"The secret is out," the woman's voice
said...
Arue Moore pressed her ear to the telephone.
"We know about your background in theatre. We want to to be
our Cultural Arts Chairman." This was the conversation
which was the start of Mrs. Mouse. Daughter Ashley was in
the first grade at Warren T. Jackson Elementary School in
Atlanta, Georgia. The PTA was looking for a volunteer to
head the cultural arts program. A college degree in theatre
and a background in directing children's theatre made Mrs.
Moore a prime candidate for the job.
"It'll be fun," she thought.
And fun it was!
The budget allowed performers from the Atlanta chapter of
Young Audiences to bring many art forms to the children of
the school. Mrs. Moore chose a variety of artists to
broaden the cultural horizons of the students. But in the
spring of her first year on the job, there was a problem...
Only one hundred dollars was left in the budget for an
event in March. How to do an event for only one hundred
bucks?
"We'll produce our own!"
The year was 1992. The two-hundredth anniversary of the
death of the famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was
being commemorated worldwide.
"Let's celebrate his LIFE. Let's have a birthday party for
Mozart. We'll call it 'Mostly Mozart.' And the children can
play their musical instruments. Invite their parents to
perform, too! Their musical selections won't matter. The
composers won't matter because it's MOSTLY Mozart." To
educate the children on the life of Mozart, four little
mice would tell the story of Mozart's life.
"What would really tie it all together would be if the
emcee were a mouse, too!" It was a great idea, but who
would do it? The volunteer helping Mrs. Moore with the show
declined. "Well, it's my idea. I'll have to do it."
On Wednesday, March 25, 1992, Mrs. Mouse walked out on the
tiny stage at Warren T. Jackson Elementary School. She was
wearing a black and white jumpsuit. Her ears were made of
pink felt and white pearlescent sequins.
"Hello. My name is Mrs. Mouse.
I used to live in Mozart's house.
But now I think it's really cool
To be the mouse at your elementary school."
And that is how Mrs. Mouse was born! The children loved
her! Everywhere Mrs. Moore would go, the children would
recognize her as Mrs. Mouse.
"Hello, Mrs. Mouse!"
"We need to keep this character," the principal at the
school said.
"You need to do something with Mrs. Mouse," the husband at
home said. And then one Saturday night, Mrs. Moore had a
dream. Mrs. Mouse had a cooking show on TV. That Sunday
morning in church the minister preached a sermon entitled,
"You must follow your dreams!"
To follow this dream, Mrs. Moore enrolled in the School for
Culinary Arts at the Art Institute of Atlanta. With diploma
in hand, she is setting out to fulfill her dream of
producing a cooking show for children on television as Mrs.
Mouse.
"I will always be grateful to that sweet volunteer at
Mostly Mozart for turning down the job."