The “Provocative Perspectives” speaker series is hosting Rabbi Bob Alper and Palestinian Christian comedian Nazareth Rizkallah in the Performing Arts Center Pavilion on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. The unconventionally clean style of humor and the unusual pairing of a Palestinian Christian with a Jewish rabbi in the show, “Laugh in Peace: Understanding and Appreciating Diversity,” make for a family-appropriate stand-up routine that brings people together to fearlessly laugh with the comedians in the face of the extremist intolerance of the Middle East.
“When people laugh together, it’s nearly impossible to hate one another,” Alper said.
The comedians aim to keep their show free from the typical profanity-filled stand-up routines that saturate television and comedy clubs. They both learned from an early start what an impact good-natured humor can have on an audience jaded by obscenities and dirty jokes.
“The ‘f’ word’ is no longer a big deal in the clubs. There are much bigger deals now. The envelope has been pushed so far, audiences are not easily shocked anymore,” Rizkallah said in a Toledo newspaper.
Alper said that his stand-up has a “real hook” compared to other up-and-coming comedians because of the topic and style of his show.
“None of these 22-year-olds are going to tell stories about raising teenagers or officiating at weddings,” he once said.
Though these comedians don’t do dirty jokes, the audience can expect to hear witty cracks at everything from Alper’s vasectomy to Rizkallah’s experiences in the airport as a Middle Easterner.
“I’m from the Middle East. I can’t run through the airport anymore,” he said. “I miss my connecting flights. Someone will tackle me if I run.”
Rizkallah’s Middle Eastern background plays a large part in his comedy routines.
“When people laugh at my jokes, they automatically accept me and accept me for who I am, and that is inspiring,” he said.
After living in Kuwait for most of his childhood, Rizkallah was sent to the University of Toledo in Ohio by his parents to study engineering. He left Toledo a few years later and found himself performing in a comedy club in Southern California. In August 2003, he and Alper met at the “Seeds for Peace” comedy tour intended to encourage peace between young Palestinians and Israelis. Rizkallah said that he and the rabbi were instantly friends.
A couple of shows later, Alper said that he and Rizkallah really hit it off after a less-than-stellar performance.
“Then we did one of the worst shows ever, at an unnamed California college with the most gorgeous chapel and the worst sound system on the planet. We bonded over that!”
Alper has been doing stand-up for 20 years. As a practicing rabbi for 34 years, he finds a way to incorporate his religious background into his shows, as well as his funny, everyday life experiences. He describes himself as a keen observer, finding humor in the simple slip-ups of life.
“In our small Vermont post office, there’s a flyer advertising special Monday deals, Tuesday deals and Wednesday deals for a local pizza place. Apparently, I’m the only one who noticed that the flyer also says, ‘Closed Mondays,’” Alper said.
Alper and Rizkallah look forward to helping Cal Poly students take a break from studying this Thursday night.
“First, they’ll get a ton of laughs, which I assume the hard-working Cal Poly students really need. Second, they’ll be inspired by seeing a pairing of two people whom they may have assumed would never bond with one another. Third, they’ll laugh a lot. And finally, they’ll laugh a lot.”
Usually held in the morning, this session of “Provocative Perspectives” will be held in the evening for the first time, said Anita Wickers, the administrative coordinator of the speaker series.
“It is a new format and we’re hoping it’ll be successful,” she said.
Alper and Rizkallah are the first of six speakers who will be invited to speak throughout the year in the “Provocative Perspectives” series.
Vice president of student affairs Cornell Morton said these comedians are especially unique to the lineup because they’re presenting religion as a topic of diversity.
“The diversity on our campus is usually addressed in the context of race and gender. This will add another dimension of diversity,” he said.
Hoping that the comedic duo will successfully kick off the 2009-10 “Provocative Perspectives,” Morton said he would like to see a large turnout on Thursday night.
“This program, no matter your color, no matter your religious tradition or faith tradition, no matter your ethnicity, this program has something for everyone,” he said.