East Lyme students and alumni are making a film that will premiere Saturday at Niantic

Monique Nee, Patrick Conaway and Isabella Bogue film Paloma Vasquez and Jane Campbell at Mother’s Beach at Giant’s Neck in Niantic for “Irish Goodbye.” (Submitted)

Clockwise from left: “Irish Goodbye” cast members Ayla Peterson, Nathan Reith, Cameron D’Ettore, Quinn Dwyer, Paloma Vasquez and Jane Campbell. (Submitted)

This summer, recent graduates of East Lyme High School celebrated their last summer together before heading off to college.

Also in East Lyme: A group of ELHS students and alumni were filming a fictional movie about… alumni celebrating their last summer together before heading off to college.

“Irish Goodbye” was written, produced and directed by Patrick Conaway, a 2023 ELHS graduate. The film, which premieres Saturday at the Niantic Bay Playhouse, centers on six high school seniors who throw a party the night after graduation and slowly realize that their last summer before moving on won’t go as planned.

“They have to deal with growing up and growing apart, which ties into their high school relationship,” Conaway said.

The idea to make the film came to him a year ago during a conversation with friends, just after their graduation.

“I’ve always loved coming-of-age stories and wanted to do something that was real and true to me,” Conaway said.

It took him about a month to write the 22-page script, which is about 25 minutes of film.

When he began working on the script, he talked to his friend Paloma Vasquez, who became his assistant director, about potential cast members. Then they reached out to people they knew from the drama club at East Lyme High School and the Niantic Bay Playhouse.

Vasquez also handled the set and production design for “Irish Goodbye.” Isabella Bogue, another ELHS graduate, was the director of photography.

The main actors are Jane Campbell and Cameron D’Ettore. The cast also includes the aforementioned Vasquez, Ayla Peterson, Nathan Reith, Quinn Dwyer and Alexa Hartman.

Conaway’s parents, David Conaway and Monique Nee, also appeared in the film.

“Irish Goodbye” was filmed on location in East Lyme — at the Conaway family home, the Vasquez home and at Giants Neck Beach.

“We were incredibly lucky to live in this town because the landscape is so beautiful,” Conaway said.

Moments of change

“Irish Goodbye” is an ensemble piece, and Conaway wanted to write a lot of different experiences into one film. He said he wanted to “allow each character to have a moment of growth or change or something the audience could relate to.”

For example, one character recently lost her younger brother. The family struggles to find their way without him, so they decide to move away.

The story was inspired by Conaway’s mother’s life. She lost her brother, then 16, in a car accident. Conaway said she knew how that affected not only her but her siblings; she came from a family of six children.

Another character in “Irish Goodbye” struggles with coming out to his family. When he does, they don’t accept him, so he decides to move away—without his family.

And yes, there are one or two Irish goodbyes in the film — that is, leaving without saying goodbye.

I’m learning a lot

Bogue, the director of photography, said, “It was a lot of fun and I’m really proud of what we did… It was a great environment. We all learned a lot from each other and from the experience itself. I learned a lot about filmmaking in general and I learned to think on my toes.”

Bogue, who is studying film and marketing at Ithaca College, plans to pursue a career as a cinematographer. For “Irish Goodbye,” she and Conaway wanted the camera shots to reflect the characters and their emotions. For example, one character feels left behind and stuck, so they only did static shots of her, as opposed to dynamic shots with camera movement for the other characters.

Local theatre

Conaway has a long history in the arts. Growing up, he was a part of the East Lyme Regional Theater, which is now the Niantic Bay Playhouse, and East Lyme High School. Most recently, he worked backstage at the Niantic Bay Playhouse, as a counselor at a drama camp, and as an assistant lighting designer for a production of “The Wedding Singer.”

“I think I was very lucky to get into East Lyme Regional Theater,” he said.

He appeared in 18 productions on the ELHS stage, both as part of the local theatre group and as part of ELRT.

He appeared in “High School Musical” with the ELHS drama club.

“It was such an ensemble piece where everyone fit in and played an important role, even if they weren’t the main character. It allowed me to meet a lot of people and grow as an artist,” Conaway said.

Seeing The Diary of Anne Frank at the Granite Theatre in Westerly was also a life-changing experience for me.

“It was a big change in my perspective on acting because it was a very dramatic play and we were very much involved in conversations with the Jewish community and doing research for the roles,” he said.

Inventing the future

When asked if he wanted to pursue a career as a filmmaker, Conaway replied, “I’m still thinking about it, but making films has always been a dream and a goal of mine.”

He, like Bogue, is a student at Ithaca, though he’s home this semester before returning to college. Conaway has two majors: a BFA in Cinematography and Photography and a BA in Theater Studies.

“Irish Goodbye” is Conaway’s first film of this scale.

“I like to think of this as my directorial debut. I did a couple of films in high school and one in Ithaca, but this is really my first passion project,” he said.

Where to watch

After the premiere of “Irish Goodbye” at the Niantic Bay Playhouse, people will be able to watch the film online. Conaway’s LINKTREE (https.//linktr.ee/PatrickConaway) connects all of the film’s social media and will have the ability to stream the film after the premiere.

Conaway is trying to figure out his next film project. He said he wants to do something smaller with a few characters sometime this winter.

[email protected]

If you go

What: Screening of the film “Irish Goodbye”

When: Saturday, 7:00 p.m.

Where: Niantic Bay Playhouse, 279 Main St., Niantic

Cost: Free, but you can make a donation that will go to Niantic Bay Playhouse