Evanston Review
April 19, 2007
Actors offer life lessons
By KAREN BERKOWITZ; Staff Writer
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS - Haven Middle School students weren't quite sure what to make of it when a racially charged scuffle erupted between a black and white teen on some aisle seats in the middle of the school's auditorium.
Heads turned. Jaws dropped. Gasps were heard as teen actors shouted racial slurs and the school's security team swooped in to break up the "fight" at the start of an assembly -- an attention-grabbing device to illustrate the senselessness of hate based on race or ethnicity or religion.
"Can you imagine a world where your best friends are just like you, except you are white and they are black? Or they may have different accents, or go to a different church, or temple or possibly even a mosque," said 11-year-old David Scarzone, the youngest member of MWAH!, a performance troupe brought to Evanston to deliver a mix of messages that any parent could love.
Boy troubles
In another skit, a troupe member named Erin befriends a Haven student and discloses that her boyfriend is a jerk. She reveals marks on her face where he has slapped her because of his obsessive need to control her at all times. Aware by now that the seemingly-real exchange is part of the performance, the Haven students cheer when Erin dumps the boyfriend for good -- holding herself in too high a regard to live with his abusiveness.
MWAH! -- which stands for Messages Which Are Hopeful -- evolved from a break dance group founded in 1983 by Ray Moffitt, a police social worker who found the performing arts an effective tool for changing the lives of hard-core street gang members in Maywood and the neighborhoods on Chicago's West Side. The group now consists of eight teens, ranging from 11 to 18, who come from the Naperville and Aurora area.
The group was brought to Evanston by Peer Services to promote Project Snowflake, a similarly inspiring event to be held May 4. That event will be open to all middle school students in District 65. (See column at left.)
Effective teachers
"Having other teenagers come in and teach about internal and external pressures is very effective with middle school students," said Meredith Wine, a prevention specialist with Peer Services, which uses the strategy in its Project Alert, aimed at the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade population.
During the Haven performance April 9, 16-year-old Michael Todd Emory performed his original country ballad, "Wait While," conveying the importance of not rushing into relationships too quickly.
"Wait for the one you will share your life with; wait for the time that is right," sang Emory. "Wait for the girl you will love forever, the one that will be your life."
In another number, Jessie Scarzone sang a rendition of Barlow Girl's "Mirror, Mirror," which counters the obsession with perfection that can trigger anorexia and bulimia in girls.
Looking into a mirror, Scarzone sang, "You've always told me who I am. I'm finding it's not easy to be perfect.
"Who are you to tell me that I'm less than what I should be? Sorry, mirror, you won't define me."
Michael Todd Emery along (singing): Michael Todd Emery, 16, the assistant director
of MWAH!, performs his original country ballad "Wait Awhile" that speaks to the
importance of waiting "for the one you will share your life with...the one who will be
your wife."
PHOTO: Jerry Daliege of Illinois News Images for Pioneer Press.
MWAH! troupe members (left to right) Lauren Verstat, 17, George Bischoff, 13, and Jessie
Scarzone, 14, perform their edgy repertoire at Haven Middle School in Evanston, Illinois. The
troupe's messages during this presentation hit at the external and internal pressures facing
middle school students.
PHOTO: Jerry Daliege of Illinois News Images for Pioneer Press.
.
Jessie Scarzone alone (singing):
"Mirror, mirror, who are you to tell me that I'm less than what I should be?"
sings Jessie Scarzone, 14, performing during a recent appearance of MWAH!
at Haven Middle School in Evanston, Illinois.
PHOTO: Jerry Daliege of Illinois News Images for Pioneer Press.
Michael Todd Emery along (singing): Michael Todd Emery, 16, the assistant director
of MWAH!, performs his original country ballad "Wait Awhile" that speaks to the
importance of waiting "for the one you will share your life with...the one who will be
your wife."
PHOTO: Jerry Daliege of Illinois News Images for Pioneer Press.
MWAH! troupe members (left to right) Lauren Verstat, 17, George Bischoff, 13, and Jessie
Scarzone, 14, perform their edgy repertoire at Haven Middle School in Evanston, Illinois. The
troupe's messages during this presentation hit at the external and internal pressures facing
middle school students.
Jessie Scarzone alone (singing):
"Mirror, mirror, who are you to tell me that I'm less than what I should be?"
sings Jessie Scarzone, 14, performing during a recent appearance of MWAH!
at Haven Middle School in Evanston, Illinois.
PHOTO: Jerry Daliege of Illinois News Images for Pioneer Press.