The Pantagraph newspaper of Bloomington-Normal

December 19, 2008
 


By Steve Hoffman
editor of the Farmer City Journal

MANSFIELD -- Using high-energy music, unique drama, and audience participation, a Chicago-based performing arts troupe encouraged Blue Ridge Junior High School students to be culturally tolerant, stand up to bullying, and say "no" to alcohol and drugs.

The 75-minute presentation by MWAH! (Messages Which Are Hopeful) also encouraged students to relish the upcoming presidential inauguration, seeing it is a step toward fulfilling the dreams of equality expressed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

MWAH! members are 11 teens aged 13 to 18 who perform at various events and give assemblies at schools. Their main message, said director Ray Moffit, is “choices and the importance of continually striving to make the right ones.”

Local participation was also part of the assembly. Student Council sponsor Megan Otto, who helped book the group, shared her story of a cousin who was killed by a drunk driver in 1997. MWAH! used that to culminate a talk pointing out drinking can harm more than the drinker.

The student council and Booster Club sponsored the program.

The not-for-profit troupe is affiliated with Kids Do Count, Inc. and the Chicago Area Project, a grass roots agency based in downtown Chicago.

On the Net: http://www.mwah.net/>

Copyright © 2008, Pantagraph Publishing Co. All rights reserved.

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Appearing at the all-school assembly at Blue Ridge Junior High School in Mansfield on Thursday were MWAH! performers Dan Leahy (left) and Alex Oechsel. Their song 'How To Save A Life' and a party scene involving other performers preceded a somber story about five teenagers from Oswego, Illinois, who died in an alcohol-related crash.
(photo by Steve Hoffman, editor of the Farmer City Journal. )


 

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MWAH! troupe member Erin Oechsel performs at Blue Ridge Junior High School in Mansfield on December 18 as lead vocalist for the song 'Mirror' in a piece about the importance of accepting the appearance of oneself instead of trying to emulate someone else who's perceived to be more attractive or to have celebrity status. A 2008 graduate of Benet Academy in Lisle, Illinois, Erin's currently a freshman music-theatre major at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. She performed with the MWAH! troupe throughout her senior year in high school and returned for the Blue Ridge show during her holiday break from classes.
(Photo by Steve Hoffman, editor of the Farmer City Journal. )



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In the foreground at the Blue Ridge Junior High School performance on December 18 are Michael Todd Emery (left), age 18, and Matt Michels, age 14. Visible in the background are (from left) Erin Oechsel, Dan Leahy, and Alex Oechsel. They are singing a Garth Brooks country-spiritual, 'We Shall Be Free' following Michael Todd's comments about the upcoming presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C. as a step towards fulfilling the dreams of equality expressed by Dr. Martin Luther Jr.nearly 46 years ago at the Lincoln Memorial in that same city.
(Photo by Steve Hoffman, editor of the Farmer City Journal. )