The Pajama Game and why I will always love Gary Wilmot

I was stood backstage at The Adelphi Theatre in London meeting the stars of Me and My Girl. I informed the male lead that “I was going to be on the stage like him one day,” he kissed me on each cheek and I still remember my blushes and pride to be stood in this showbiz world.

I was 8 and the man was Gary Wilmot.

He was my musical theatre crush growing up; whilst other aspiring West End Wendies during this era were perfecting the vocals of Elaine Paige, Barbara Dixon and Frances Ruffelle, I sang along to “If I only had a Brain” on Gary's Showstopper cassette. (I was also pretty strong on “Beat Out Dat Rhythm on a Drum” from Carmen Jones!)

Gary in Me and My Girl
with Jessica Martin from garywilmot.co.uk

We saw him twice in Me and My Girl (teaching me how to have an audience in the palm of your hand whilst cavorting with a tiger skin rug,) as Tony in Copacabana, in his one man shows and I was a member of his fan club. Yes, his fan club – I had a card and everything.

I would have told him all this last night when I saw him in the wonderful production of The Pajama Game but I would've dissolved into a gibbering wreck if I saw him in real life! I would have morphed into a loom band wearing 1D fan meeting Harry Styles and so I ran away from stage door before seeing him.

I went to see The Pajama Game to see my friends – the lovely Sharon strutting her stuff and the gorgeous Michael Xavier be talent on long legs. I had completely forgotten that Gary Wilmot was also in it and so when he came onstage my friend and I squealed. And he was just as brilliant as he was 25 years ago; strong vocals and cheeky grins to the audience.

The show itself was just lovely. Old skool musical theatre with fabulous choreography (well, it was Stephen Mear so what would you expect?) I did sit there wondering if audiences still appreciate these old-fashioned musicals. They are used to high dramatic plots, high-tech sets and an almost cinematic experience, in fact they expect it for a £120 ticket. But last night they was a simple but effective set, a light storyline but all this allowed the calibre of the performers to radiate through. Genuinely high-class musical theatre actors being sublime and I loved it.

 It made me want to be in that world. I still want to have abs like Joanna Riding, I am grateful for the year I got paid to hang out with Michael Xavier in a wet suit, I am in awe of Sharon who I spent 3 years at drama school up there with musical theatre elite but most of all, I still adore Gary Wilmot. His warm charisma reminded me of being 8 years old and desperate to stay backstage in a theatre forever. 

Thank you Gary, for still inspiring me 25 years on.

The Pajama Game is only playing until September 13th, so go and see it if you can! 

Medea at The National - I am still in shock

Fifteen pounds doesn’t get you much these days.......3 coffees at Starbucks, a weekend wardrobe from Primark and it’s half the price of a Travelcard from Surrey. But yesterday, £15 got me a sensational 90 minutes at The Olivier Theatre at The National. Medea has just opened with Helen McCrory (Mrs Nicholas Brody from Homeland) as the title role giving the performance of her career.

Medea at The National Theatre. Helen McCrory - I want to be you

I have yet to venture into reviewing on my blog but I was so blown away by those 90 minutes yesterday that I had to tell you about it.

Medea was written by Greek poet Euripides in approximately 431 BC. Medea has been left by her husband Jason (of Golden Fleece fame) to marry a young princess. Reacting to this betrayal after she gave up her family for him, she vows to revenge him. She murders his new bride but it’s not enough to truly wound Jason forever and so she murders their two sons. WTF! would be the response of modern folk, but McCrory’s performance is so forceful that you like her, pity her and understand her logic. It is a study of heartbreak and grief and how these emotions can unhinge you.

The first image of Medea smashing rocks in the middle of a dark, gnarly forest firmly plants the idea that she has the ability to be feral, physical and wild. It was like stumbling upon a sacrificial ritual which is immediately shocking. But then she appears slouching around, cleaning her teeth and smoking roll ups. The set reveals the tangled trees with empty children’s swings hanging from the branches amidst the tattered Greek home with the glitzy wedding above, enclosed in glass. Clear cut and yet a tangled mess.

