Right before the beginning of the new school year, Sparkle on Stage Cultural Center hosted a performance of “Woof! The Musical,” an original play that teaches children the consequences of bullying and why it ought to be avoided.
The play was performed by a cast and crew of young children on Aug. 28, with most of the participants coming from the My Little Town Daycare, a Nautical Mile neighbor of Sparkle on Stage. The play was written by Frank Morris, a Long Island-based teacher and tutor, who seeks to teach meaningful lessons through his plays to the students performing them and any others who watch it.
Robyn Workman, the owner of Sparkle on Stage and director of Woof! The Musical, explained the premise of the play, stating that it surrounded a collection of dogs, each of whom have their own special traits, except for Moochie Lu, played by Madison Varag. Due to feelings of not feeling as if she belongs, Moochie Lu ends up bullying some of her fellow dogs. This plot is also paralleled by a subplot of a writer husband who keeps on being demeaned by his wife, who tells him to “get a real job.”
Through light-hearted storytelling and song, the play helped give some examples of the dangers of bullying and the forms that it can come in.
“We teach the children how you need to be kind, because you never know what’s going on in somebody else’s life,” she said. “You never know what’s behind the scenes.”
Workman expressed that having the My Little Town Daycare students, all between the ages of 4 and 12, participate in this play was a meaningful opportunity for them. She also said that the students have also participated in magic shows at Sparkle on Stage in the past, but that this was the first time they got to act.
“It’s been very exciting for them to have an outlet where they’ll be on the stage,” she said. “It’s been exciting for us to get to work with them on a summer project to introduce them to the arts.”
Gualesca Alcantara, the owner of My Little Town Daycare, added that giving the children a chance to do performing arts was a great opportunity.
“I believe it’s important, because if they like it, then we help them to develop the interest,” Alcantara said. “I think it’s important because the develop their own personality like what they would like to.”
In addition to Varag, the cast and crew included Paola Alvarez, Christopher Benitez, Charlotte Charles, Mason Espinal, Ashly Guevera, Gizelle Jean-Louis, Emmanuel Lajon, Sheila Mendes, Ambar Rodriguez, Benjamin Unana and Genesis Varag.
Alcantara, Morris and Workman all hope that the young actors and other children will apply the lessons learned in Woof! The Musical to their own choices and actions as they return to school and grow older.
