There are no gangs in Akron and Westfield. No tough guy images to uphold. No backing up your buddies in rumbles. No racing cars with the winner taking the title of the loser's car. No specific “hot” car a boy has to have to chase chicks. There also is no specific type of clothing to wear to school or a certain type of hair style to have. There are no intricate dance steps like hand-jiving and ballroom dancing to learn before attending a high school dance. A girl getting pregnant in high school doesn't

necessarily mean the loss of her reputation, the end to her education and marriage to the father. That is until April 12. At the Akron Community Theatre, Akron-Westfield students will perform “Grease,” a musical created by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey of a nostalgic view of their high school days in the

1950s. That's a life much different than the teen-agers of today face, especially in Akron and Westfield.

Smoking is no longer cool, and drinking alcoholic beverages often gets kids in trouble these days. There's no more spiking the punch. At prom, they must pass an alcohol Breathalyzer test to enter

and leave. Rarely do they cruise while drinking alcohol – they lose their drivers license and face jail

sentences when caught now. Akron's burger palace, Dean's Dugout, is only open in the summer, and there is no drive-in theater here. However, a few of the students have actually seen a movie at one of the few drive-in theaters left in the United States. Most students are so busy with homework, extracurricular activities and jobs, there isn't much time left for hanging out. In fact, there isn't much need to “hang out”

when kids can call their friends or send them a “text message” on their cell phone any time, any where they have service. In addition, many communicate through computer internet emails, instant messaging and services such as facebook.com and youtube.com. Many students haven't heard a phonograph playing 45 and 78 rpm records and albums. They don't go to a store and buy records, cassette tapes and 8-tracks of recorded music; they download songs onto their handheld MP3 players. Their dances have a disc jockey now instead of a live band. And there isn't much call for knowing how to cha-cha, polka and two-step. In fact, some of their popular dance tunes like the Casper Slide are really dance step instructions set to music. Many of the students didn't know what a letter sweater and saddle shoes were. Piercing of ears, a long-ago sign of achieving high school age, is often done on infants now. A majority, if not all, of this student cast doesn't worry about flunking or dropping out -- they have grade point averages well above an “F.” “It's hard putting yourself back in that time frame, that era,” said A-W senior David Ericson, who plays Kenickie, a tough-looking, tattooed, surly tough guy who is second-in-command of the Burger Palace Boys. “It's a whole different mind-set than we are used to in Iowa (in the 2000s).” “It's a part where I can't be myself on stage,” said A-W sophomore Michael Oetken, whose character is Danny Zuko, leader of the Burger Palace Boys. “I have to constantly focus, have to always be thinking how do I portray this character who's totally different from me: the head of a gang, pretty tough around the girls.” “Up on stage, I have to be concentrating,” he added. “Be sure I'm really over-exaggerating how tough of a character I am, that I always know what to do. I'm the coolest cat there is around. That's the hardest part.” For A-W junior Shelby Johnson, who plays a sweet, wholesome, naïve, cute girl named Sandy who Danny wants for his girl, it's also a tough role. She said her own personality is similar to the wholesome Sandy but it's fun and challenging to act the part of Sandy who becomes a “Pink Lady” and goes after her man. “You get to be something you don't usually plan to play,” said AW senior Katie Netley, who plays Frenchy, a Pink Lady characterized as good-natured and dumb. “It's hard to act it.” The characters' toughness doesn't match the determination of the students to perfect their roles by opening day, which is April 12. Since late fall, the students have been practicing nightly – from memorizing lines and songs to learning choreographed dance routines and acting techniques. Some admit this is their first play. Others say they've never danced like this before. However, these students not only have individual instruction from teachers who remember the 1950s, they can watch the “Grease” movie on compact disc and video cassette recorded tapes. They can also see this season's television show, “You're the One I Want,” where guys and gals are auditioning to be the next “Danny and Sandy” in the Broadway version. “It's still pretty fun even though we have practice two to three hours every night,” said Oetken. “We have laughs and good times with our friends.”

Westergard achieves All-State Speech