TALKING about the harm caused by bullying with young students can be challenging, but when the message comes from a puppet and her friends, the impact is immediate.
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Moonbi and Bendemeer public schools enjoyed a performance of My Friends and I on Tuesday, a puppet show with a powerful anti-bullying message that employs drama, poetry, puppetry and a healthy dose of humour.
The show explores the effects of bullying on the victim, as well as offering strategies to deal with bullies.
Stef Funnell is an actor with School Performance Tours, who has taken the show to every state in Australia.
She presents My Friends and I solo, and has her hands full with three large puppets and a number of hand puppets, but the reaction of the children she performs for makes the effort worthwhile.
Drama, she said, was an ideal platform for what could be a confronting subject for kids, and there was an opportunity after the show for students to ask questions and speak about their experiences.
Yesterday though most of the questions were about the mechanics of the show, something Ms Funnell enjoys explaining to her young audience.
“They were a really energetic group who had a lot of questions about how the puppets worked,” she said.
But when it comes to the meaning behind the show, Ms Funnell said some of the most important advice she could leave children with was to always tell an adult about bullying, and to speak up for your friends.
“What we say in the show is that if you see someone being bullied, you can step in and help. Don’t just watch it happen,” she said.
