Seniors Spadavecchia, Palzom & Acevedo bid farewell to the Becton stage
All three seniors received flowers at the end of their final performance. (Back center-Mikaela Spadavecchia, Front row left-Danna Martinez Acevedo, Front row center-Jenny Palzom)
Becton Regional High School’s Theater Arts Club performed Roger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella this month with Seniors Mikaela Spadavecchia, Tsering “Jenny” Palzom, and Danna Martinez Acevedo giving their final performances at the school.
“Once you perform, it’s a bittersweet feeling because you know this is the end,” Jenny stated.
The play, directed by Ms. Michelle Morell, starred Mikaela as the title role of Cinderella and Jenny as the Evil Stepmother. This classic rendition of the fairytale featured numerous musical numbers that showcased the cast’s impressive singing abilities, including Mikaela in her crowd-favorite take on “In My Own Little Corner.” The actress also gained enthusiastic applause from the audience with “A Lovely Night,” where fellow senior Jenny also made her mark on the crowd.
This has been Mikaela’s second year acting in her high school and community theatre productions; she has also been cast in shows such as Grease and The Nightmare Before Christmas. “It’s pretty sad that this is my last year because the school has helped me realize how much I love acting,” she explained. The aspect of acting that she will miss the most once she graduates is the “joy of being on stage surrounded by my friends.”
Jenny Palzom, Mikaela Spadavecchia & Danna Martinez Acevedo all starred in Cinderella on April 5, 6 & 7.
Jenny, on the other hand, has participated in Becton productions throughout all four years of high school. “I don’t think I’ll continue theater in the future, but it was fun. As a senior, I got to take charge and help direct the other cast members.” Aside from taking on a leadership role for her fellow actors, her favorite aspect of working on plays has been forming new friendships that she would not have had the chance to make outside of drama. She has learned techniques that have helped her grow as an actress, like when to use particular hand movements during her dialogue and the importance of maintaining eye contact with her castmates, as well as the audience.
“I will miss all the practices, all the fun we had, and the hard work we went through that brought us closer,” added Jenny.
Last but certainly not least, this was Danna’s first and last year as a part of Becton’s drama department, but she has already developed many friendships that she will miss once she leaves the school for good. She elaborated on how acting has helped her learn to express herself better and not be as shy as she used to be. “It helped me break out of my comfort zone,” she said. She also enjoyed watching how the most recent production came together behind the scenes.
Danna praised Ms. Morell, who she described as “so talented” and said she really put her time and effort into teaching the cast of Cinderella everything she knew.
Noelia is thrilled to return to the Cat’s Eye View for her senior year as our editor-in-chief as she completes an independent journalism internship....
