‘We can do this, we can make a change’
Greenwich 8th grader puts on NYC variety show with rising Broadway stars for gun violence prevention
GREENWICH — Central Middle School eighth grader Naomi Jane Voigt is using her passion for music, her theater connections and her drive to help gun violence prevention organizations as part of her capstone project — Bullets into Ballads.
“It’s when we least expect gun violence to happen that it happens,” Voigt said.
Voigt, 14, is hosting a live (and livestreamed) variety show at 9:30 p.m. June 2 at the Green Room 42 in New York City to benefit the Ethan Miller Song Foundation, an organization created in the memory of Ethan Song, a 15-year-old Guilford resident who died in 2018 after accidentally shooting himself at his friend’s house, where the guns were not secured.
Ethan’s Law, which requires firearms to be properly secured away from minors, was passed by the Connecticut General Assembly in May 2019 and signed by Gov. Ned Lamont in June 2019. Members of the foundation are working to pass the law nationwide.
It was reintroduced to the U.S. Congress in February by U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and by U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., along with 183 of their fellow politicians.
Bullets into Ballads will feature young artists who have been on and off Broadway and in films and television shows. While their names are not immediately recognizable, some of the young participants have performed in Disney’s “Frozen” on Broadway, stared in movies like Netflix’s “13” and Will Ferrell’s “Theater Camp” in theaters this July and done voice-overs for “Paw Patrol.”
They will be singing songs about hope and change to spread awareness of how gun violence has affected teenagers, Voigt said.
For Voigt, advocating for gun violence prevention has been a central part of her family life: Her mother has been assisting organizations that help the cause as long as she can remember. Michele Voigt has been a member of Moms Demand Action — a group of moms who volunteer, lobby and educate people about controlling gun violence — and Naomi said she went with her mom to March of our Lives as part of the group’s activities.
So when Voigt was deciding which organization to raise money for for her school project, she chose the Ethan Miller Song Foundation, an organization that her mom has been supporting.
“(My mom) had so much passion behind (preventing gun violence), which means I have that same passion behind it too, especially being exposed to it all these years, so I was like, ‘OK, I am going to do (my capstone project) about gun violence,” Voigt said.
When it came to her project’s action plan, Voigt said she knew she had to do something music related — she has performed in offBroadway productions, participates in community theater and writes her own songs.
“The best way for me to make a change is by doing something I know I’m good at and that I love, which is music, especially since I have done cabarets in the past with my friends and fellow performers for causes like cancer research and other organizations,” Voigt said. “So I knew that it has worked in the past for other people. Now I think it is my turn to host one.”
Voigt said her fellow performers are friends and colleagues who “recognize how really of an important cause this is” and that she already has a bond with. She said when she picked the performers for her variety show, she chose those who are experienced and have a large network to help get her show a lot of attention.
While some of the performers will be singing songs that are about the “cruel and horrid truth about the cause,” other songs will be more optimistic, she said.
“It’s like ‘look on the bright side, we can do this, we can make a change,’” Voigt said.
Daniel Bally, who is Voigt’s social studies teacher at CMS and one of the teachers helping guide students through process, said that while the capstone program has been taking place for about a decade and every year changes slightly, the focus remains: “how can I help promote progress in my community.” So students identify an issue in their community and find ways to help make things better.
“It really is supposed to show what skills students have accumulated over their time in middle school,” Bally said.
Bally said through the capstone process, a graduation requirement, the teachers “set the stage” and the students take it upon themselves to execute their plan of action, learning that they can do their part to make a change. He added that when it comes to Voigt’s project, it “was all her” when it came to organizing the show and finding the issue she hopes to help solve.
“We can’t solve (the issue) tomorrow, but together over time we can ... if we move in the right direction. That’s all getting (the students) to really be an active member of their community,” Bally said.
By attending the performance in-person or watching it via livestream, Voigt said she hopes audience members realize that her fellow performers, who are kids around her own age, are trying to make a change to help other kids their own age.
“I really want it to be an empowering thing rather than it all just being about the money,” Voigt said.
To purchase tickets, visit thegreenroom42.venuetix.com. Tickets range from $21 to $41.50, depending on the type of seats. Livestream tickets are $21 and the link will be emailed an hour before the show starts.