Every four years, all the youth ages 12-17 in our wards (congregations) from our stake (our city’s entire geographic area) perform a roadshow–a 15-minute play/musical they write themselves. This year, our theme was “Latter-day Avengers” and all seven wards made a fantastic effort. Some were funny. Some inspiring. Some sang. Some had celebrity appearances à la Scott Sterling, who has become an icon in Mormon folklore.
But really, the evening is about camaraderie with our fellow Saints and a lot of laughter. Some of these kids are performers, most aren’t and I love that kids who aren’t normally the superstars have their chance to shine. I know I’m biased but 2nd Ward did the very best, thanks (in large part) to the new musical power couple who moved into our ward and oversaw the project.
I was excited for Hadley and Bode to see what they’ll be participating in four years from now and they were pleasantly surprised how fun it was. Hadley was having a blast…until our ward performed and she saw every single one of her close friends was participating except for her.
Age 11 is an awkward age in the Church, especially when you’re the youngest of your peers. Upon turning 12, kids move up into our Young Men/Young Women organization where they meet for weekly activities…but she’s stuck in Primary (the children’s organization) until May while all her friends have moved on. I tried to distract her but it reemphasized we need to make her feel as involved as possible because the next six months are going to be tough.
My friend Debbie did a fantastic job entertaining the crowd as MC and between performances, she told corny Mormon jokes. For another, she had a silly basketball competition. I was having a good time until she declared “open mic night” where members of the audience could come share a joke. Bode started bouncing in his seat like Tigger. “I want to go up there!” he exclaimed. Startled, I whispered back, “what’s your joke?” because, let’s face it, sometimes 9-year-old boys’ gross-out humor is anything but humorous. He ignored me and gosh darn if he wasn’t the second kid to get up there and share his corny, cute joke in front of 200 people. Can we please have a collective “WHEW?!”
During the next break, Debbie opened it up to the adults to share a funny story of their spouse. What?! This one was fine-tuned for me. Do I not have an entire blog worth of fodder about The Pumpkin Man?!
Here’s a little sidenote: I practically had to drag Jamie to the roadshow because the BYU football game was on and he’s obsessed. We compromised that I would call him when it was our ward’s turn and he’d race over to watch. Unfortunately, Debbie’s proposition happened when Jamie was there.
My arm shot up. Jamie, alarmed, realizing that this would be about him, grabbed my arm and enveloped me in a straitjacket. “I cannot be contained!” I protested but we were at the back so Debbie didn’t hear my cries and I missed the opportunity to share with the world Jamie’s mouse sleep-walking story.
The censorship on my performance? I shall call it The Silence of the Lambs.
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 