The Greek Chorus, oh how I loved them. They were a most effective and beautiful part of the production. A gorgeous lady I did Oklahoma with years ago, Vivien Carter, was one of these women in a peach dress and I was so in awe of her. The chorus are vital in any Greek play, commenting and advising the protagonist; here these Stepford Wife-esque Women of Corinth sang lingering music composed by Goldfrapp and created pulsing movement through contemporary dance. They were unsettling, beautiful and haunting- just brilliant. The dancing was used to horrifying effect as Medea exited to slit the throats of her two young sons, I was genuinely appalled and had my hands over my face but my god, it was fabulous.

There aren’t enough adjectives to justly describe McCrory’s performance. She is all sinew (I need to know her fitness regime, she looks incredible) with emotions so raw that her costumes shudder with the ferocity of her feeling. She is funny, sexy and wholly engaging; a 90 minute master class in connecting to text.

I heard an interview on radio 4 with the writer, Ben Power, who said that “during rehearsals we spoke to criminal psychologists and grief specialists who were astonished by acutey with which Euripides describes this emotional trauma.....2,500 years before psycho-analysis he is describing grief and trauma, the stages of grief, the movements between grief and anger with absolute pinpoint precision.” If you don’t listen to Front Row yet on Radio 4, do it!

Some reviews have suggested that Ben Power’s modern adaptation has lessened the poetic meter of traditional Greek theatre. Greek purists may hate the contemporary costume, iPhone selfie and children moronically staring at tablets and televisions but I appreciated it. 

The modern setting only highlighted the constant relevance of the text and I think made it more accessible to an audience. Greek theatre, like all of the classical texts can be off-putting to some audience members “Oo that’s a bit dark for me” or “I want to be entertained not use my brain” But with stories like the woman in Utah on trial for murdering her 6 newborn children only this week and Mikaeel Kular’s mother admitting she killed him how more pertinent can this play be? 2,500 years later we are still plagued by mental illness, female inequality and heartbreak. To be honest I may have struggled with Euripides’ original rich text for 90 minutes on a humid Saturday afternoon, Ben Powers’ adaptation kept me as engrossed as a teenager on an iPad.

Oh my gosh I can’t tell you enough how bloomin’ brilliant this production is; GO GO GO! I left inspired, thoughtful and in need of a stiff drink. Helen McCrory is exceptional and the ticket is 1/6 of the price of many top West End musicals, it’ll be £15 well spent.

Heads You Win - a guide to getting headshots

Yesterday I drove around the M25 looking like Ena Sharples with a head full of rollers to the great delight of many a van driver in the perpetual traffic. You see, I was getting new headshots done and my hair is lanky mc’drab so I was just making the most of the journey time!

Headshots are a stressful part of being an actor, for some of us anyway. Many enjoy to pout at the lens whilst an Austin Powers style character barks ‘work it baby, work it’ but I find it uncomfortable. Suddenly I am terribly aware of my wonky eyes, arched eyebrows, Jimmy Hill jaw, swimmers’ shoulders.....ah man the list is endless and so I tense up as if my head is literally about to be ‘shot at’ instead of photographed.

Here are some thoughts on headshots-

·         Keep them recent

“Ah look that actor playing Mr Brown has his son in the cast too “ says audience member as she flicks through the programme squinting in the dimmed house lights, “Oh no, that’s actually him! Goodness, how OLD is that photo?”

We’ve all done it; spent a few moments double checking that the broad-waisted baritone on stage really is the same hot young matinee idol as the programme photo suggests.

Worse still, if a casting director is scanning Spotlight.com and on seeing your headshot calls you in, only to be confronted by a wrinkly, one dress size larger version of the photo. You’ve wasted their time by not truly being what they are after. Like that advert says “It does what it says on the tin” you’ve gotta really look like the outside of your tin or you are committing some kind of theatrical fraud. It’s the headshot equivalent of keeping the size 8 jeans you wore aged 21 in the belief that one day you will diet your way back into them.  Let them go and make sure you look like your current self in your headshot.

·         Have different looks

You are told to take a selection of tops to help you achieve different looks in your 2 hour session. Here’s a few helpful hints to get you started!

White shirt and serious face = “I am assertive and ballsy yet still attractive” in the olden days this would have been your one for The Bill, but it now covers all kinds of hospital/law dramas

Cheesy musical theatre big grin = “look how happy I can be for 8 shows a week and belt out a pop song mid jazz pirouette” (you may want to add an extra coat of mascara for this one.)

