Al’s Angels Volunteers Prepare Thanksgiving Meal Bins for Over 1,000 Families
The Al’s Angels annual tradition of preparing meal bins for families in need returned this year to a new venue: a former car dealership in Fairfield on the Post Road. Over one hundreds families assisted in filling the meal bins throughout the repurposed space - each bin destined for a family in need this Thanksgiving after it was carefully filled with different foods and drinks by the volunteers. Al’s Angels, a Westport-based non-profit, supports families suffering from economic hardships and children suffering from bloodborne diseases and cancers through food security and other types of support. For over 20 years, the organization - founded by Westport Al DiGuido - also funds and organizes the Christmas Light Display on the Cribari Bridge in Saugatuck, as well as a local toy drive for the holidays.
Stunning Fall Weekend Weather
With lows reaching frosty temperatures the sun has peaked through for a crisp fall weekend. Photo by Preston Siroka for WestportLocal.com.
Superintendent Updates District on “Screen and Stay” Program, Bus Rider Changes
Superintendent Thomas ScariceGreetings,
I hope that you and your family had enjoyable Halloween weekends with opportunities for our students to just be kids. Halloween is one of my favorite seasonal events with my kids. We have such fun trying to outdo each other with our costumes and decorations. Although I hold the all-time family award for best costume ever (I was the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters!!), my daughter Ella took the prize at home and at a neighborhood party this year with her pirate costume.
This year has been harder than we all anticipated for a variety of reasons. Our collective endurance has been tested. A festive Halloween, followed by a respite on Election Day, certainly provided some relief. The Thanksgiving break is around the corner and we are gaining momentum with Covid rates plummeting, and vaccination rates soaring. Below are some updates for our school community.
COVID Update: Fortunately, Covid infection rates have hovered at levels we have not seen since May. We have not experienced a case in our schools for nearly two weeks. Additionally, as we opened up registration for the vaccination clinic for 5-11 year olds, we quickly registered just under 1,000 K-6 students.
With these developments, we have begun to consider relaxing many of our Covid mitigating measures over the next few weeks. Staying consistent with our 4-6 week increment analysis, it is anticipated that we will relax and modify our measures in a number of areas.
All of the measures under consideration will be communicated to parents and the WPS team in advance of implementation. All of these proposed modifications are subject to change pending infection rates.
The following are the areas under consideration:
Lunch: As the weather cools and rates continue to stay low, we will return all students to the cafeteria while continuing to distance to the maximum extent possible.
Dismissal: Each school, particularly at the elementary level, will revisit dismissal procedures to determine the most efficient way to release students to parents who are not taking the bus. For some schools, this might result in students being released from a common area to parents. Each school may differ based on a variety of factors (i.e. driveway capacity, traffic flow, etc.).
K-6 Weekly Serial Covid Testing: The voluntary weekly serial Covid testing program will continue through the end of November and, pending continued low infection rates and high vaccination rates, will subsequently sunset. Advanced notice will be provided to parents who desire to continue testing on their own with local providers.
Vaccination Requirement for School Visitors: Since the beginning of the school year we have required proof of vaccination for school visitors. Additionally, the Governor used his Executive Powers to mandate vaccination for all employees with the provision of legal exemptions. As infection rates continue to hover at low levels and vaccination rates in the community are high, and now increasing, we will relax the vaccination requirement for visitors in the near future. We cannot modify the requirement for employees as that is an Executive Order from the Governor’s office.
Vaccination Requirement for Parent/Teacher Conferences: Until this provision is relaxed, we ask that any parents attending parent/teacher conferences enter the building only if vaccinated. Provisions will be made for virtual conferences in the event a parent is not vaccinated.
Welcoming Larger Groups of Parent Visitors to Our Buildings: Small groups of vaccinated visitors have been welcomed into our schools since the start of the school year. As we relax our measures, we will begin to welcome in larger groups of visitors, such as general PTA meetings.
Universal Masking: Although universal masking requirements at the municipal level have been relaxed, all schools remain under the Governor’s Executive Order to maintain universal masking until February. The Governor indicated that he may revisit this provision after the New Year. In the interim, we will maintain universal masking.
Modified Quarantine Procedures “Screen and Stay”: Quarantines have been a necessary, yet highly disruptive mitigating measure throughout the entire pandemic. As infection rates hover at low levels, the CT Department of Public Health issued new guidance (“Screen and Stay”) which enables “close contacts” to stay in school with certain caveats. Vaccinated students and staff are still not required to quarantine.(see below)
“Screen and Stay”: Yesterday, Governor Lamont announced the "Screen and Stay" initiative in an effort to limit the amount of quarantine cases related to COVID-19 and keep kids in school. This will allow students and staff who are not fully vaccinated but have been identified as a close contact to remain in school. Staff or students who are identified as eligible will be required to complete and submit a daily screening questionnaire to report any signs of illness. This form will be provided by your school nurse after the contact tracing process is complete.
“Screen and Stay” will be offered under the following circumstances:
The contact occurred during the school day (does not include extracurricular or outside of school, social or household exposure)
If indoors or on a school bus and both the contact and the case were masked during the exposure
During brief unmasked periods (e.g., snack time, cafeteria) where 6 feet or more of space was maintained
If outdoors, masked or unmasked, but staff supervised (e.g., mask breaks, PE, recess)
The student or staff remain asymptomatic
Again, all of the measures under consideration will be communicated to parents and the WPS team in advance of implementation. All of these proposed modifications are subject to change pending infection rates.
Elementary School “Guest Riders” on Buses: Given the recent condensing of bus routes, we cannot guarantee that “guest riders” (i.e. students travelling on another bus not assigned to them) will have a seat on another bus when riding to a friend’s house or other location. For this reason, and for the interim, we will not be able to accommodate these requests until a full stable of buses and bus drivers have been reestablished.
