Star Waiter.

Mitch. a 6th grader at Rolling Hills Charter. one of the most animated students in my music and drama classes. Mitch has a rare disease...he struggles to walk and gets tired easily. i have seen him grown more and more weak this year. he falls down often...and graciously denies help to stand back up. he still participates in P.E. - and works his tail off! he always wants to be in front of the class in drama and honestly, he is incredibly witty - one of the funniest kids i know.

about a year ago Mitch's family started working with Make A Wish Foundation to make Mitch's dream come true. his dream is this: to direct and star in a movie. the process began about 4 months ago when a team of directors, screenwriters, and producers began working with Mitch and the 6th grade class. a screenwriter named Doug (his last name is absent from my memory) wrote the script...taking into account the ideas of the 6th grade and the theme Mitch wanted: a spoof off of Star Wars. the result: Star Waiter.

Star Waiter uses food to explain the difference between the dark side and the power of the force (or fork, in this show). the good guys eat healthy food: Luke Piewalker, Pretzel Leia, Clam Solo, CH2O, and others. the dark side indulges in dark chocolate and fatty sweets: Darth Waiter. sounds cheesy, i know...but i promise you this movie is hilarious.

i had the priviledge of being on the movie set while they were filming. oh, did i mention we had try outs for the characters in this movie and all of the actors and actresses are my 6th grade drama students?!!...(with the exception of a few adults). it was fun and enlightening to see how a movie is filmed. granted, it isn't a Feature Film, but it is a real movie...with real directors, producers, equipment, and such. the first day was shot at Camel's Back Park, the second day at Riverstone High School, and the third and final day was at Donnie Mac's! the kids had the time of their life, of course. i have to admit i was feeling the pressure when the production team came to me 1 week before shooting and said "here is the script...make sure the kids are ready." eeeek! but, i was so very proud of them!

my favorite scene they shot was the very last one. it is a dance scene. 200 plus people showed up to support Mitch and dance in this final sequence. an amazing choreographer successfully taught all of us a dance in one hour - i was impressed! Boise shut down the streets surrounding Donnie Mac's and we danced down the streets to "We Are Family." oh, and this is cool: Joni Sledge called Make a Wish and gave us the rights to the official Sister Sledge version!

it has been such a joy to see Mitch's dream come true. i love this kid. i can't wait to see him star as Luke Piewalker in Star Waiter. speaking of, you should come! this Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. is the premiere of this movie - at the Egyptian Theatre in downtown Boise! it is open to the public...we are hoping to pack it out. Mitch will be arriving in a limo as the star and there will be a red carpet. why not come you know?!

a big sidenote: Lucas Films also called Make a Wish and the directors of Star Waiter and gave them the rights to all of the original Star Wars music and all of the sound effects!!! rumor has it George Lucas might be there Saturday night...no, i'm not making this up. come!