Black top and big eyes = “I am classical actress because I wear black and can be demure yet strong with the ability to learn lots of text”

White vest top, messy hair, steely face = “I could live on a council estate and bash your face in” This also applies to men with stubble and low lighting

High necked tops and period hair style (men will have shaved by now in the photographers downstairs loo) = “I can be in a period drama, please oh please let me be inDownton Abbey, upstairs or downstairs or in the dog basket I don’t care, but please see my period style hair and think I’d be perfect for Downton.” (nb. Downton is probably heading for the 1940s now so I’d recommend Victory Rolls and red lips!)

·         Find a photographer that works for you

Just like finding the right agent, boyfriend or mascara you need to feel comfortable with a photographer. If your eyes are the windows to the soul then you need to trust the person staring into your soul for £300. The right photographer will create a comfortable atmosphere where you feel safe to pout, stare and smile. It is a very personal thing; some actors like to be told technically what to do and others respond to emotions and feelings.

Like many a young woman I had to go through a few until I found my Prince Charming of photographers.  My first experience was under a bush in a garden in Surrey sat on a bin bag, changing outfits whilst the photographers Dad mowed the lawn. You’ll find many 2003 shots of actors surrounded by leaves whilst their heads seem to be at a weird angle from their torso.

Another encounter saw me in another garden where I had to spin around and respond to the emotion that the photographer said to me. By the time I had got through “joy”, “worry”, “sexy” and “peace” I had a crick in my neck and most of the final prints had “f*$k off” behind my eyes!

My Prince Charming photographer has down my last 3 sets of photos, no bushes or feelings he just said to me that someone with my face shape shouldn’t be shot straight on (Jimmy Hill chin, remember?) and that I should keep my chin low. Hooray! A photo that looks like me but on an exceptionally good day.

·         You get what you pay for

Headshots, GOOD headshots will cost you. It is an expense that an actor has to undergo but remember it can be taken off your tax! It may be tempting to go to a cheap photographer when jobs are scarce and funds are low, but remember that these photos are going to represent you in the industry. You don’t need to spend a fortune as there are many mid-price, well-established photographers so don’t go for the bargain option; you may as well get your 3 year old nephew to take a snap on your grainy iPhone. There are certain things in life that an actor cannot scrimp on – repertoire, headshots and loo roll.

And if I seem to really know what I am talking about...here are some dodgy ones from the Daniella Gibb album. Happy headshotting everyone!

Before I discovered Low GI food
and what is that tufty hair??
(Think I was under the bush for
that one!)

There is more bleach on my hair here
than at your local swimming pool

Wake up...thats OK...wake up...and wake up blondie!

Either sat on a sharp pin or my attempts at
Nala from The Lion King

I am your friendly nurse

(this ended up on my Grandad's wall)

Best to say 'Nothing At All' - Ronan Keating joins the West End

The first time I stayed at my 2003 boyfriend's house I think I scared him a bit; nothing sordid or perverse but quite shocking none the less.

We were sat in bed watching This Morning (a standard part of every actor’s routine) and Ronan Keating came on the screen chatting to Phil and Fern. I grabbed a pillow on my boyfriend’s bed and lobbed it at his blokey posh flat-screen shrieking “Urgh I HATE that man!” much to the horror and confusion of my new beaux.

Yes, I've chosen a mean photo
but I'm trying to prove an irrational point here!

And that, dear Reader, sums up my feelings for Ronan Keating. This intense feeling has no basis and is entirely irrational but it consumes me every time I see him on TV or hear that bloomin’ "Love is a Rollercoaster" song.

So you can imagine my reaction to news that Ronan Keating will be joining the cast of Once the Musical in November.

Ronan has done nothing wrong; he's never slighted my family, spoke badly to me or indeed ever met me so there is no reason why I should have such a negative reaction to him. It’s just how I feel. He makes me want to lash out and push leprechauns over.

This isn’t a post to express dismay at yet another ‘celebrity’ taking a job from an unknown talented performer.  I think the majority of us have made our peace with celebrity casting. It is the way of our world and no amount of moaning will change that. On the whole, if these ‘celebs’ are talented, can adapt to the medium and do 8 shows a week then we don’t have a problem. And many of them do and are lovely additions to a company. It is just a transition in their own careers and isn’t their fault that the industry demands thousands of Twitter followers as an ‘in’ for an audition. Don’t bitch about the celebs earning a crust, look higher to the producers.

