The five "councilors," who range in age from kindergarten to third grade, expressed their concerns about the havoc caused by mosquitoes at Monday's performance of "Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears."
So, it was the mosquito
who annoyed the iguana,
who frightened the python,
who scared the rabbit,
who startled the crow,
who alarmed the monkey,
who killed the owlet…
and now Mother Owl won’t wake the sun so that the day can come.
A cast of 27 from the McKinney Academy Performing Arts group brought this verse to life in skits Monday morning in Huntersville.
Dressed in elaborate and colorful costumes, the students performed the African-American folk tale, “Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears,” as told in the Caldecott Medal-winning book by Verna Aardema.
The McKinney group performed first for the North County Regional Library and then headed down Sam Furr Road to catch the story hour crowd at the Barnes & Noble in Birkdale.
Mosquitoes Cameron Miller and David Owen, both first graders, told their side of the story.
McKinney Academy, a private school located on Armour Street in Davidson, serves grades K-4 and will be adding Grade Five next year. (The school will have an open house Thursday, Feb. 18, starting at 6:30 p.m. See the school website for more information.) Headmistress Andrea McKinney said the Performing Arts Group meets weekly and works hard to memorize lines and prepare for public shows.
“This gives them a stage and show others what our kids can do,” she said.
The group performed its first public show in January and picked the African-American folk tale for February to help celebrate Black History Month. On Friday, Feb. 26, at 11 a.m. the group will perform a longer version of the skit at a school assembly.
Then it will be time to start rehearsals for the March show, which rumors say will feature a fairy tale and be performed March 20 at the Borders Bookstore in Northlake Mall. Stay tuned!
Headmistress Andrea McKinney (at left) directed Monday's performance at the Barnes & Noble store in Birkdale.
