Stimples love to shriek. Blimbers think they are weird. Megmazoids take their dislike for the imaginary creatures a step further, silencing the Stimples and forcing them to be like everyone else.
Then, the skit goes, a young Stimple named Gilbert discovers that strange sounds actually frighten away his oppressors.
"Quick, quick, make a noise!" Gilbert--played by Eldon Cline--exhorts dozens of St. Thomas the Apostle students, who eagerly join him in chasing away the abusers and saving the day.
For the fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders at the Catholic school in Koreatown, watching the Dr. Seuss-like skit and half a dozen others was a cool way to spend a Wednesday afternoon. Their teachers hope for a more lasting effect--one that will curb schoolyard taunts and bullying.
"We have a real duty to educate our students as to tolerance," Principal Vince O'Donoghue said.
It is a sentiment shared by educators at close to 100 public and private schools from San Francisco to San Bernardino who, in the wake of state and local mandates to deal with diversity, have asked the actors of Fringe Benefits to perform for their students this school year.
The anthology of skits, dubbed "Cootie Shots," which is often advertised by word of mouth, costs $400 to $600, although grants from organizations, including the Liberty Hill Foundation, allow for 20 free performances this fall, organizers said.
However, the show that cast members describe as a theatrical vaccination against all forms of bigotry has not been embraced by everyone.
A Cypress Park elementary school that presented the Stimples parable in June drew complaints from a dozen angry parents when it was presented during an annual gay and lesbian awareness assembly. (Recognition of different groups is required by the Los Angeles Unified School District, school officials say).
About 50 of the 250 St. Thomas students who were invited to the show Wednesday were kept by their parents from seeing it, O'Donoghue said. That number is on par with other programs and trips they seek parental permission for, he said.
Although some people have expressed concerns that the show promotes homosexuality, Fringe Benefits founder Norma Bowles said such fears are unfounded.
Bowles' 8-year-old educational theater company has focused on older students and homophobia in the past, but the performances then and now are not about sex education, she and cast members said.
