New Haven Independent

The kids presented three plays Friday, one an original composition, with the goal, their drama teacher Liz Fast (pictured with two cast members) announced, of raising awareness about the need to protect our environment.

In “Taming the Plastic Monster,” Armani Maldonado (pictured at right) who threw his plastic bottles in the trash learned the importance of recycling them from a lively young sage, Tiffany Snape (pictured at left) who really knew her lines — and how to project her voice. Members of a Greek chorus of sorts surrounded the pair. Each in turn rattled off the name of a particular kind of plastic and whether it could be recycled. “Polyethylene terephthalate” or “high density polyethylene” (also known as plastic #1 and #2) tripped off their tongues as smoothly as yogurt going down (which comes in polypropylene containers, otherwise known as plastic #5).

Armani said if everyone recycled their bottles, no new plastic would be needed, but then he learned the awful truth. Click here to hear an interchange between Armani, Tiffany and the chorus.

As for solutions, everyone was urged to contact their town to learn what items can be recycled.

A short original play was written by Donielle Thigpen (pictured) with a focus on how plastic garbage in the ocean hurts sea animals.

The final play featured the last two polar bears on earth (pictured at top of story) who go to live in a zoo because their icy home has melted.

The kids ran through a dress rehearsal Friday afternoon. A few hours later, they performed the plays again for their parents.

For their grand finale, the actors in all three plays stood together and sang, “Waiting on the world to change.”