www.journalstandard.com The Journal-Standard
October 19, 2010
Hopeful messages -- Performance troupe speaks to area teens
By www.journalstandard.com, Hilary Matheson
Posted October 19, 2010, 08:30 pm
Hanover, Ill. -- The smiles of 15-year-old Phoebe Prince of South Hadley, Mass., and 15-year-old Dylan Wagner of Batavia, gaze from portraits displayed by Messages Which Are Hopeful! (MWAH!) performance troupe, to area sophomores and juniors at River Ridge High School Monday.
There will be no more photos taken of Prince or Wagner. The two teens, states apart, committed suicide this year.
The nonprofit drama performance troupe incorporated their stories into a dramatic performance. Through contemporary music and audience participation, MWAH! sends out messages to teens on topics of suicide, bullying, alcohol abuse and abusive relationships. Two assemblies were held for River Ridge, Tri-State, Stockton, Warren, Scales Mound and East Dubuque high schools.
Listen and Speak Out
One of the MWAH! members stands up near Prince’s portrait and describes what her life became after moving from Ireland to Massachusettes – taunts, threats, ethnic and sexual slurs from ex-boyfriends and other students before school, after school and on social networks before and after her death. Her suicide spurred anti-bullying legislation and criminal prosecutions.
"Each one of us deserves to feel good about who we are," said MWAH! member Chris Oechsel, 16, of Naperville.
Special guest speakers included Bryan Bohnsack, chief of Warren Police and State Rep. Jim Sacia, R-Pecatonica. Bohnsack described how bullying has gone beyond school grounds into cyberspace. He said bullying of any kind should never be tolerated.
"...It never ends. You guys have cell phones, computers, you have ways to stay in touch 24/7," Bohnsack said. "We’ve talked to you about Myspace and Facebook how it (bullying) multiplies from one person to another. Really think about what you’re saying to one another."
"You’re classmates. You play athletics together, you do school plays together, you have so much to work for and so much to live for, so make sure you stand up for each other," he said.
Sacia briefly discussed Illinois anti-bullying legislation such as the amendment to school codes to include bully prevention plans.
"...It’s becoming a crisis - an epidemic," Sacia said.
MWAH! members Robert Delgado Jr., 14, and Jake Smith, 14, both of Yorkville, described Wagner as an individual who played the drums, liked to skateboard and had many friends. MWAH! members met with some of the family members in order to learn about his life to share with other teens. The troupe sang "Why," by Rascal Flatts to illustrate the uncertainties of what Wagner experienced before his death.
Delgado said it is important if the teens are feeling suicidal or know friends who are having depression or suicidal thought to tell someone who will listen.
"The darkness won’t last forever," Delgado said. "Telling someone is strength."
More than Impact
A MWAH! member changes the portraits to a newspaper article of an alcohol-related car crash that killed five Oswego teenagers and the remains of the smashed up car they were in.
"I understand that you guys are getting your driver’s license. Some of you may have it now and that you feel young and invincible behind the wheel, but you’re not," Bohnsack said.
Sacia also spoke to the crowd of an alcohol-related accident involving one of his three sons.
"I feel blessed that my children all made it to young adulthood safely" ... My now 36-year-old is an F-16 fighter pilot. When he was 17 I admonished him one day. ‘John you’ve been driving way too much. Dad’s spending way too much on gas. Let your buddies drive,’ one of the worst statements I ever made in my life. That night, he went to a party with a bunch of others. Suddenly my son finds himself in situation where he’s been drinking. He has no way home and a vehicle is leaving the party at midnight. He piles in (the car). They strike a bridge in excess of 100 mph. He’s lucky. All three of them lived. They hit with such an impact that the passenger on the right front ... ripped the seat belt out of the car.
MWAH! member and River Ridge sophomore, Lexi Parr said she joined MWAH! for its message and wanted to reach other teens through singing and performance.
"You can be any age as long as you have some talent and a heart because we do help students," Parr said.
MWAH! is affiliated with Kids Do Count and the Chicago Area Project, an advocacy agency and community services network targeting at-risk youth and families.
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For more information about MWAH! or to book an event, call Moffitt at 630-993-0003, or visit the website MWAH! page.
