.”

Because of its summer timing, the community of Players expanded to include students from other parts of Fairfield County, as well as incoming freshman – and a seventh grader. Players needed someone to play young Randolph, and Nick Rossi ’19, was a perfect choice. Noa Wind ’15 who played Nancy described Rossi as “awesome in learning the ropes.”

Overall, Players said the production was a major success.“The lights, the sets, the singing, the dancing,” said Namasivayam. “It turned out extremely well.”

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Justine Seligson, Photo Coordinator
Being a self-described political junkie and a teen travel writer, Justine Seligson '15 is not only, without a doubt,  a well rounded student and basically a mother's dream, but also a very unique addition to the staff. Seligson is extremely modest about her accomplishments, but it is very clear that her extensive journalistic experience outside of Inklings has largely influenced her presence on the paper. "I have a column on teen travel on my parent's website, which is called Farewell Travels," Seligson said. "It's a very different type of writing [than Inklings] but it's definitely helped me to grow as a journalist overall." Seligson goes on to describe the plethora of exquisite articles she has written for her column over the years. Seligson further explained how her experiences in traveling have shaped her journalistic presence in a large way. She explains why she is nonchalant about the amazing experiences she has had traveling the globe, explaining that it has always been a way of life for her and her family. "My family travels all the time," she said. "It's just part of our business." However, Seligson says that "...[she] would a much different writer if [she] hadn't traveled so much." She casually mentions how much of an impact a pre-college Kenyan writing program had on her, as what an honor it was to be featured in the National Geographic Student Edition. "It made me realize that even though journalism may supposedly be a dying business, there may be some hope for me to pursue my dream career," she said. With her in-depth knowledge of travel and politics, Seligson is sure to be an interesting voice on the paper this year. She hopes to improve her writing and photography even more this year, as well as to help other staff members to increase the quality of their own photographs.

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