One can learn a lot from a dummy … or the one supplying his voice.

During the Stephen and Other Dummies Comedy Concert the afternoon of Sept. 24 in the main gym at Wawasee High School, Stephen Brubaker entertained, encouraged and challenged students.

Brubaker, assisted by his wife Bobbye who coordinated the music and sound effects, spoke to middle school students bussed to the high school from both Wawasee Middle School and Milford Middle School. He gave a presentation in the morning to the high school students.

The Brubakers travel nationally and internationally and have done so more than 30 years. They often speak at schools while touring. Issues students are confronted with are addressed such as bullying and making friends.

During his presentation to the middle school students, Stephen used two dummies, including “Wally Wagner” and several props as part of an often fast-paced message spanning a little more than a hour. He noted many people are like Wally in that they don’t want anyone involved in their lives. “He (Wally) has nobody holding him up or supporting him,” Stephen said.

Stephen said earlier this year he spoke at a school with 4,000 students in Boston and remembers a student approaching him and saying he had no friends at all. “That’s in a school with 4,000 students,” Stephen stressed.

Props and sound effects were combined to create the impression, for one example, there was an actual phone conversation going on between the two dummies, even after they had been put away in their containers. Stephen also did brief imitations of popular singers Eminem and Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, among others, with their music blaring.

Though much of the show was comedy, there were serious moments and Stephen did have a message for the students. He said many people wanted to “lump” school kids together as all bad after the shootings at Columbine in the 1990s, but he has found most kids instead are basically good.

He said he wishes he could see America come together again like it did after the terrorist attacks of 9-11. Treating others with respect and dignity was more of a priority, he noted.

Stephen also briefly addressed bullying and said “hurt people (want to) hurt people.” He recalled seeing a 65-year-old man start to cry while being interviewed on TV because of something that happened to him in elementary school. “Those things can stay with you for a lifetime,” Stephen said of bullying.

And he encouraged the middle school students to cultivate friendships and look for students who don’t have any friends or sit alone while eating lunch. He also challenged the students to appreciate what they do have, saying they have it better than other places he has traveled to.