All in two very exciting weeks, the Drama Club community has had the International Thespian Society Induction, the Unified Theater performance of The Late Bus Club, the Drama Club Awards, and the Halo Awards. These events have been long awaited for the Drama Club community, as they mark the end of this year’s season. After a very successful play and musical, (A Christmas Carol and The Wizard of Oz, respectively), people were eager to see what happens next.
“I thought that the kids did really well. I think, as with every year, we were worried that kids weren’t learning their lines and weren’t learning their lyrics, and then they pulled through. We had a really good reception from the audience.”
-Anthony Ferreira, Musical Director for The Wizard of Oz
As described in the article by Beatrice Markovitch and Kai M. Skorupski, A Christmas Carol was a rousing success for the Drama Club as the fall play. Starring Jack Tautic as Ebenezer Scrooge, the well known tale of a curmudgeonly man visited by three ghosts took on a new life here at Suffield High.
After a great fall season, The Wizard of Oz was an accomplishment to be proud of for the spring musical. The story of a Kansas girl named Dorothy (played by Rowena O’Sullivan) has entertained audiences for decades and Suffield High’s performance was no different.
The next few events of the Drama Club mark the end of an era for the seniors and a new beginning for the newer members of the department. Onto the events of the very busy two weeks for the Drama Club!
The Illuminating International Thespian Society Induction
On Monday, May 19th, the second International Thespian Society induction of the year took place. The International Thespian Society is an honor society where actors and crew members can be honored for their dedication to their respective crafts.
The guest speakers, our principal Mr. Hibbert and musical director Mr. Ferreira gave moving speeches that showed the significance of the inclusion and uniqueness of being in such an esteemed troupe of actors.
“Congratulations and welcome to the International Thespian Society. Always remember our motto which comes from Alexander Pope’s ‘Essay on Man’: ‘Act well your part; there all the honor lies.’”
-Nayandeep Tummalapally, president of ITS Troupe 12275, welcoming the new inductees.
With a wonderful candlelit ceremony, the Suffield High’s chapter leadership, president Nayandeep Tummalapally, vice president MaryKate Mormino, and treasurer Eva Adappoor inducted new members Sammy Melendez, Ashley Legg, Gianella Gonzalez, Lillian Macsata, McKenna Lepage. Jack Ryan, Rebekah Urquhart, Ellie Babcock, and Elianna Vega.
The Unique Unified Theater Performance
The Unified Theater performance occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. This year’s Unified Theater performance, called The Late Bus Club, was directed by Azura Eckley and MaryKate Mormino. Unified Theater is a program where students with or without disabilities come together as one to write and produce their very own performance. The Late Bus Club describes Suffield’s own version of the hit 80s movie, The Breakfast Club, with the characters in detention including the Ag Kid, the Robotics Kid and the Drama Kid.
After only a few weeks of rehearsal, the cast and crew came together to fully write, block and produce a show all on their own. With a small cast of a mere eight students, the show demonstrated a passion for theater from these students like no other.
“I highly recommend Unified to anyone who is seeking a place to belong and feel included. We accept everybody. Rather than having a show with auditions, we build the show around every single actor and tech member.”
-Jack Ryan
As always after a Unified Theater Performance, the cast came together to sing the Unified Song. A tradition that happens with every show, this song emphasized the real meaning of a relatively silly show, it’s about bringing people together no matter their differences. A heartwarming show that finished with an uplifting song could only be made better by the ever anticipated Drama Awards.
The Delightful Drama Awards
After the performance of The Late Bus Club, our Drama Department hosted the Drama Awards. Those who participate in the performances were awarded an honorary certificate to recognize their work. Along with these participatory awards, Star Awards were given to students being commended for hard work and effort in their craft. Whether it’s acting or helping out with tech, these students deserved to be awarded for their astounding performances. The Star Awards that were given out are as follows:
A Christmas Carol
C White
Ethan Boldt
Sarah Swenson
Ellie Babcock
The Wizard of Oz
Rowena O’Sullivan
Nayandeep Tummalapally
Eva Addapoor
Ethan Cromack
Maggie Nikolis
MaryKate Mormino
Unified Theater
Julia Toskin
Ashley Legg
Jack Ryan
The Hopeful Halo Awards
The Halo Awards, hosted by the Palace Theater, took place on Thursday, May 29th. The Halo Awards are the largest theater awards in the state of Connecticut and Suffield High had Halo Awards judges attend our play, A Christmas Carol, and our musical, The Wizard of Oz. With a whopping eleven nominations including Best Stage Management and Best Duo along with Best Musical for The Wizard of Oz, the Drama Club members were certainly thrilled for that evening.
During last year’s Halo Awards, the Suffield Drama Department was nominated for nine awards. Three were won for Into the Woods which were Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Classical Musical for Natasha Matos-Luna, Best Special Effects, and No Small Parts for T.J. Roberts. This led to a lot of hope for this season since both the musical and play are up for nominations rather than just the musical like last year.
“I am hopeful for our department of actors, because I know we have a lot of really good people. And I know we won last year, so I’m a little nervous…”
-Azura Eckley
The Palace Theater was buzzing with anticipation throughout the entire night. The dress code was black tie so the Drama Club was dressed to the nines as seen in photo two. When the awards weren’t being announced, the Best Musical nominees performed numbers from their musicals. From Cabaret to Anything Goes to our very own The Wizard of Oz, the performances were outstanding and showed that Suffield High was up against some serious competition for Best Musical.
Suffield High School’s Theater Department was nominated for eleven awards and none were won. The nominations are as follows:
A Christmas Carol
Best Performance in a Leading Male Role in a Contemporary Play: Jack Tautic as Ebenezer Scrooge
Best Performance in a Featured Female Role in a Play: MaryKate Mormino as The Ghost of Christmas Present
Best Lighting Design and/or Execution: Maya Sadaria and Annie Vincent
Best Stage Management: Maya Sadaria
The Wizard of Oz
Best Classical Musical: The Wizard of Oz
Best Performance in a Leading Female Role in a Classical Musical: Rowena O’Sullivan as Dorothy Gale
Best Performance in a Leading Male Role in a Classical Musical: Claire Halasi-Kun as The Scarecrow
Best Performance by a Couple or Dynamic Duo in a Musical: Rowena O’Sullivan and Claire Halasi-Kun as Dorothy Gale and The Scarecrow
Best Performance in a Featured Male Role in a Musical: Jack Tautic as The Cowardly Lion
Best Performance in a Supporting Male Role in a Musical: Nayandeep Tummalapally as The Tin Man
Best Performance in a Supporting Female Role in a Musical: Maggie Nikolis as The Wicked Witch
What’s Next?
Although the 2024-2025 season is over, the 2025-2026 will be in full swing before we know it. What may be even more exciting than these past few events will be discovering what the next school year has in store for the Drama Club community.
In recognition of the amazing plays we have done before at Suffield High School, it is my personal honor to announce that the play for the 2025 Fall Production is The Play That Goes Wrong!
I’m very excited for this news and I’m looking forward to what the 2025-2026 year has in store for our Drama Club!