So if Ronan is an adept musical theatre performer and he can play Guy better than any other musical theatre male or current understudy, then I shall accept the situation graciously and applaud him for getting the audiences in.

But comments like this don’t help, Ronan-

 

Being cast in a musical, “a play with music,” is an honour and a hefty challenge. He is right to be scared. My favourite Twitter response was from ‘current Guy’ David Hunter

David Hunter‏@thedavidhunterJun 6

After much speculation, I am thrilled to announce I will be joining Boyzone from November 17th. #JobSwap

 

 

Ronan is probably a nice guy and this unfounded bile I have says more about me than him. I am irrationally mean and should take Ronan’s advice and say “Nothing at all” but in the words of Pheobe from Friends “I hate that guy!”

I have yet to see Once but have heard fab things and I suspect I will try to see it before November 16^th.

Good luck Ronan, break a leg and all that, but let me tell you - if you dare use that horrid nasal vibrato on that brilliant score I shall be there in the front row lobbing pillows at you. EVERY NIGHT.

'When Enough is Enough' and 'Getting Back on the Horse' - my life in cliches

I started writing this blog last week when a 2013 survey carried out by the website Casting Call Pro released the results that over 75% of actors earned less than £5,000 last year.  46% earned less than £1,000 from acting work and just 2% earned more than £20,000. It made for happy reading but I doubt it came as a shock to actors.

Aaaargh! I didn't realise I was broke!

There has since been much analysis and opinion on these results. One suggests that there are too many drama schools churning out too many actors into an industry that cannot support them. I have to say that despite working at these institutions from time to time, I do agree with Susan Elkin’s blog for The Stage. It is wonderful to teach a room full of bright eyed eager students because it reminds me of how it used to feel to be that motivated and trusting of the industry. It is a great honour to help them progress and inspiring to share their positivity but I can’t help feeling slightly guilty sometimes because you do walk away thinking – how many of you will actually work? And how many of them will join the majority of actors earning under £5,000 per year?

There are too many of us. Only yesterday I got an email from my agent saying how quiet things are in Musical Theatre Land at the moment and we need to start working for ourselves again, sending letters to get ourselves remembered amidst the sea of graduates.

There's me - I'm the short brunette

The fact that the industry is so unforgiving and rarely allows someone to earn enough for rent in London has almost become an accepted joke. Twitter is full of talented actors/writers who post amusing audition tales and comments. Pro Resting Actress gives us daily updates on degrading castings and Kayleigh Llewellyn reflects on life in a ticket booth and yes we all chuckle in recognition and feel part of the acting clan. It is a wonderful industry but the reality is that it is hard. Really hard.

People on the outside perhaps don’t see the day to day of being a jobbing actor. They see the names in lights and the appearances on This Morning but every high is surrounded by days of counting pennies and crying into old show scores.

So what happens to the actors who are in that 75%? It’s all very well marveling at the statistics but they represent real people. Real people feeling dejected who can only survive on bar tips for so long.

A lot of actors have to give up. Normal life or the bank manager comes a-calling and you have to accept that maybe you cannot withstand the ups and downs anymore; your need for security, self-esteem or sanity become too strong.  There are not many other professions where you enter with a degree and crossed fingers accepting that there is no guarantee of progression, pay rises or pensions. 

However it isn’t a conscious decision, it happens slowly. For many actors the industry drops them before they make the leap.

The reason I dithered about this blog post is that I have had a change of heart since starting it. I was going to discuss giving up the profession, although giving it the more positive connotation by calling it ‘moving on.’  I have been going through all the struggles I’ve mentioned, not being right for anything, not getting auditions and not fitting in a casting bracket anymore.

But I was alright with it all. You know when unemployed actors have a speech prepared (complete with over-stretched grin and dead eyes) about how “it’s just quiet at the moment but they’ll be something in the pipeline.” Well I had developed a similar one saying “that I was ready to settle down, that it’s hard when you don’t look your age and well, I enjoy the teaching and it pays better than a West End ensemble wage” and I believed it. I was content.

Until........

I got an email. It’s always the smallest thing that makes you break. I had enquired about some summer workshop teaching and the reply said that they only wanted people who are currently in West End shows. That is totally fair enough but for some reason the floodgates opened and I was overcome with every feeling of failure, regret and loss of being one of those West End Wendies on a pittance! After multitudes of snotty sobs, my wonderful, supportive boyfriend (only fellow actors can understand) calmed me down and I booked new headshots and vowed to get back on the horse. (Preferably War Horse, if anyone from The Nash is reading!) A complete turnaround from the woman who was quite happy to move on a few hours ago!

