After weeks of practicing, and at the prompting of Marcelo Viana, faculty sponsor and University Chaplain, the Middle East University Drama Team has finally found its wings and gotten off the ground.On the afternoon of Saturday, December 3, 2011, twenty-five pairs of eyes, which belonged to the young residents of the Home of Hope
Orphanage (HOH) were filled with eager anticipation, as they waited for the Middle East University Drama Team to make its debut performance.
Each member of the Drama Team, equally excited, was outfitted as a pirate. Wearing rounded black hats, decorated with feathers, along with eye patches, their entrance into the room set the scene for the day’s activities. To the joy of the children, they chanted, “Row! Row! Row! Row!” in unison, as they “floated” around in a carefully-crafted, cardboard boat. With the enthusiasm expected of pirates, they swooshed through the water, looking for dry land, all the while carrying out little antics that entertained the children. After finally “finding land,” they docked the boat in order to look for a treasure.
After searching under the table and behind children’s ears (much to their delight), they finally found a box, with a rounded top, that looked fit to carry gold. Upon opening it, they indeed found gold, in the form of a sweet treat of candy. But more importantly, the children found a paper with the word “God” on it, and they learned that His name is the most valuable treasure of all. After the skit, the MEU Drama Team engaged the children by making picture frames with them and by teaching them two Arabic songs and two English songs with moral messages.
The Middle East University Drama Team was excited to share its debut performance with the children from Home of Hope, because in doing so, they were living out the University motto, “Gateway to Truth and Life,” in which students aim to understand the meaning of life, which is to serve others, and then to share that understanding with others.
