Puppets against bullying

WAITSBURG – Elizabeth Jaegeski, Waitsburg's K-12 Music Specialist, took on the challenge of bringing back a high school performance art class.

"We started the year discussing our bodies, movement, and being comfortable taking on a character. Rule one was to respect each person's journey in developing their character," said Jaegeski. 

Using puppets and a stage first purchased by Nancy Bickelhaupt for her classroom and now used by school counselor Rosy Nechodom, the class is producing a show on bullying for students in the district.

Under the creative instruction by Jaegeski, the students are learning the art of puppetry, including lip-syncing, sound projecting, character development, and script writing. The bully theme allows the students to develop age-appropriate characters for their audience of fellow students.

Jaegeski said her students are highly motivated and dive into whatever task is presented to them, including two students who participated in The Liberty Theater's production of "Fiddler on the Roof."