More than 1,000 students learn lessons through laughs at 'How to Survive Middle School' show

ST PETERSBURG, Fla - More than 1,100 Pinellas County 5th-8th graders entered the Mahaffey Theater to laugh and learn about the show "How to Survive Middle School." 

"I'm performing for middle school, right, so you better be funny. You better be entertaining," writer and performer of "How to Survive Middle School" Robert Post said. 

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The backstory:

Post's own middle school struggles provided the inspiration for the comedian to create the show. 

"It was a nightmare for me in middle school," Post said. "Now, I find that kids are struggling even more because of the weapon known as a phone, and so they have to get past this phone. They have to get past all the bullying to an extent that it's pretty severe, even more than what I went through as a kid, so that's why I wrote this show."

The show is presented to students for free, as part of the Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts outreach program.  Class Acts brings various theatre, music and comedy shows to the Mahaffey Theater to expose students to live performances. 

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Dig deeper:

The one-hour show blends comedy and real interviews with middle school students. Post uses props, mimes and involves the audience throughout. 

"If I am entertaining, then I can have these videos that I did, interviews with all these kids in which I can talk about the struggles they're going through, bullying, not fitting in, and also the good part about middle school," Post said. 

What they're saying:

The good part is in middle school for Post, discovering that he's funny. It's part of the central message of the show. 

"You want them to see, wait a minute, this guy did this, this guy pulled this off," Post said. "This guy made it happen. He was miserable in middle school. I could find it too."