From laughing to nearly crying, Senior Scenes made me feel all kinds of emotions.

Senior Scenes, as explained by the name, is a show compiled of scenes taken out of plays and directed by seniors who are members of the Strawberry Hill Players. The scenes are then performed by underclassmen and new members, although they sometimes include juniors. This year there were five scenes.

The first scene, taken from The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, was directed by AITE senior Lauryn Schiller and was performed by Freshmen Becca Ferrante and Sydney Rubin, as well as Junior Jennifer Collantes. The scene, as Schiller introduced, showed mental illness as well as abuse. Matilda, “Tillie,” played by Collantes, is Ruth’s younger sister, portrayed by Ferrante. Throughout the scene, Ruth constantly brings Tilly down by telling her that she’s not good enough and that people won’t accept her because they will think she’s weird. I felt compassionate toward Tillie because her sister was so rude. However, Ruth gained some of my sympathy because of the way she was treated by her mother Beatrice, “Betty the Loon.” Betty, played by Rubin, was abusive to both of her daughters and was clearly self-centered. Although the scene itself wasn’t one of my favorites because of the mother’s abuse toward her daughters and Ruth’s abuse toward Tillie, the actors did an exceptional job portraying their characters. The costumes for their characters were also great because they reflected the character’s personalities, making them seem like real people and not just actors.

The second scene, called “Seeing the Thing,” was directed by SHS senior Shaina Lubliner and was taken from John Cariani’s play, Almost Maine. The scene included two townies, Dave, played by AITE Junior Ali Nassef, and Rhonda, played by SHS Freshman Gabby Hernandez. Dave and Rhonda had been friends for years, however, Dave wants to take their friendship to the next level. Rhonda is oblivious to this for most of the scene but in the end, it’s clear that they’re both more than friends. Out of the five scenes, I have to say that this one was definitely the funniest and the most heart-warming. The scene itself was hilarious and very cartoon-like because of the spontaneity. Nassef and Hernandez did a great job portraying funny characters and had the crowd laughing for most of the time, ending their scene with a big “aw” from the crowd.

Next in the performance was a scene from Rabbit Hole, a play written by David Lindsay-Abaire. The scene started out with Jason, played by Freshman Max DeLuca, narrating an apology letter he had written to Becca, played by Sophomore Brianna Jean. In his letter, Jason explained that he was deeply sorry for being the one responsible for the death of Becca’s son. Throughout the rest of the scene, the audience was able to see the way Becca and her husband Howie, portrayed by Junior Chase Roden, deal with their son’s death. As director Katelyn Cody explained during her introduction, this scene showed “adult subjects” such as death and grief. The scene was one of the more serious ones and Jean and Roden both did a fantastic job portraying their characters to the point where I nearly cried. They showed the anger and grief anyone would feel after losing a loved one and were able to do this through believable facial expressions as well as tone.

Scene four was from Lucy Caldwell’s play Leaves, which takes place in Belfast, Ireland, and was directed by Senior Erin Maher. Maher introduced her scene by explaining that it had feelings many of us would like to avoid, which I agreed with, considering that the scene had to do with depression and suicide. The scene takes place after Lori, played by Freshman Cara Grasso, comes home after being in psychiatric care for attempting suicide. Her younger sisters Poppy and Clover, played by Sophomores Sophie Jacobson and Talia Shapiro, both talk to Lori about her finally being home. Poppy, being the youngest, doesn’t really understand the whole suicide situation but wants Lori to be happy. On the other hand, Clover reprimands Lori for attempting what she has done instead of being there for her. The three actors all did a great job in this scene. They all made their characters very different from each other: Grasso was dejected and cheerless, Jacobson was innocent and compassionate and Shapiro was the scolding and somewhat distant sister. The scene showed the struggles that Lori was going through but it was also a great way to show off the relationship created by the sisters and their three different personalities.

Last but not least was a scene from the play Bride and Gloom, directed by AITE senior Maggie Carucci. In this scene, a bride, played by Sophomore Lily Fine, rethinks her choice about getting married to her partner, played by Freshman John Biogonino. She admits that she’s scared of getting a divorce, due to her family’s bad experiences with marriage, and therefore isn’t sure if she wants to get married at all. Though she tells this to the groom, the groom explains that despite what she thinks, he still wants to marry her. Along with “Seeing the Thing,” this scene was also one of my favorites because of how funny it was and the positive note the scene ended on. Fine and Biogonino both did a splendid job in their performances. They made the scene light and enjoyable for the audience.

Overall, the directors and performers did a great job in this year’s Senior Scenes. The scenes chosen by the directors showed the many different types of characters that the Strawberry Hill Players can portray. I highly recommend watching next year’s Senior Scenes or any of the other works done by the Strawberry Hill Players. Some of the next performances include Strawberry Hill Improv Players (SHIP) shows on February 19, April 1 and May 27, a Connecticut Drama Association (CDA) preview on March 12 and Seussical the Musical on April 29 and 30 and May 6 and 7.