Teacher wins a visit by an educational show for kids

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A theater troupe from the George Street Playhouse came to Watsessing Elementary School on Friday, Dec. 1. Four performers and a stage manager/sound engineer presented an age-appropriate musical comedy, “Austin the Unstoppable.” This was a 45-minute show about the importance of making healthy eating and recreational decisions. The troupe has been touring the tri-state area and was performing at Watsessing for an audience of attentive third- to sixth-graders watching cross-legged from the multipurpose room floor. Their teachers and principal, Gina Rosamilia, sitting or standing beside the students, were no less attentive.

The troupe came to Bloomfield by chance. Watsessing special education teacher Joseph Milano entered a raffle at the recent teachers’ convention in Atlantic City for a performance of “Austin the Unstoppable” and won. A performance would have cost the school district $1,400.
The story is about four characters who have to change their diets. As a consequence, their lives are also changed.

It opens with best friends Austin and Dylan consuming junk foods and playing video games while singing about it. Home cooking is no better for Austin whose single mother, Deena, plops down a store-bought pizza on the kitchen table. His sister, Kayla, meanwhile is enamoured by Oreo Cookies. The songs told the story engagingly. Singing was done to recorded music and the actors wore microphones.

After a visit to the doctor’s office and a blood test, Deena is diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and Austin is overweight. Taking charge, Deena changes the family diet. Austin goes along with the reform as he sings to his sister that he does not want to die from diabetes because he has to protect the family tree. But the dietary changes come with mounting tensions for the children.

Austin’s friendship with Dylan ends over a chocolate cookie dispute. Then Austin and Kayla begin to have withdrawal hallucinations: a life-sized Devil Dog tempts Kayla; Austin is badgered by a large pizza slice. He is rescued by Deena, snapping a pair of cooking prongs. Little by little, the effects of healthy eating are felt and Austin is transformed. He has more energy and says his grades are improving. He reconciles with Dylan, who now declares that he eats vegetables. Everyone celebrates on Halloween by eating fruit.

The production was commissioned by the George Street Playhouse and premiered Jan. 11, 2012, in New Brunswick. A teacher’s study guide providing information about healthy eating and the theater arts could be downloaded.

From the guide, students learned that diabetes was a disease in which the body did not convert sugar into energy. “Sugar stays in the blood and can reach dangerous levels,” according to the guide.
The guide asked the students to define a “musical” and gave examples of theater etiquette and what it meant to be a good audience. It had cartoons showing students how to behave during a live performance and asked them to name their favorite songs from the show and how it helped to tell the story.

The guide also contained a Q&A with Barry Wyner, the writer and lyricist of “Austin the Unstoppable.” The music was composed by Daniel Israel.
Following their performance, the actors took questions from the audience and provided information. They first told the children they were not doctors and if they had any medical question, they should go to their teachers and parents.

The actors told the children that on the average a student their age spends one hour each day on a video game and four hours on a computer or phone. A show of hands seemed to confirm this. Also, the children learn that a bottle of soda contained 19 teaspoons of sugar. They were told to stay active, remain strong and accomplish their dreams.

One student asked if the blood test in the performance was real. An actor said the needle used in the show was not real, that it was a prop, and he explained the word prop. The only thing in the show that was not a prop, the children were told, was the chocolate chip cookie.
One student wanted to know if the singing was real and was told yes, that all the actors did their own singing and that they were trained professional actors.

The performers were also asked if any of them had diabetes. The actress playing the mother said her grandfather had diabetes and he had died a few weeks ago.

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