The TEENYS are back! For 12 years, the Islip Arts Council’s TEENY Awards have celebrated local high school theatre students and given them a platform to show off their tremendous talents. This year’s multi-part virtual celebration, called “Islip Arts Council’s TEENYS Revisited,” continues with Sayville High School, hosted by former TEENYS winner and professional dancer Ryan Rodiño.
Sayville theater students returned to the stage this year with the meta-musical comedy “The Drowsy Chaperone.”
Being creative is important to James and he was happy to be part of the show.
“This year has taken a toll, especially on the creative aspects of every single program, whether it be art, theatre, music, you name it,” he said, “but throughout this year we have discovered workarounds to become creative… and we’ve done stuff that I never thought that I could be able to do.”
Katie feels that participating in musical theater is an essential outlet for her.
“Acting, singing, dancing, being on stage was always my primary source of releasing all of my anxieties,” Katie said. “I was so happy to actually do a production for the first time in over a year.”
Hunter also expresses his creativity through music and theatre.
“This year was a little different from past years,” he said. “I didn’t think we were going to be able to put on a show, but we were able to do that and overcome some difficulties. I think it was an amazing experience and we were able to do it really well.”
Like her classmates, Victoria was disappointed that they didn’t get to put on a show last year and overjoyed to be back on stage with friends again this year.
“Just being together with people that I know understand who I am, how we all express ourselves differently, but when we come together we are able to create something so amazing that people are just so happy to enjoy,” Victoria said.
Singer and actress Paige enjoyed getting back together with her fellow theatre students, too.
“Everyone there is like a little family,” she said.
Aidan felt lucky they were able to put on a production of “The Drowsy Chaperone,” even a filmed version without a live audience.
“It was still very fun and the process brought us closer together,” he said.
Music Department Chair Jeff Hoffman has also directed musicals at Sayville High School for the past 5 years. At the beginning of the school year, he began discussing possibilities with administrators and started planning how to accomplish the production he had in mind.
“I didn’t know if this was going to work or not,” Hoffman said. “Probably the only reason why it did work was because of the commitment that the students of Sayville High School gave to this production. They are truly champions and have created a wonderful work of art, which we are all so proud of.”
The 2021 Islip Arts Council TEENYS Revisited is made possible by the support of Suffolk County, Five Towns College, The Rotary Club of Islip, and from viewers like you. Please visit isliparts.org and make a donation so that we can continue to keep the arts alive in our community.
