Performance carries strong message
THE JOURNAL STAR
(Galesburg, Illinois)
November 19, 2005BY KEVIN SAMPIER
Troupe discusses peer pressure, alcohol-related crash that killed student
GALESBURG - A high-energy performance filled with dance, comedy and songs also carried a serious message for Galesburg High School students Friday afternoon.
Members of the performing arts troupe MWAH!, which stands for Messages Which Are Hopeful, told students the story of 19-year-old Ryan Murdock, who was killed in May in an alcohol-related car accident.
Murdock, a freshman at Southern Illinois University, was driving home from a party with four friends when he lost control of the car that flipped and ejected him through the sunroof.
"His dad and I were the first ones to the accident scene," said Murdock's mother, Joanne Murdock, as she told her son's story to the 1,453 students gathered in the school auditorium. "We saw our son lying there, not moving.
I ran to grab him and hold him. He was very, very cold," she said. "We had to leave there knowing we would never hear the words 'I love you' from him again."
Her message hit close to home for many students in the audience, who wiped away tears as she spoke.
"I started crying," said senior Erica Wilson. "I felt I should probably say I love you to my parents when I leave. I definitely understand why they call and check up on me now."
But Friday's message wasn't just about alcohol, and it certainly wasn't all tears.
The troupe discussed ways to avoid drug abuse, peer pressure and racism through high-energy interpretative dances, pop songs and vocals that had the audience on its feet screaming.
The 10 members on stage ranged from 9 to 23 years old, and each performed skits with a message.
"When they see us on stage, it's people their age telling them that not everybody their age is out doing drugs and drinking," said troupe member and Chicago resident Carlos Griffin, whose singing extracted screams and standing ovations from females in the crowd.
MWAH! founder and director Ray Moffitt began the program 20 years ago as a break dancing group that promoted similar positive messages to children at risk of making negative decisions.
Now, Moffitt said, the group has expanded and transformed, but the overall goal is still the same.
"The arts are a good way to reach kids, especially those that can't be reached by anything else," Moffitt said.
The group also paid tribute to Illinois Army National Guard member Kyle Wehrly, who was killed Nov. 3 in Iraq.
Members dressed in military jackets sang "Arlington," a song by Trace Adkins about a soldier being buried at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Cast members of the MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe with Joanne Murdock (third from left), whose son, Ryan (photo on far right) died at the age of 19 in an alcohol-related crash in May 2005. Artists
shown at the Galesburg High School assembly are (left to right) Lauren Verstat, Carlos Griffin,