Photo by Marci StenbergMerced Sun-StarTiffany Alcocer, center, with the help of Marc Olds, practices for the play "Folktales for Fun" at Elmer Wood Elementary School in Atwater last week. Watching Alcocer are Molly Williams, left, and Caydee Espinoza.
Friday, Feb. 01, 2008
DHYANA LEVEY
ATWATER -- 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 sports, 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, portrayed her character in the folktale "The Snake," dressed as, well, a snake. 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 supporting children in the arts and education in developing countries.
DHYANA LEVEY
ATWATER -- 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 sports, 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, portrayed her character in the folktale "The Snake," dressed as, well, a snake. 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 supporting children in the arts and education in developing countries.
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