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Arts troupe spreads hopeful message to Lena-Winslow High School
Posted Oct. 21, 2014 by the The Journal–Standard of Freeport, Illinois
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In an opening drama segment of a MWAH! performance on October 6, Lena–Winslow senior Dyllan Oberle (left) was planted in the audience to portray a bigot targeting MWAH! troupe member Levi Ballard.
(photos by Scott Harrington)
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MWAH! troupe member Landon Ballard serenades Lena–Winslow High School senior Bailey Graf during a performance at the school on Oct. 6
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MWAH! troupe members (from left) Taylor Oechsel, Shannon Sype, Levi Ballard, Sophie Michael and Jillian Gomez perform at Lena–Winslow High School in Lena on Oct. 6, 2014
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MWAH! troupe members perform at Lena–Winslow High School Oct. 6 in Lena. Pictured (from left) are Taylor Oechsel, Landon Ballard (seated), Lindsay Kent, Lena High School student James Burnidge and Chad Sype.
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LENA – Students at Lena–Winslow High School were visited Oct. 6 by the issues–oriented MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe.
The 90–minute presentation for grades 6–12 was held in the gym. Pam Werntz, executive director of CONTACT of Northern Illinois, a crisis hotline program based in Freeport and part of a national helpline network, also took part in the event.
Participating with the MWAH! – which stands for Messages Which Are Hopeful – troupe were choral members from Lena–Winslow High School in a song "Nothing More" that was written in memory of one of the first–grade victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting 21 months ago.
Six Lena–Winslow students were also recognized through song as "heroes" for their leadership in reaching out to others and for having successfully overcome some special personal challenges.
MWAH! is a not–for–profit ensemble affiliated with the Chicago Area Project, a grass–roots service and advocacy program and part of an Illinois–wide community services network targeting at–risk youth and their families.
Go to mwah.net for more information about the MWAH! program.
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