Move Over Bob Hope

We have a new rising star...our very own Michael! He came home last month wanting to audition for the variety show on May 26th. The elementary school here in Dhahran has put on a show for over 20 years now and they take it very seriously. It's a rather big deal - not only do you have to audition, but the selected acts must commit to practicing several times a week after school or during lunch with a "variety show coach" ... for three weeks before the show. In addition, there were two dress rehearsals on the days prior to the show. I may have read somewhere that you have to sign a contract in blood and give up your first born as well!

Michael selected a couple dozen jokes and nervously auditioned earlier in May. To his relief, he didn't have to wait long to find out how he did...they announced the chosen acts 2 days later. That afternoon my back door BURST open and a wild, screaming, dancing boy dashed in. He made the show!!

He faithfully practiced his act with the coach, and together they came up with a way to make the act unique. Instead of him standing up behind a mic. for 2 minutes telling one joke after another, they asked him to come out in between each act while the set changes were being done and tell a joke.

The show was held in the gym, as a school assembly that parents were invited to. We estimated 900-1,000 people were in the audience. And how did Michael do? FANTASTIC, of course. We couldn't be more proud of him. Michael did a good job selecting jokes that everybody would get, from kindergarten on up and across all cultures. He even got a personal note the next day from a teacher other than his own, congratulating him on doing a great job.

The most amazing thing was the way this one hour completely changed Michael's status in the school, but more importantly how he sees himself. He went from someone who was struggling trying to figure out who he was and what his niche was, as well as being a "new kid" that hardly anyone knew and was a target for teasing, to someone that whose name is known and respected. All kinds of kids, all sizes, were coming up after the show and the next day, telling him that they enjoyed his jokes. His classmates were congratulating him so hardily that they practically carried him off on their shoulders after the show. You really can't imagine what a boost to his self esteem this was. It was an incredibly brave thing to do and it really paid off for him.

Our video camera isn't working at the moment so I had to resort to using the video feature on our little point and shoot camera. I zoomed in but the quality is pretty grainy. If I can snag a copy of another parent's video, I'll do my best to edit it and replace this video. But just a disclaimer....I have absolutely no experience editing video so bear with my very unprofessional work. We're hoping to pick up a video camera that will actually work this summer so I can share more fun with you in the fall.



By the way...you do know who Bob Hope was, don't you?