This industry may be in the process of dumping me but I am not going to go down without a fight, I love it too much.

The reason why this industry is so saturated and its inhabitants are struggling along on less than £5,000 a year is that we are all infected with the same disease – we love performing. We need to perform. And it never totally leaves us.

Even when your head, bank statements and body clock scream ‘ENOUGH,’ they can never quite be strong enough to quash that annoying thing that we’ve been cultivating since we first came across Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins or a cassette of show tunes by Dave Willets – your desire.

Enough may well be enough, but not quite yet.

Living on the Never, Never - Production Companies who owe actors money

“If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it’” says my Grandad, a wise man who’s saved up all his life for things he wanted and never had a credit card.  He should advise certain enterprising theatrical producers who seem to think it’s acceptable to put on a show and cross their fingers that they’ll make enough money to pay the cast and crew.

Not a week goes by without another article appearing in The Stage describing a production company that has gone into liquidation or about actors fighting to get their wages. Circumstances like this have, sadly, always occurred within the industry but it seems to be happening with increasing regularity, not the ‘encore’ us performers yearn for.

Every time I read one of these articles I am filled with rage and transported back to the time when I was involved in a similar situation.  I was cast in a show which was being produced by someone I had met socially, LIFE LESSON WARNING KLAXON!!! NEVER TRUST A BLOKE YOU MEET IN A PUB WHEN HE SAYS HE DOING A MUSICAL!!!!! Of course actors need to network and sometimes amazing opportunities can come out of a chance meeting but please do be wary. This guy, I’ll call him Don (my writer morals demand I give him a pseudonym but you know I’d rather put up Wild West style wanted posters everywhere with his useless mug and real name emblazoned on them!) organised professional enough auditions at a reputable venue with a director and everything. Offers went out, mine was verbal but another actor signed a contract for the proposed tour and salary.

You can add your own choice of villain here!

Rehearsals were due to start and tickets went on sale at large venues. It became harder for our agents to contact Don and squeeze out any information.  He never called back.  LIFE LESSON KLAZON!!! IN WORK, AS IN BOYFRIENDS, IF THEY DON’T CALL BACK THEN THEY AREN’T TO BE TRUSTED!!!!  In my case I was still waiting for my contract when the other actor was called and told that the show was being pulled due to lack of financial backing.

I understand that this happens. I know how hard it is to secure funding. Just filling out the Arts Council application form when I was producing my own show nearly caused me a coronary and serious writing hand ache, so I do have sympathy. But if you think, Don, that you may not make it to rehearsals then don’t add a clause to your contracts saying that if you cancel the production more 2 weeks prior to rehearsals starting the actor gets half the salary and the whole salary if it is cancelled with less than 2 weeks to go. It was cancelled 12 days before rehearsals were due to start - so money was owed. Duh, Don, whata mistaka to maka!

Equity helped us chase Don to the hills and back, he rarely answered his phone or responded to emails and came out with some highly dramatic and dubious excuses. Our case was futile because once the production company was declared bankrupt we had no chance of getting anything we were owed. A similar thing happened with the Coronation Street musical 'Street of Dreams,' the creditors lost out when the company was put into liquidation. 

It is one thing to pull a show before it starts but another to not pay cast and crew after they have worked on it. To put it crudely, it’s like me enjoying a sumptuous dinner at The Ivy because I really want to only to say to the waiter when handed the bill, “Oh sorry I was hoping some money would be in my account by the time I had my coffee, but I’ve checked my account and I’m still broke so I can’t pay you right now.” I’d be in big trouble.  I don’t eat there because I know I can’t afford it and head to Pizza Express with my 2-4-1 Wednesday deal like everyone else.

There has recently been a court case surrounding actors’ claims for wages owed from the Momentous Musicals tour and outcry from professionals still owed money from The Bugle Boy tour when it plans to go out again.  I actually auditioned for this new tour of The Bugle Boy, it was the most unprofessional and toe-curling audition I have ever been to.  No standard protocol or level of professionalism that you’d expect from a normal audition. I left feeling slightly sullied and determined never to put myself through something like that again, even if it meant working as a waitress until retirement.  Apparently the producer and writer plans to pay the old cast with money raised from this new tour, so what’s he going to pay the new actors with? I.O.U slips and Monopoly money?

