Chicago Children's Theatre

My Review of "The Hundred Dresses" by Timothy

Dear Children's Theatre,

Thank you for the wonderful play. It was very exciting and fun. We enjoyed it very much. The sound effects were very awesome. If I saw someone being bullied, I would stand up for them.

One of my favorite characters was Cecilia because she was happy no matter what and she was silly. Another favorite character of mine is Maddie because she had the best voice and she cared for Wanda. Another character I liked was Billy Bounce because of the costumes he wore and I laughed when he threw his noodles in the air and they fell on the floor. The last character I liked was Wanda because she had a good voice and she told the truth about the 100 dressed.

Sincerely,
Timothy


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My Review of "The Hundred Dresses" by Dashawn

Dear Chicago Children's Theatre,

Thank you very much for allowing us to enjoy the play "The Hundred Dresses".

Dear Wanda and Maddie,

Wanda you was my best character because you would make me want to cry the way you acted.

Dear Maddie,

I know you wanted to cheer Wanda up, but you was afraid to say something. That's alright I would have been afraid too.

Sincerely,
Dashawn


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My Review of "The Hundred Dresses" by Johanna

I can't say I had a favorite part because I liked the whole play. I liked all the characters because some were goofy and some kept to themselves. Well, if I had to choose between being friends with Peggy and Wanda, I would choose both because being friends with Peggy would help her be a better person and being friends with Wanda would make her and yourself feel better. I would have kept to myself or probably kept myself occupied with something. Trying to fit in is not always the best choice.

Johanna 10 yrs old Clissold Elementary

My Review of "The Hundred Dresses" by Michael

The Five Star Play

My favorite part was when Mr. Svenson asked the girls what they were doing in Boggin Heights and he faked he had a hook as a hand, but was really an umbrella because he seemed like a nice guy and he likes to play pranks.

My favorite character would be Willy because he likes to wear costumes and my favorite costume of his would be the robot.

I would have stood up for Wanda because I don't think that teasing somebody is right.

If I was in Wanda's situation I would have asked Peggy to stop and if she didn't I would have told the teacher.

Michael
9 yrs old
Middleton Elementary School


*This review was mailed to us at CCT. If you would like to submit a review you can email us at shareyourstory@chicagochildrenstheatre.org. We hope to hear from you soon!

Bullying Story from Childhood- A Cultural Perspective

As a young girl growing up in the mid and late 60's on the south side of Chicago in a neighborhood transitioning from working class to low income, I was bullied because of my interest in academics. There wasn't a lot of support for little black girls who liked to read and study and do well in school in my south side neighborhood.

I was called Professor Shakespeare, school girl and 'acting white'. My parents didn't allow the use of slang language in casual conversation at home or in school, so I was teased often, but occasionally verbally assaulted for 'talking white'.

I don't remember ever talking with my parents about the specific situation, but I received clear messages from home that I needed to stand up for myself. I was petrified. I ended up having a physical fight with the designated leader of the 5th grade group of girls that were in my combined 4/5 grade class, a fight that was instigated by the 5th grade group of girls. I was a 4th grader. Thank goodness this occurred in the age of fists rather than guns or knives. I ended up settling the fight on the school playground, in spite of a 3 inch height and probably 20 lbs. weight difference in favor of the 5th grade bully, the largest girl in her group. I won the fight by knocking the bully into a pile of melting snow. Sheer terror and adrenaline does strange things to you. The girl cried and detente was established. I don't know if my parents ever knew of this incident; I was never reprimanded by teachers. Even though I was never a friend of that group of girls, no one from that group picked on me again. I also learned that I needed to 'code-switch' in order to maintain relationships with my school peers and harmony at home with my parents. I found a way to fit in with other groups of girls through my somewhat feeble attempts at double dutch. My peer group realized that I was normal and had some things that I did well and others that I did not, just like them.

Receiving strong supportive messages from my parents was absolutely essential in terms of mounting the moxie to take on the bully. But I also learned that I had to find a way to be a part of the group in a way that was consistent with parental and peer expectations. It's a skill that has led me to be a collaborator and bridge between sometimes disparate groups in the workplace, social settings and working with community organizations, especially around issues regarding race and ethnicity. Also, I have achieved my goal of becoming a physician.

I often wonder if other black girls and boys who are faced with the same challenges, but without adult support and appropriate navigating skills are making the choice of running with the 'popular' crowd and abandoning their academic dreams for fear of losing that protection from their peer groups. As an adolescent and young adult, I learned that many of my bullying peers ended up getting pregnant before the age of 18, not going to college and for some, getting a record in the criminal justice system.

Social capital through networks of caring and involved adults helps kids to navigate these minefields, along with the formation of positive peer networks that can help to create 'positive deviance' models in the face of tremendous social and economic challenges that many girls and boys of all races face.

If you would like your story to be featured on our blog, please email us at shareyourstory@chicagochildrenstheatre.org