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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, October 24, 2012 · 14 NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog professional production: May Court Club of Oakville members, in back, from left, Fulvia Walton, Debbie Morris, Yola Rager, Sandra McAughey, and, in front, from left, Lucy Walker, Judy Ramage, Sharon Timmerman, Ditte Griffiths and Susan Vivolo pose with the puppets from the show that tours schools to address the issue of bullying. The club funds the educational show. May Court puppet shows tackle bullying By Kathy Yanchus SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Susie has a story to tell and it's not a cheery, heartwarming one. It's educational, relevant, even sad, and one that must be told. You see Susie was a victim of bullying at her previous school, so when she arrives at her new one, she wants to help students heed the signs of bullying and empower them to deal with bullying situations of all types -- physical, verbal, relational and cyber. As bullying persists in schools and infiltrates cybersphere, where hurtful defaming comments travel far beyond the playground, often with devastating consequences, Susie is trying to make a difference. It's a lot of responsibility for a puppet. Susie isn't real, but her stories are all too true and form the bases of What Would You Do, an enlightening show to be launched by the May Court Club of Oakville's puppeteers next month. The May Court Club has a long history of bringing educational puppet shows into schools; for more than 30 years they have used them as enchanting instruments to teach children in SK to Grade 3, about safety and bullying. Never before, however, has the presentation tackled cyberbullying or been as "real" as the new show which will reach approximately 2,000 Oakville children throughout this school year. It's a trendier, slightly more sophisticated production aimed for the first time at students in Grades 4 and 5. "We are trying to get the message across to respect each other. With this play, we're really trying to empower the kids, give them the tools to handle the situation," said Sandra McAughey, co-convenor along with Fulvia Walton of the May Court Puppeteers. Past puppet `monsters' have been replaced by `real' kids in a `real' school setting; simple children's songs, by rap tunes. "It's more real," said Walton. "We have a police officer, a student running away; that is more real because that is very true now. School has to be a safe haven for students so it's important it (bullying) gets addressed." When the young girl runs away, she sings an emotional song about not being able to take words back. "Once you press that send button, you can't take those words back," said Fulton. "It used to stay in the playground, but now it spreads through all schools, through Facebook talk." The issue of a bully's anonymity, of spreading rumours or hurtful words from `behind a (computer) screen' is also addressed, as is bullying through texting. Susie sets up each of four bullying scenarios, then asks the audience, `What would you do?' before she suggests the best way to handle each situation. "Susie comes to this new school as the wise one," said Walton. Interspersed through the 25-minute presentation, which debuts Nov. 13 at St. Michael's school, are empowering songs such as Stand "Will bullying ever go away? Probably not. You just have to try to make the kids think about what they're doing, keep on reminding them." Sandra McAughey, co-convenor May Court Puppeteers Straight, Stand Tall, Throw Those Words Away and You've Got the Power. The puppeteers have refined their productions over the years, evolving from homemade sock puppets and member-written scripts, to professional puppets and professionally scripted and recorded shows courtesy of Images Puppet Productions Inc. of Hamilton. "We have a lot of input. We work with them," said McAughey. Twenty-eight women comprise the puppet ensemble, all of who work for months on puppet costumes and props and rehearsing every week beginning in the fall. This year, several local high school students volunteered their time recording the puppet show -- Brigitte Walton, Dominique George, Sara Trecroce, Annie Mehltretter, Keaton Olsen, Trent Olsen, Sam McAughey, Jake Munro and Bianca Bullock. The presentation is free and schools need only contact the club to book a show at maycourtpuppeteers@hotmail.com. "It's an entertaining way of getting the message across," said Walton. "The shows are wellreceived. When we would do shows for Grades 2 and 3, we had principals asking us to come back to do it for Grade 6 classes. I think it's an amazing service we've been providing." "It's very visual," said McAughey. "I really enjoy seeing the kids, they're all excited and when you know they did get the message, you know you've done your job." The puppeteers would love to expand the current show and are searching for a sponsor. "We would love to be able to take it up a notch," said Walton. "We would like to give students wristbands, leave them posters so they can constantly reinforce the message after we leave, we'd like to leave schools with a CD of our songs so they can play them again." The club is "excited" about launching a brand new show, and is proud of its two other school initiatives -- a Lunch Box program in 42 local schools and a scholarship program -- as well as other fund-raising efforts. The May Court Club of Oakville raised just over $430,000 in the last two years, which was given to local charitable organizations in need, as well as scholarships. "Will bullying ever go away? Probably not. You just have to try to make the kids think about what they're doing, keep on reminding them," said McAughey. For more information on the club, visit www. maycourt.ca.