GREENWICH, CT — Ever since she was little, Central Middle School eighth-grader Naomi Jane Voigt remembers participating in school assemblies or events that were about spreading awareness of gun violence.
Having grown up in an age of increased mass shootings and incidents involving guns, Voigt is keenly aware of how gun violence can impact so many people of all ages. Her mother, Michele, is an advocate for Moms Demand Action, a grassroots movement focused on fighting for public gun safety measures.
So when it was time to come up with an idea for her eighth grade CMS capstone project in March, the decision was easy.
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Voigt, who is a recording artist, off-Broadway alum, and community theater member, will direct and produce a special cabaret show titled “Bullets Into Ballads” on June 2 in New York City, which will benefit the Ethan Miller Song Foundation.
“I have really seen how [gun violence] has impacted others, and have really come to sense how it impacts me,” Voigt told Patch. “I want it to not continue to impact kids for future generations to come.
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The foundation was established in 2018 to honor the life of Ethan Song, a 15-year-old Guilford, CT, resident who died after he accidentally shot himself with a neighbor’s gun that wasn’t stored properly.
The mission of the foundation is to develop and support programs and causes that keep kids safe, rescue neglected animals, and honor veterans.
Ethan’s Law, which passed in 2019, requires all guns to be safely stored in homes with minors in Connecticut. Michele helped call for the legislation to be passed.
Using her experience and friendships she’s made over the years in the performing world, Voigt invited a host of young artists from Broadway, off-Broadway, film, and television for a night of pop music, musical theatre, and original tunes at Green Room 42, 570 10th Ave., in Manhattan.
Featured performers include:
“You can expect a night that’s destined for impact in that it’s going to create change,” Voigt said. “Expect songs that will be heartbreaking, because it’s the cruel truth behind the social issue, but also songs that look on the bright side and see the hope that this isn’t the way it has to be.”
CMS Principal Thomas Healy said the capstone experience is a culminating project for CMS eighth-graders.
Students must identify an issue in the community that’s meaningful to them, research it, then develop and execute an action plan to address the issue. Students have to share their experience with the CMS student body and eighth grade families on Capstone Community Day, which is scheduled for June 12/
Healy expressed pride in what Voigt is doing with her project.
“We are so proud of Naomi and how she has made the most of this opportunity to combine her academics with her personal passion to advocate for positive change with respect to an important issue in our world today,” Healy said.
Voigt said there’s no better way for her to end the school year and her middle school career.
“Capstone is really stressful, but to know that it’s going to be such a successful night with such a good and important cause, and also having so much support from my school, I think it’s going to be a great way to end the year, even though I’m going to miss CMS a lot,” she said.
Both in-person and livestream tickets are available for “Bullets Into Ballads,” which is scheduled to begin at 9:30 p.m. Friday. Tickets start at $21. Livestream links will be emailed out 30 minutes before the show begins.
For more information on the show and the performers, and to purchase tickets, click here.
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