The Macomb Journal

May 10, 2007

Young performers send upbeat messages

By Matt DiMare/Journal Staff Writer

MACOMB - The Macomb High School gymnasium was packed with anxious students unaware of what was about to happen. The students began a slow clap eagerly in their seats, which eventually grew into a roaring applause. But the laughter, chatter, and anxious applause immediately came to halt as two enraged students slammed through the gymnasium doors, locked in a grapple, throwing each other to the ground, and blasting racial slurs to each other's face.

The stunned students immediately fixed their eyes on what they perceived to be a genuine fight as a police officer and school principal broke apart the two fighters a forced them to opposite ends of the gym.

The students soon realized the fight was merely an act as two young women crept out of the audience and showcased their singing skills to John Lennon's "Imagine."

The performers at Macomb Junior-Senior High School were part of MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe, and were there to shout out a message of hope and guide the young students toward making the right choices in life when difficult problems arise.

Through original songs covering each genre of music, dances, and dramatic skits the performance troupe touched on many pertinent issues facing young junior and senior high school students in their every day lives.

The troupe is affiliated with the Chicago Area Project, a grass roots service and advocacy agency based in Chicago and part of a statewide community services network targeting at-risk youth. The troupe consists of 11 children and teenagers from the Chicago area that travel throughout the country performing at schools and conferences portraying controversial topics that effect today's youth.

The assembly was split into two performances, one geared toward high school students and the later performance for the junior high students. Each show dealt with different topics relevant to the age of the audience.

The morning performance for the high school students included a true story of a college baseball player killed in a car accident leaving a keg party at Southern Illinois University, a country ballad addressing the importance of not rushing into a sexual relationship, and several other performances focusing the effect of bullying, racism, and violence. Both performances also featured songs and skits on the goodness and values of racial and cultural diversity, and received an incredible response from the actively participating audience.

The MWAH! Troupe has traveled throughout the country spreading their message to young people just like them. The troupe has gone as far as California and Atlanta and was even the keynote presentation last August at the 100th Anniversary National Keystone Conference for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

Lauren Verstat, 18 and a performer in her second year with the troupe, explained that the goal of the performance is to help young students know and make the correct decisions when difficult problems arise in their daily lives.

"We go to urban and rural schools to show these kids how to make the right choice in life," said Verstat. "When they see people their own age acting, dancing, and singing you can tell that we are really connecting with the audience."

Verstat further explained that often students feel like the adults in their life are yelling and forcing them to make the right decision, which makes them rebel against their parent's and teacher's wishes. Verstat feels that having people their age show the students the correct choices in life can often times be more effective.

"It really helps them. Hopefully they remember what we are saying, but we are not here to preach we want tem to follow themselves to make the right decisions in life," said Verstat. "It is important that the kids know the right choices when facing a difficult decision."