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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 2017)
February 17, 2017 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 9A ‘Bye Bye Birdie’ takes the stage in Seaside By Katherine Lacaze For Seaside Signal It’s the late 1950s. Rock ’n’ roll idol Conrad Birdie, who has been drafted into the U.S. Army à la Elvis Presley, is pre- paring to leave for the military by working alongside his man- agers to stage a public farewell kiss with a randomly selected all-American teenage girl. What follows, according to cast members of Seaside High School’s production of “Bye Bye Birdie,” is a humorously dramatic, fun frolic featuring high-energy music, extensive choreography and a plot line of “everything going all wrong at the same time and kind of resolving,” senior Zeynep Payzanoğlu said. The play, written by Mi- chael Stewart with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, begins in New York City. Rosie Alvarez and Albert Peterson, Birdie’s man- agers concoct their scheme involving the rock singer and choose 15-year-old Kim McA- fee as the lucky girl to receive his goodbye kiss. The troupe, accompanied by Albert’s pos- sessive mother, then head to Kim’s hometown of Sweet Apple, Ohio, and turn it upside KATHERINE LACAZE/FOR SEASIDE SIGNAL The cast for Seaside High School’s production of “Bye Bye Birdie” is preparing for the show to open Feb. 24. Perfor- mances also will be held Feb. 25 and March 2,3 and 4. KATHERINE LACAZE/FOR SEASIDE SIGNAL Senior Zeynep Payzanoğlu (from left), sophomore Jack Stapleton and sophomore Chance Giguiere practice choreography for a song from “Bye Bye Birdie” during a rehearsal Feb. 8. down with raucous publicity, music and drama. “You see a lot of emotions all together — from Rosie, from Kim, from Conrad, from Albert,” said Payzanoğlu, an exchange student from Tur- key who plays Rosie. “Every- body’s sort of happy, sad, an- gry, and they’re all happening at the same time. I think it is what makes this play really fun to act.” The cast of 17 has been re- hearsing for a couple months under the directorship of En- glish teacher LeeAnn Schmel- zenbach, whose first experi- ence directing was the high school’s 2016 musical “Uri- netown.” The production also includes a technical crew of seven people and a four-per- son band, featuring musicians Bill Siewart, Julie Smith, Max Strozzi and Drew Weil. According to cast mem- bers, the show promises audi- ences a good time with lots of spunk, comedy, intrigue and especially memorable music. They agreed “Honestly Sin- cere” is one of the best songs in the production. Sophomore Majestik De Luz, who plays one of the El- vis-style heartthrob’s many fangirls, added, “Our dedica- tion to Conrad Birdie is pret- Fathers, daughters bond on the dance floor Dance from Page 1A While the couples primar- ily were comprised of fathers attending with their daughters — some of them more than one — “we’ll have different kinds of couples” among the group, said Grace Smith, Fit- ness and Special Events Man- ager. “Sometimes the grandpar- ents will do it, which is awe- some,” she said. “It can be anyone. It can even be an un- cle or a brother — just some- one special to the little girl.” The dance provides a once- a-year opportunity for girls — from infants to young teenag- ers — to dress up and attend a community event tailored specifically for them, with child-friendly dance music, a splattering of pink and white heart-shaped balloons and in- dividual candy bags donated by Bruce’s Candy Kitchen for party favors. Kiernin Dalby, 12, attend- ed the event for the second time with her father, Mat- thew. Even though dancing isn’t a common activity for the pair to engage in together, she said, the Daddy Daughter Dance presents the opportuni- ty for just that: something spe- cial and a little different. Her favorite part, though, is the one-on-one interaction with her father. “I like being able to spend time with him,” she said. Other attendees echoed that sentiment, touching on how the memories made during the dance are ones that will last well into the future. “Everyone I’ve talked to about the event says how sweet it is and how excited their daughters are to go,” Smith said. “It’s just a really a ty extreme, so I think that’s probably a good aspect of the play.” Another comical aspect, according to senior Adam Morse, who plays Albert, is the love story between his charac- ter and Rosie — and how Al- bert’s mother tries to get in the way using guilt-tripping and other manipulative tactics. In general, the students an- ticipate the audience will enjoy themselves as much as the cast has during the rehearsal pro- cess. De Luz said one of her favorite aspects of the overall experience has been “growing as a cast and really bonding Graduation rates show Warrenton on the rise Grad Rates from Page 1A KATHERINE LACAZE/FOR SEASIDE SIGNAL The dance floor was filled with activity, from conga lines and personalized dance moves to fits of laughter and singing, during the annual Daddy Daughter Dance, put on by the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District. KATHERINE LACAZE/FOR SEASIDE SIGNAL Andy Klumper and his 9-year-old daughter Lydia, of Gear- hart, show off their moves together. fun time for the girls, and for the dads to see their daughters so excited. That’s the dream.” Since the event started in 2014 at the Bob Chisholm Community Center, it has roughly doubled in atten- dance. This year, about 300 people attended, more than expected, Smith said. She be- lieves that is a positive testa- ment to the event’s appeal and merit. “I think the sheer turnout kind of speaks for itself as to how important this event is to our community,” Smith said, adding there are not many local activities throughout the year featuring the same unique, lavish atmosphere for young people that invites them to get gussied up. “We can create a kind of oppor- tunity that’s really special. I think the community agrees, with how many people con- tinue to come year after year.” In addition to continuous music — played by disc jock- ey Bruce Smith and accompa- nied by colorful lights flash- ing on the dance floor — the event featured