Friday, Feb. 01, 2008
Play helps uneducated in Cambodia
By DHYANA LEVEY
dlevey@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
-- Kids don't usually clamor to go to school.
But what if that option was taken away? What if parents had to pay for
school -- but didn't have the money?
These questions gave Elmer Wood Elementary School actors and actresses
food for thought when their teacher taught them about Cambodian
orphans.
Fifth- and sixth-grade theater teacher Kathy Woodman shared stories
with her students about her mother-in-law, Joyce, a pastor who travels
to Cambodia to make sure charity money goes to places it is promised.
The small Southeast Asian country, between Thailand and Vietnam, hosts
many poor residents. It is still recovering from war and genocide in
the late 1970s that flat-lined the nation's economy, made even worse
by ongoing government corruption.
Some parents are so poor that they've had to give up their children.
Others can't afford medical treatment for various illness -- also
leaving their children parentless.
In Cambodia, classroom costs and supplies must be supplemented by the
parents. But what about the children in orphanages? The Atwater fifth-
and sixth-graders were disturbed to hear that children their own age
in other countries can't afford to attend school.
They wanted to help in a way they knew how -- through the arts. The 21
elementary school thespians were already working on the school's
annual play. And, coincidentally, it featured an international theme.
The play "Folktales for Fun" is a collection of folktales from around
the world.
The school has traditionally offered one performance a year, with
proceeds going to fund theater programs. This will happen again with a
matinee performance Saturday of "Folktales for Fun."
But the theater teacher and her students are making a special addition
this year -- an extra performance at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Buhach
Colony High School Theater. And proceeds from this show will go to
orphans in the northern region of Cambodia.
"I would hope they would do the same for us, too," said Hannah
Betancourt, 11, a sixth-grader who plays a squirrel in the production.
Funds will be sent to the charity, Warm Blankets Orphan Care
International. And Woodman's mother-in-law plans to travel to Cambodia
in March to make sure the orphans got that money.
While s****ts, video games and other fun-time activities often sound
more appealing than a classroom, the thought of a life without school
struck the Atwater students as "sad."
Sixth-grader Randy Carrothers, 12, said he got involved with the play
to get over stage fright and participate in a new, fun activity. But
he also likes the idea of helping other kids out.
Performing gives these students an outlet for expression that they
might not get otherwise in the classroom, said third-grade teacher
Heather Arnold, who is assisting the production. And the subject
matter and purpose of the play open their eyes to world issues.
Clad in bright costumes or their everyday clothes, the students moved
and sang during a Friday rehearsal of a Mexican dance. They've worked
on the performances for about three months.
The occasional dance and song were used as transitions between each of
the six folktales. The stories held such messages as "do good deeds
without expecting rewards" and "the elderly shouldn't be disregarded."
Tiffani Alcocer, 12, ****trayed her character in the folktale "The
S****," dressed as, well, a s****. Her long, green costume cascaded
from her head as she engaged in scripted conversation with the farmer
character. In this scene, she described how she would bite the farmer,
although he was about to help her out of a jam.
Will this good deed lead to a bitter end? Find out.
And the audience can do its own good deed by sup****ting children in
the arts and education in developing countries.
Re****ter Dhyana Levey can be reached at 209 385-2472 or
dlevey@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
you go
WHAT: "Folktales for Fun"
WHEN: 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Proceeds from the 1:30 p.m.
show will go to orphans in Cambodia
WHERE: Buhach Colony High School Theater, 1800 Buhach Road, Atwater
INFORMATION: Elmer Wood Elementary School at 209 357-6143.
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