Antioch students learn life's lessons through song, dance and skits

The Herald News and The News Sun

(Joliet, IL) and (Waukegan, IL)

March 26, 2002

By Frank Abderholden.

Character education - Antioch students learn life's lessons through song, dance and skits

By Frank Abderholden.

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ANTIOCH, Illinois -- The discussion points sound familiar: diversity, personality, violence, bullying, America with an African-American president.

The house was the Antioch Upper Grade School gymnasium, and it was rocking with four young men dancing and lip-syncing to challenging music blasted from the upper balcony in the gym.

The students' impassioned screams at times drowned out the music and the performers from MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe, a positive attitude theater company from the Plainfield area that was performing as part of the school's ACES Day -- Amazing Character Education for Students Day."Kids get lots of personal development information throughout the day," said Principal J. Eric Skoog.

The MWAH! group was kind of like the finale in a fireworks show.

"The kids certainly like it," said Skoog.

"It covers a lot of areas and topics for young kids.

This was the fourth time I've seen them.

I really enjoy them every time," he said. Bigoted insults

MWAH! stands for Messages Which Are Hopeful.

The group grabbed everyone's attention from the start with a short skit that opens with a white bigot hurling racial slurs at a black student with a white girlfriend and the black student hurling back insults.

The white bigot was hauled out of the gym by a school official, only to return a short time later to make up with and shake hands with the black student.

As they reconciled, John Lennon's Imagine music came on and another cast member, Kaylin Krashesky, talked about race and how silly it was to judge people negatively because they are different.

"How much better the world would be if we were more tolerant and accepting of each other," she said, before she began to sing to the Lennon tune while signing in sign- language.

The next skit dealt with domestic violence, another on being more aware of what and how you say things to other people so you don't unintentionally hurt their feelings.

The next skit was about two teen-agers planning on having sex for the first time.

"Did you get some protection," the girl asks.

The boy hands her a box and it's empty.

"All the protection we need is right here," he says, pointing to his head.

It turns out she thought sex was what he wanted and he thought that was what she wanted.

In between the skits there is synchronized dancing akin to the Back Street Boys and other pop stars which sends the kids into a frenzy.

Another set of skits addressed alcohol and drug abuse, with one young man trying to goad another into joining his partying ways. Cool dudes

Yet another skit delves into what it means to be "cool" with two "cool dudes" trying to show a geek how to be like them, which ends up in cracking the Antioch students up as the geek trys to wear his pants on his hips, they eventually fall, and he walks like his ankle is broken.

The cool dudes try to coach him on how to talk to a girl: "Tell her `Your eyes are so beautiful.'" Only problem is the geek blurted out "You're eyes are so damn big!" The lesson was be yourself.

The final skit before the big dance ending dealt with Columbine High School and how some people make fun of other people.

"It's cool to joke around with friends, but not hurt each other," said one actor.

"Sometimes all they ask is don't laugh at me.

"Don't get your pleasure from my pain.

In God's eyes we're all the same," said the troupe member.

To say the kids didn't enjoy Steven Robinson, Jeff Sandstrom, Jemell Moore, J.C. Renzetti, Mike Carl and Jackson Schultz would be an understatement.

The actors ranged in age from 13- to 22-years- old.

"You were so awesome.

Sooo cool," said Jamie Nagel, 14, as kids crowded around to get autographs on their shirts, arms, shoes and notebooks.

"I thought it was awesome.

The best part was stay away from drugs," said Katie Warner, 15. Marie Lewis, 14, said the "singing and dancing was best" before going to get a hug from a troupe member.

Brittany Frison, 13, also thought the dancing was the coolest part but also "when I got to hug all of them." Jeff Tindall, 15, is a skateboarder who liked the dancing because he dances himself and he thought they were pretty good.

"It was a good example to set for kids, to show they have choices and not do stupid stuff.

They were good actors too," he said, noting that he thought Kaylin Krashesky was really hot.

Troupe member Steve Robinson said all the members, who are from Aurora, Joilet, Naperville and Chicago, are Christian, but they leave that out of the equation and keep the show non-denominational.

"I think the most important thing our troupe does is practice what we preach," he said.

Jeff Sandstrom of Plainfield noted that "We all have to stay on the honor roll to do this."

"This kind of thing can be a big help to kids," said Jemell Moore, who grew up on the southside of Chicago.
"We travel all over the state," he said.

Bob Seaward, 14, gets the last say on the subject.
"I think it was the best assembly we ever had.
It was really entertaining," he said.
(caption) MWAH! performance troupe began its show with a violent racial confrontation between Jeff Standstrom of Plainfield (left) and Jemell Moore (back) as students from the Antioch Upper Grade School watched. Their repertoire is based on inspiring young adults to think and react in ways that are positive through dance, theater, song and discussion. -- Four of the seven members of the performance group MWAH! strut their stuff. Among the issues raised by the group is healthy alternatives to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs done in a format to draw the student's attention. Copyright (c) 2002 The Herald News (Joliet, IL) Record Number: PFS1017065 (end-caption)