Bishop Feehan High School - Flashback Yearbook (Attleboro, MA)

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Soaking up the Italian sunshine, Susan Corso sits on the steps of the ancient Roman Senate building in the Forum. Helping the tired little feet and legs of sixth grader, James Maroni, Robert Nicastro gives a shoulder ride at Pompeii. Aided by his Michelin Green Book, multilingual tour guide, Gian Carlos, made our Stay in Italy very pleasant. Real Italians, especially in small neighborhood restaurants in Florence, do drink wine with meals. Paula Agostini, Robert Nicastro 12 April in Italy Suellen Carroll, Amy Barca, Susan Corso, and Amy Brunell wait for the next course. Agostini, Suellen Carroll, Amy Brunell, Daniel Pearson, Amy Barca, and Robert Nicastro recall their Shakespeare. Directly from the plane, our first stop was at Verona, the home of Juliet Capulet. Sister Enda Costello, Susan Corso, Jennifer Tausek, Paula

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Behind the Scenes — the Other Half of Drama When the curtain opens, revealing an F.T.C. production, the audience is delighted with the quality of the show. But they are only getting half of the picture. Behind the set there lies another world where the atmosphere is hot, the pace lightening quick, and the pressure high. The creatures who inhabit this land dart about silently in the dark, moving furniture, changing costumes, and rigging backdrops. This is life behind the scenes. It all begins the day rehearsals commence. Studious pupils are transformed into actors and technicians on the way to the theatre at 2:00 after school. Director Ms. Andrade chisels away at her list of things to do while waiting for everyone to arrive. We, the punctual, can be found scattered throughout the theatre premises. Some are running lines, others gossipping about who is dating whom, and one or two can be found in a quiet corner catching up on some sleep. As opening night draws closer, the backstage pulse increases. The blaring of power saws and machinery in the “shop” can be heard above the syncopated beat of multiple hammers joining the already cut wood. This room, engulfed in a cloud of sawdust, shares the music screaming from the ghetto blaster of those painting a guard rail in the hall. All of this is competing with the soundman, who, while testing the cues through his P.A. system, sneaks in a tape of a Led Zeppelin classic. The actors force countless lines into their minds midst all the cacophony. Meanwhile, a group re-adjusting the lights in the ceiling was interfering with those trying to make the ballroom backdrop come down properly. And some of the performers in scene two, who were rehearsing a dance in the foyer, were needed to practice a song from scene four. Others were rotating the turntable so we could run scene five on stage. The remaining members were tracking down lost props, learning about makeup, and copying down the rehearsal schedule for the following week. This was just an average day behind the scenes, which continued until the show is complete. So next time you Technicians, Robert Cord and Gilbert Lapointe, synchronize sound with an on-set action. Exhausted after long days and longer nights of practice, Kelly Reid snatches a nap. Not only the show but homework also must go on. Between acts, Diane Sweeney recopies an English theme. marvel at how professional the F.T.C. productions are, remember ... everything looks so easy from the front because everyone is working so hard in the back. Behind the Scenes 11

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April in Italy ight is nough Italy, here we come! What could be better than a 747 filled with h igh school students enroute to a foreign country? It was an experience, especially for Sister Enda Costello and the rest of the chaperones, but it was one that we will never forget. Originally, we thought that we would sleep the whole time because our plane didn’t take off until 10:30 pm. Were we wrong! Before we realized it, broad day light had come and the Italian Alps were in view. It was almost a dream until we landed in Milan and stepped foot on Italian soil. We claimed our bags and boarded a bus that would soon become our second home, with tour guide Gian Carlos at the helm. Off to Venice! We shared our bus with two other schools and arrived at the Park Hotel near Venice. After dinner, we received a true taste of Italian life — the Cisco. A “few” hours of sleep later, we boarded our “home” and prepared for a tour of the city-on-water, Venice. Imagine a place where there are no cars, street lights, buses, and no traffic. After Sunday Mass in St. Mark’s Basilica, a tour of the Doge’s palace, prison, and the shops, we enjoyed “gelati,” Italian ice cream, the best in the world. But all good things must come to an end. So, in the pouring rain, thunder, and lightening, we waited for our bus. Again we stormed the hotel disco and met some very interesting Italian teenagers with whom we still keep in touch. In Florence, we saw Michelangelo’s Piazza, Dante’s Ponte Vecchio, then onto the “straw market.” Quickly we learned to haggle for fair prices; by the end of the day, we had purchased a few Gucci bags, beautiful sweaters, leather gloves, and anything else that we could find to fit into our Suitcases. The Duomo of the Cathedral, Ghiberti’s bronze doors, Michelangelo's David, the memorial tomb of Dante — it was hard to believe we were seeing the real thing after so many books and slide show versions. But the tour moved us on and up three mountains, along hairpin curves to the tiny republic of San Marino. From there we visited the shrine of St. Francis of Assisi, saw his white doves and rose garden, and then moved on to Spoleto for an overnight stay. Leaving one set of mountains, we went south to Sorrento, a city wound around another mountain. From our balconies, we could look down on the city and the sea. Friday afternoon when we arrived in Rome after touring Pompeii, Sister Enda took us on a special tour of the Roman forum. Seeing ancient ruins amid a busy modern city was most unusual. On Saturday, we toured Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel, both of which were so beautiful that it was hard to describe them in words. After lunch at a side walk café, a few of us went off to visit the Roman shops. Saturday night, we walked to Trevi Fountain where we each threw in three coins and wished for a return visit. Sunday, we went to mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, and then to the square where we were blessed by the Pope. After lunch, we boarded the bus for the last time and headed for the airport. For the first time, we realized how tired we were and looked forward to sleeping in our own beds. We knew that Sister felt the same way because she was sleeping in the car on the way back to the convent, when she kept mumbling — “Eight is enough!” Delighted by Sister Enda’s surprise as she opens her cameo, a gift from the group, are Amy Barca and Jennifer Tausek. Sleeping beauties on the last lap of a long bus ride are Robert Nicastro, Daniel Pearson, Jennifer Tausek. Where’s Beatrice, Dante's love? Paula, Amy, Jennifer, Susan, Sister Enda Costello, Amy, Suellen, Robert, and Daniel contemplate the question while visiting Dante’s memorial tomb in the church of Santa Croce in Florence. April in Italy 13