Troupe presents hopeful message to Cambridge and AlWood students
By Elizabeth Buzard, Assistant Editor of the Cambridge Chronicle
Posted September 12, 2014 in both the Cambridge Chronicle and the Kewanee Star Courier
Cambridge High School choir members join the MWAH! troupe in a song 'Nothing
More' during an assembly at the high school on September 8.
(photo by
Elizabeth Buzard, Assistant Editor of the Cambridge Chronicle)
Cambridge and AlWood junior and senior high school students gathered in the Cambridge High School gym Monday for an uplifting message presented by MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe.
MWAH! stands for "Messages Which Are Hopeful." The troupe, which is a not–for–profit affiliate of the Chicago Area Project, combines drama, contemporary music and audience interaction to inspire students. Current troupe members range in age from 8 to 17, and live throughout the western Chicago suburbs and the Rockford area.
Monday's presentation was funded by "Up with Life," a local suicide prevention and awareness organization. MWAH!'s performance had a special focus on suicide awareness and prevention.
The presenters discussed suicide, divorce, huffing and driving, drug use, self harm, abusive relationships and child abuse as well as diversity, hope, forgiveness, love and heroes.
Performers asked students to seek help if they find themselves in a dangerous or painful situation, but they also spoke to students through music. Troupe members sang a long list of songs, including "Imagine" by John Lennon, "Invisible" by Hunter Hayes, "How to Save a Life" by The Fray, "Face Down" by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and "Alyssa Lies" by Jason Michael Carroll.
A choir ensemble from Cambridge High School joined the MWAH! members onstage to sing "Nothing More," a song that was written in memory of one of the first–grade victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting 21 months ago.
The presentation focused on current issues both locally and around the world. Performers discussed tragedies including last month's shooting by a white police officer of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo., and the beheadings of two American journalists by the militant Islamic State crusade within the past three weeks.
Several local individuals shared their own stories as well.
Jennifer Higgens told of the loss of her son, Joshua Wilson, a Geneseo seventh grader who committed suicide last year. She said his death was a "total shock." He had struggled with depression and bullying in the past, but before his suicide, he had seemed happy and hadn't told anyone he was having problems.
"Please find somebody to talk to," Higgens urged anyone struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts. "There is help out there. You're not alone."
Mady and Jessie Smith, both seniors at Cambridge High School, also shared a story of losing a family member to suicide. Their father, Scott Smith, took his own life in 2011. The Smith family decided to use their loss to help others and started "Up with Life."
After three annual community walks, "Up with Life" now has raised over $22,000 for suicide awareness and prevention and funded Monday's program. Read more: http://www.starcourier.com/article/20140912/News/140919683#ixzz3DDd15wDu
Coordinating the troupe's appearance in Cambridge have been Beth Smith and her teenaged daughters and Lisa Miller, Cambridge High School counselor and volleyball coach.
For more information about the MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe, visit their website at www.mwah.net.
Read more: Star Courier
For more information about the MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe, visit MWAH! .