It was not long ago that her shock of red curls heated up the stage at Rippowam Middle School in Stamford when she played Annie in the 2025 Stamford All School musical. Since then, Adeline Lane, now 13 and an 8th grader at Sacred Heart Greenwich, has been busy rehearsing her role as one of the townspeople in the 2026 Stamford All School production of A Christmas Story.
While many know Adeline, who goes by Addie, as a budding thespian, others know her as the daughter of Old Greenwich School principal Dr. Jen Bencivengo.
But lately Addie has been busy fighting for girls rights around the world, particularly to work against child marriage.
This Friday, the teen is on her way to the United Nations as part of the Working Group on Girls “International Day of the Girl.”
Given the shocking news of the alleged sexual assault at Cornell last week, and October being sexual assault awareness month, women’s and girls’ rights are top of mind.
“I wasn’t shocked, I was more disappointed,” she said about the alleged incident at a Cornell fraternity. “I realize it’s not just in the United States or places with poverty. It’s everywhere. Even developed countries. It’s just really sad to see.”
“I think if people stop making promises and actually act on them we can make progress,” she added.
“I learned something sad, one in 3 girls under 18 are sexually assaulted before they turn 18. Coming from an all girls school, that’s terrifying. I have 60 girls in my grade, that says 20 of us will be sexually assaulted before we graduate.”
In preparation for the International Day of the Girl event at the United Nations, Addie explained that it was through one of her Sacred Heart teachers that she learned about Girls Speak Out, an annual advocacy event hosted by the Working Group on Girls and their support for human and legal rights of girls everywhere to mark the International Day of the Girl.
“I applied to Girls Speak Out and got accepted,” Addie said. “To prep, we meet with girls from around the world on Saturday mornings at 9:00am.”
Ultimately, Addie became part of the group’s planning committee, and on Friday she will serve as a moderator.
This week she explained that the idea is that girls have a right to childhood and child marriage must end once and for all.
“Girls Speak Out is global, with girls from all over the world. I have met girls on Zoom from far away, including Bangladesh, Nepal and the Philippines,” Addie said. “It’s about speaking out for girls’ rights, finding what we deserve and trying to help save a lot of girls being hurt. Our main effort is against child marriage.”
In the United States, child marriage is legal in the majority of states under certain conditions, though 18 states have unconditional bans on minors getting married, including Connecticut. The states with complete bans allow no exceptions, such as parental consent, judicial approval, or pregnancy.
Around the world child marriage remains prevalent, affecting about 12 million girls under 18 every year.
Considered an insidious form of child abuse, only a total ban on marriage under the age of majority would fully protect children.
Child marriage is defined by the United Nations as a marriage in which at least one party is under 18 years of age. About 86% of majority of child marriages are between a minor girl and an adult man.
“I will introduce speakers who are adults – one from UNICEF, someone from Canada, and someone from Turkey,” Addie said. “There is an opening where me and other moderators introduce speakers and then there will be panels where just girls will speak, and then we close with adult speakers.”
The event will be televised on the UN website.
Addie said she is hopeful for change.
“I hope what people get out of this is an understanding that giving up after one effort doesn’t go right is not the answer. So many things don’t work for girls. Just saying, ‘Well, I tried and it didn’t work out so, I’ll go back to how things worked,’ is not the answer.”
As for participating in local theater programs including Open Arts Alliance, the New Paradigm Theatre Co, and St Catherine’s Players, Addie said her experiences were empowering and offered both leadership opportunities and lessons in perseverance.
In her role as Annie, Addie said, “I messed up a lot – in every show I made at least one mistake, but I learned not everyone is perfect, and leadership means not giving up.”
As for All Stamford’s 2026 musical, A Christmas Story, Addie said her friend Dillon Heide was cast in the lead role she also auditioned for.
“It was emotional in a good way,” Addie said. “I’m getting to see Dillon play Ralphie Parker, and it’s her first year at All School. I’m excited to share what I learned last year – past lead to lead.”
More information on the Working Group on Girls and Girls Speak out is available online.