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Shelling out laughs to younger fans
By MICHELE MILLER DADE CITY -- When Moira Riley was just a little kid, she and her best friend would take turns reading a favorite poem written by the late Shel Silverstein. The mishaps for a little girl in the poem titled Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out were sure to spur on a good case of the giggles, no matter how many times the poem was recited. So it's no wonder that Moira, now a senior and a member of the school's Readers Theater group at Pasco High School, has been having a good time reading and acting out Silverstein's very silly poetry from his book, Where the Sidewalk Ends. Wearing face paint and using a few basic props -- a ladder, paper bags, a plunger, socks and a "sidewalk" made out of dropcloths donated by the school custodians, the troupe trekked to a few elementary schools last weekend and hosted a performance at Pasco High. Recently members of the group treated the students at Centennial Elementary School to some of their favorite selections, such as Captain Hook, Band Aids, Sick, and were rewarded with more than a few good belly laughs from their young audience. "I've heard this one," said a delighted third-grader, Bryan Paul, perking up at the nonsensical poem Crazy. "This is so funny." "This is good, very creative," fifth-grader Shannon Robin said. Tara Wood, the media specialist from Pasco High School, is the sponsor for the Readers Theater group. It's a re-creation of a similar group started by language/arts teacher Dean Landis when Wood attended the school in the early '90s. "When I was in high school, we did Dr. Seuss, Edgar Allen Poe, and Greek mythology," Wood said. "It was a lot of fun." Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends, first published in 1974, was the perfect selection for this Readers Theater because it is familiar to both elementary and high school students, like Moira, who "remember when." Though the Readers Theater group provides some fun and education entertainment for elementary students, it also benefits the high school students who perform, Wood said. "It's a creativity outlet, especially if they're interested in drama. And they get community service hours for this," Wood said. The trips to the elementary school also tend to be a little nostalgic, said Moira, who will be graduating this year. Like others in the group, she has developed a different, perhaps more mature, appreciation for Silverstein's poetry. "It's funny to see what parts they (the youngsters) laugh at," said Readers Theater member Jaime Kinsley. "They don't always laugh at the parts that we think are funny, and then they laugh at parts we didn't think were funny, like when you say "underwear." "Or "kiss," said Moira. Then there's the assured gut-buster from Captain Hook about his having to watch out "and never pick his nose." Silverstein's poetry does a fine job of tickling the funny bone of children and adults, said Centennial media specialist Pam Lockliear, who these days hasn't been able to keep the book on the shelf. "It hits you when you hear something that's funny (on an adult level) that's written for children. And for the kids, it's almost naughty because it is so funny." -- Readers Theater group members: Ashlee Fredrickson, Jaime Kinsley, Alandria Steele, Moira Riley, Raymond Wright and Camille Alexander. Technical crew: Chad Connell and Roberto Manzo.
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From today's Pasco Times |
