Photos by Jenna Dosch/ViewLeft, Jonathan Young, left, and Jeff Broitman, of the National Theatre for Children, perform a play about fiscal responsibility called "Mad About Money" at St. Francis de Sales Catholic School, 1111 N. Michael Way, Oct. 14. Above, Broitman plays a student named Andrew who is learning how to save his money.
Photos by Jenna Dosch/ViewLeft, Jonathan Young, left, and Jeff Broitman, of the National Theatre for Children, perform a play about fiscal responsibility called "Mad About Money" at St. Francis de Sales Catholic School, 1111 N. Michael Way, Oct. 14. Above, Broitman plays a student named Andrew who is learning how to save his money.
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From late September through October, the National Theatre for Children toured more than 20 Las Vegas middle schools with "Mad About Money," an educational play about saving, spending, budgeting and credit.
One of the schools to receive the program was St. Francis de Sales, 1111 N. Michael Way. On a Tuesday morning, the children watched as actors Jonathan Young and Jeff Broitman of the National Theatre for Children spread the message of financial responsibility.
"The way the economic situation is now, it's important for them to get a little bit of a handle on money," Susan Weber, eighth-grade teacher, said.
The St. Francis campus became involved with the "Mad About Money" plays after receiving an invitation to take advantage of the touring act. Principal Cathy Thompson said the students learn about current events all the time and relate them to their studies, so she felt it was a natural fit for the St. Francis kids.
"I thought it was such a timely piece," Thompson said.
Using a bright green one-dollar bill as a backdrop, Broitman and Young began their show with a sketch about a father and son discussing budget matters. At first, Broitman, who played the father, was teaching his son about allotting money for food, gas and bills.
"Son, we've got to be very careful with our money," Broitman said.
By the end of the show, the tables had turned, and Young was shaking his head at his dad when he was suggesting buying rapper Lil Wayne instead of sticking to the budget.
"Your money is finite, you only have so much of it," Broitman said.
In the next skit, the actors portrayed a game show host and contestant. The lesson for this portion of the presentation was to teach kids about long-term investing.
"The more time that you invest your money, the more money you're going to make," Broitman said.
After the game show, Broitman and Young acted out a play on Jake's Used Car Lot, where Young explained the ins and outs of credit to Broitman.
"I learned it's good to save your money so you can use it on something you actually need," sixth-grader Jarlette Uy-Custer said.
The final sketch centered around a day in the life of sixth-grader Andrew Logan and saving.
"I thought it taught us a lot about money and it was very interesting at the same time," sixth-grader Sarah Porrello said. "We learned how to save money and what to spend it on."
The National Theatre for Children created this program for middle school students so they could learn how to use money responsibly at a young age and avoid many of the financial pitfalls that adults have experienced, such as living beyond their means, amassing large amounts of credit card debt and not having enough savings to make it through tough times.
After the play, teachers and administrators were encouraged to fill out an online evaluation of the play and its educational content.
"Besides the enjoyment of the comedy, I've heard the lesson about saving sticks with the students," Young said.
Contact View education reporter Laura Carroll at lcarroll@viewnews.com or 380-4588.
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