a raffle, with prizes from Bath and Body Works, Claire’s and other establishments; cookies and beverages; and questionnaires for the couples to fill out to- gether. As always, one of the most popular features was the pho- to booth, run by local photog- rapher Justin Grafton. “That was busy all night,” Smith said. “There’s always a line.” Generally, she said, the girls enjoy getting multiple pictures, not only with their dates for the evening but also with friends. Often, a few grandpar- ents or other family members will stop by briefly to grab snapshots, as well. It also is common for mothers or other female guardians who want to witness the special night to work as volunteers. “It’s certainly worth- while,” Smith said of the event. “It’s my favorite one to go to, because there’s just so much excitement. It’s really special to see that relationship the dads and daughters have together.” above 70 percent last year. The state as a whole has increased graduation from 68.4 percent in 2012 to 74.8 percent last year. “Based on our fairly small population, we frequently see some fluctuation in our numbers since a percentage point is almost exactly one student,” Seaside School District Superintendent Shei- la Roley said Monday. “We also had a few more students than our typical amount last year who decided to pursue a GED.” Roley said new strategies implemented by Principal Jeff Roberts are aimed on in- creasing student engagement in the high school this year. “In terms of addressing graduation rate, we would like to see all students gradu- ate, so we are always evaluat- ing our programs to improve our practice,” Roley said. “This year we have a K-12 team of educators participat- ing in a program sponsored by the Oregon Department of Education and University of Oregon to create a K-12 system of College and Career Readiness. We know the ear- lier we can address barriers that students have to gradua- tion, the more successful our students will become.” Warrenton rise Since 57.9 percent of the Warrenton class of 2012 grad- uated in four years, the worst mark in the county, the school has seen continual gains, with more than 63 percent in 2013, 66 percent in 2014 and more than 69 percent in 2015. Last year, more than 74 percent of Fundraiser features new auction items Live auction winners included: We focus on resident- centered care , foster a stimulating and nurturing environment , and facilitate as independent a life as possible. OSU FOOTBALL GAME Bjorn Karlsson LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS DINNER WITH CHEF JONATHAN HOFFMAN Diane Somers LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION MOVIE PASS Randy Frank • 3 enclosed courtyards safe for enjoying the outdoors. • 2 community dining and activity spaces . • Private and semi-private bedrooms. SEPRD POOL BIRTHDAY PARTY PACKAGE Jane Crater SEASIDE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL FAN PACKAGE Tony Wozniak swimming lessons, preschool and summer camps. Examples of what Seaside Rotary Foun- dation has done include holi- day gifts through the Wishing Tree program; Shop with a Cop for community youth; scholarships for high school students; hosting of grad night; donating to the South County Food Bank and Helping Hands Re-entry program; and hosting students for the student youth exchange program. Warrenton students graduated on time, nearly the highest rate among the county’s three larger school districts.“I’ve put a lot of emphasis in math over the last five years,” Jef- fery said. “That’s one area that the majority of kids will struggle with coming into high school.” Principal Rod Heyen said Warrenton brought in retired math instructor Kate Gru- etter part time to work with students, and provides af- ter-school opportunities for students to make up home- work and tests. “That has become really beneficial and become part of our culture here.” Heyen said he gets many of his ideas from other dis- tricts, including Principal Lynn Jackson at Astoria High School, who, he added, is good about pulling in kids who might be falling through the cracks, regardless of the effect on the graduation rate. Astoria regularly takes students from around the county into the Gray School Campus Alternative Educa- tion Program, a self-paced, largely online school for stu- dents who need to recover credits on their own sched- ules. Heyen said he recently consulted with a fifth-year se- nior, living on her own with a job, who had been to several different high schools with- out finishing, but wants to try again. “Behind the grad rate, you have a kid walking in the door saying he wants to try,” Hey- en said. “You’ve got to go af- ter that.” —R.J. Marx contributed to this report. A 32 bed residential care facility designed specifically for residents living with dementia. Fundraiser from Page 1A said he believes “the proceeds from this wonderful event to- night and also our annual auc- tion” will be better than the year before. New this year was the op- portunity drawing. For a $50 ticket, people got a chance to win a romantic getaway to Victoria, British Columbia. This year’s winner of the op- portunity drawing was Gregg Freedman of the Providence Seaside Hospital Foundation board. Laura Freedman, part of organizing team, has seen the event evolve into a major fundraiser. “Once the event ex- panded to include restaurants, it changed the whole spirit of the event because it was more widely represented in the com- munity,” she said. Sunset Park and Recreation Foundation scholarships in- clude after school programs, with each other, just backstage or sitting out [in the cafeteria], waiting for our next part.” Seaside High School’s production of “Bye Bye Bird- ie,” presented in arrangement with Tams-Whitmark Mu- sic Library Production, will take place Feb. 24 and 25 and March 2, 3 and 4. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7. General admission is $8 per person. Honored citizens and children 12 and younger are admitted for $6 and high school students for $4. For more information, call the school at 503-738-5586. C latsop C are M em ory C om m unity Your partners in care, close to home. 2219 SE D olph in A venu e W arrenton, O R 97146 503-994-2060