Vincent Van Gogh profoundly said, “Conscience is a man’s compass.” These are words that should rotate around in the mind of everyone. There is power and comfort in going to sleep at night with a clear conscience because you know you have been kind to your friends and family and have kept negative hurtful words at bay.
Words are powerful. They can be beautiful and utilized to let people know that you believe in them and care about them from your heart. But unfortunately words can also cause pain and result in hearts that hurt. Harmful, cruel words have been spewing around our country with an increased vengeance of late. This has unfortunately played out in school systems in the form of teasing and bullying.
The good news is that North Carolina’s Advance First Baptist Church has made it their mission to help the ones prone to bullying to learn to let their conscience be their compass. This will help them refrain from the unkind words and focus on the positive ones.
They have created a puppet show called “Freeze the Tease! Give a Slice of Nice!” They are capturing the hearts of children, as well as, adults. A touching point is that this is being done as a church mission to aid in absolving the issue of teasing and bullying. They believe so much in their message that they are doing these entertaining live performances for free. So far they have done sixteen shows that have been extremely well-received in schools. They are also interested in performing for YMCA’s or for summer day care programs.
The host and narrator of “Freeze the Tease — Give a Slice of Nice” is a lovable dog named Luna. Jonathan Williams is the man in the Luna costume and he dances and interacts with the students and makes them excitedly digest the performance. There is singing off and on through the show which aids in generating enthusiasm for the message. The puppets are captivating and colorful and have differing personalities.
The puppeteers do a fabulous job behind the scene of bringing it all to life. These talented and energetic folks are Sarah Lewis, Jackie Burton, Scott Burton, Kim Schneider, Wendy Wanek, and Paula Fortner.
The plot is rooted in Luna’s daily walks past a school yard. She witnesses teasing and bullying on the playground and is quite plagued by it.
In the first act, Luna jumps on the stage saying, “Hello boys and girls! Let me introduce myself. My name is Luna. Of course, as you can see, I am a dog, but you know what?-I am a special dog! And each and every one of you is special, too! Everyone has some quality about them that makes them worth hanging out with and enjoying. What makes ME extra special is that I can talk and DOGGONE IT! I have a story to tell you! As you can see, I am all ears. So, you need to be all ears to and listen to my story. I walk to school every day with my friend, Jonathan and then I hang around the playground throughout the day. I see and hear EVERYTHING that goes on there! I have watched kids having fun and getting along great, but I have also seen a lot of teasing and bullying — and that is not ok.”
Luna emphasizes the point that everyone has something about them to enjoy. She says it is far more powerful to focus on what is right rather than what is wrong. She makes the point by saying, “Doggone it. Let’s all be friends!”
Fortunately, Luna also witnesses one insightful boy and girl who witness the teasing, as well, and they decide to help make a difference. They scurry to their teacher to bounce off their clever idea to change the mental attitude. The teacher loves it and quickly implements it. It is a plan where each child is given the name of another classmate. They are to focus on their positive traits and put the compliment on paper to be shared. They would swap names around until they have had each child’s name.
By the end of the puppet show, the kids are getting along and enjoying each other’s company. It is obvious that the kids in the audience understand the message, as well. They naturally get into the rhythm and upbeat message as they sing and dance around shouting out the drilled in message to always “FREEZE THE TEASE! GIVE A SLICE OF NICE!”
If your school, church or other organization would be interested in having an entertaining performance, contact Sarah Lewis at [email protected].