I hope that each of you have a great weekend and enjoy the crisp autumn weather.
Respectfully,
Thomas Scarice
Superintendent of Schools
Westport Country Playhouse Announces Return to Live Theatrical Productions with “Doubt: A Parable”
Eric Bryant and Betsy Aidem in “Doubt: A Parable.” Photo by Carol RoseggWestport Country Playhouse
Marking its first live theatrical production since 2019, Westport Country Playhouse will stage “Doubt: A Parable,” winner of 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award® for Best Play, from November 2 through November 20. A performance will also be filmed on stage for on-demand streaming in HD video from November 11 through November 21. Written by John Patrick Shanley and directed by David Kennedy, Playhouse associate artistic director, “Doubt: A Parable” will culminate the Playhouse’s 90th anniversary year.
"It's a personal thrill for me to direct the first full production on the Playhouse stage after a nearly two-year hiatus,” said Kennedy. “And to do it with Shanley's remarkable play and this accomplished cast is deeply satisfying. Though a short and simple drama, ‘Doubt’ opens up worlds of complexity and profundity. It truly is a great American drama."
“Doubt: A Parable” is a play that promises to spark conversation. Sister Aloysius, a school principal with a mandate to uphold tradition, is certain something’s terribly wrong about the relationship between a young parish priest and a troubled boy. But beneath her moral crusade to reveal the horrible truth lies a chasm of doubt, where choices made can reverberate beyond imagination. For more information, visit: www.westportplayhouse.org/doubt
The cast includes Betsy Aidem as Sister Aloysius (Westport Country Playhouse’s “Appropriate”; Broadway’s “All the Way,” “Beautiful”; Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance; film “The Greatest Showman”; recurring role on television’s “Law & Order: SVU”); Kerstin Anderson as Sister James (Lincoln Center Theater’s “My Fair Lady” as Eliza Doolittle; Playwrights Horizons’ “Unknown Soldier” and its original cast album; North American Tour of “The Sound of Music” as Maria); Eric Bryant as Father Flynn (Westport Country Playhouse’s “The Understudy,” “The Invisible Hand” - Connecticut Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor, “Room Service,” and a Script in Hand playreading of “Mr. Roberts”; Off-Broadway’s revival of “Angels in America”; regional credits include “Almost, Maine” - Connecticut Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Ensemble; MFA, Yale School of Drama); and Sharina Martin as Mrs. Muller (“Z: The Beginning of Everything” on Amazon Prime; “Blind,” with Alec Baldwin and Demi Moore; and the television series, “Redrum”).
Playwright John Patrick Shanley won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film “Moonstruck.” He wrote and directed the film adaptation of his play, “Doubt,” and earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Shanley is the author of more than 23 plays, which have been translated and performed around the world.
Director David Kennedy is in his thirteenth season as Playhouse associate artistic director. He has directed Playhouse productions each season, including “Suddenly Last Summer,” “Loot,” and “The Invisible Hand,” which received the 2016 Connecticut Critics Circle (CCC) Award for Outstanding Production of a Play, and for which Kennedy won the CCC honor for Outstanding Director of a Play. He was previously with Dallas Theater Center, and was founding artistic director of The Lunar Society in Toronto and Milkman Theatre Group in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The creative team includes Charlie Corcoran, set design; Sarita Fellows, costume design; Carolina Ortiz Herrera, lighting design; Frederick Kennedy, sound design; Dana Tanner-Kennedy, dramaturg; Shane Schnetzler, production stage manager; and Tara Rubin Casting.
Performance schedule is Tuesday at 7 p.m., Wednesday at 2 and 8 p.m., Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. (No Wed. or Sat. matinees during preview week, Nov. 2 – 6). Special series feature LGBT Night on Nov. 4, Opening Night on Nov. 6, Sunday Symposium, featuring a conversation with director and cast members, on Nov. 7, Open Captions on Nov.14, and Thursday TalkBack on Nov.18. Distanced seating available on Wednesdays, Nov. 3, 10, and 17. Post-show audience discussions with community facilitators on Nov. 11, 12, 16, 19.
Running time is approximately 90 minutes; no intermission. Appropriate for ages 14 and up.
Tickets to attend in person start at $30. Tickets to stream on-demand are $25 individual, $50 pair, and $100 household. Each streaming purchase entitles the ticket buyer to one individual link.
For special offers to seniors, students, military, first responders, educators, and playwrights, visit https://www.westportplayhouse.org/visit/box-office/
The production of “Doubt: A Parable” is sponsored by the Eunice and David Bigelow Foundation, and Judy and Scott Phares, with additional support from the Burry Fredrik Foundation. The 2021 season is generously supported by the Eunice and David Bigelow Foundation. 2021 season Media Sponsors are Moffly Media and WSHU Public Radio.
Last year, the global pandemic shut down the Playhouse’s 2020 Season. During 2021, the Playhouse has produced online, outdoors, and on the radio as pandemic safety concerns prevented staging live theater. Easing guidelines at federal, state, and local levels, as well as those of theatrical unions, has allowed in-person theatrical productions to resume. Currently, patrons must be masked and fully vaccinated with an FDA-authorized vaccine to attend an indoor performance and must show proof of vaccination with their valid ticket to enter. For updates on Covid-19 health and safety protocols at the Playhouse, visit https://www.westportplayhouse.org/visit/covid19safety/
All play titles, artists, dates, and formats are subject to change.
To purchase tickets, visit westportplayhouse.org, call the box office at (203) 227-4177, or email boxoffice@westportplayhouse.org. Stay connected to the Playhouse on Facebook (Westport Country Playhouse), follow on Twitter (@WCPlayhouse), and on YouTube (WestportPlayhouse).