This is not the industry I dreamt about and signed up for. People don’t deserve to be let down or left out of pocket and they certainly don’t deserve to feel like performing monkeys who’ll do it for free.

Are these situations due to lack of money in the industry at moment? This is likely - if theatres can’t sell tickets, then auditoriums remain empty and companies don’t make enough money to cover losses or pay the cast – that chain of events makes sense and is happening within many industries.  We understand that producing is tough, many of them gamble their homes for their dreams and not everyone is lucky enough to be Sir Cam Mac. Or perhaps more producers are treating projects like modern society does credit cards?

There’s a song in Blood Brothers that goes “Living on the never, never...” meaning to purchase something on credit. It is a concept by which many of us lead our lives today ‘bung it on the credit card’ or those adverts that say you can pay for sofa in 2 years time.  We seem to want things regardless of whether we can afford them right now and are happy to deal with it later.

!!!!! PRODUCERS - PLEASE STOP MOUNTING SHOWS ON THE NEVER, NEVER !!!!  This is a respected profession where people are skilled and deserve to be treated as such. Avoiding the consequences and going into liquidation just makes me want to buy a high-end trendy juicer with my credit card and come and liquidise you - so stop it and listen to the advice of my Grandad.

Teaching Tales

As a ‘resting’ actor I have been doing quite a lot of teaching recently. I am one of the many who like to share their pearls of thespian wisdom with the young and eager.  Or in my case - the young and well-off little darlings of Surrey.

Ooooooo they are a funny bunch. 

Some are, of course, lovely but the rest are a blend of prep-doing, lacrosse-playing, ‘Miss... er-what’s your name again, Diana??-saying so and so’s!

One little missy ran up at the beginning of class this week and informed me that “Mummy didn’t send me to school today because I had diarrhea.” I managed to contain the inner screams of “Why on earth are you here then?  Get away from me you vile little person, I need my anti-bac hand gel’” and instead smiled and said “Oh poor you, take it easy today,” as I edged away from her.

In the middle of a singing warm up, another little lady shot her hand up “Do you know who Allah is?” Well, how do you reply to that mid ‘Lalalalala?’ “Ummm, yes, I do, now keep singing.”  A few exercises on, the hand pops up again, “Do you know who played Annie in the film of Annie?” I was beginning to feel like I was on Mastermind and either the metaphorical  spotlight or this child was giving me a migraine. “It was Aileen Quinn,” she answered herself proudly.  I can only presume she had been reading an encyclopaedia this week and had got up to A. I look forward to Boadicea, bunions and Barack Obama next week.

It's gonna be a long term......

In another school I had asked everyone to bring in a special picture to talk about in class.  Instead of pictures I was naturally met with a barrage of excuses, my favourite was - “I have had such a busy week and my mummy has been sooooooo busy, I didn’t get home until, like, 6 every day. I’ve just been too busy to do anything.” Thinking of my working-mum sister, friends and Dad who still doesn’t finish work until 9pm despite being over 60, I replied, “You’re 6, Tabitha, how busy can you be?”

I presume lusting after 1D is a full-time job these days (I kid you not, this girl and her classmates regularly perform a 1D song to me word perfect and discuss the merits of Harry’s love life. Let me remind you.... they are 6.) On a less cynical note, how sad is it that 6 year olds are feeling stress? I think my main concern at 6 was whether I’d have Findus crispy pancakes for tea or how my den was getting on in the garden. If they already have that awful “there’s not enough hours in the day” feeling, what hope is there?  There is a lifetime of rushing about and feeling like you are letting people down to look forward, please stay watching Peppa Pig and playing for as long as possible.

One pupil who did remember her picture described a crayon drawing that a friend had drawn her.  She said it was special because she was moving schools and she was going to miss her friends. I asked “Why are you friends with her? and this reply melted my cynical old heart, “Well, when I first met her, she smiled so brightly at me and she is always smiling and nice to me.” Is that not the best and most simple explanation of what being a friend is? A big smile can do the most wonderful things; put people at ease, get you a job, make a friend, make someone’s day or make someone fall in love with you.

So the best lesson that this teacher was taught this week was........(despite the obvious highlight of learning about Allah).......smile brightly people! It is the simplest and best way to make you and other people happy.