Life has not always been easy for comedian Rola Zaarour, known professionally as Rola Z. Born in Lebanon, she was forced to leave her home during its civil war and grew up in Greece. Years later, she experienced a revolution and coup d’etat when she was living in Egypt. After moving to D.C. with her husband, her marriage failed and she was laid off from her job during the pandemic.

Rola Z says she decided to try something completely different to deal with her trauma: using her sense of humor.

“So I was like, ‘Okay, there is nothing left to do but get into comedy. Because no one goes to comedy when they’re happy, right?’” jokes Rola Z.

She turned her pain into punchlines with jokes about everything from mental health, relationships, the immigrant experience, and even references to the poet Rumi. Rola Z says it’s about finding laughter in some of the more challenging topics like war and displacement. For a show during Veterans’ Appreciation Week, she says she expressed gratitude for those who’ve served in the military – but not how some might expect.

“I just said, ‘Any veterans? Oh, thank you for everything you do for us. Without you guys, I wouldn’t be here today. There would be no wars in the Middle East.’ And I just went on with it,” says Rola Z.

Other jokes sometimes blend both the childhood trauma of living through civil war, and trying to date in D.C., where one restaurant charged $100 for a “surprise menu.”

“So last week this guy took me on this unique dining experience, it’s called dinner in the dark,” said Rola Z during a set at DC Improv. “I walk in. I get nostalgic. This is like my childhood during the war! There’s no electricity but surprise, we found bread!”

While Rola Z describes her sense of humor as sometimes dark, she says it actually helped her heal and she hopes she’s not the only one who can benefit from her experiences.

“When we talk about these sorts of issues and this pain, it just provides healing for everybody. If we can laugh at our pain, you laugh at your pain and you feel much better,” says Rola Z.

After a performance at the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival at the Gotham Comedy Club, Rola Z says she was inspired to start her own line-up of comedians and performances in D.C. So she produced her first “Funny Arabs” show at Busboys & Poets as a platform for local comedians like her.

“I wanted to see Arab-American comedians and to showcase their talent, but also tell our diverse story,” says Rola Z. “It was really important to me to showcase the diversity of what it means to be an Arab and what our stories are.”

For more than a year, she’s been producing shows in D.C., throughout the U.S., and even in Montreal. And what started as a healing experience for Rola Z has become a way to build community. Andy Shallal, the founder and CEO of Busboys & Poets, says he’s happy that “Funny Arabs” has provided a space for comedians to share their culture and humor with others – including those who may be “harder to reach.”

“Hearts and minds don’t change with PowerPoint presentations. They change through culture, through humor, through music, through art,” says Shallal.

Next month, “Funny Arabs” makes its way to the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center. The show will feature local comedians like Yasmin Elhady and national headliner Ali Sultan, among others. Rola Z says it’s exciting to watch her passion grow and make its way to such a big stage.

“I remember telling one of the comedians, ‘I’m going to take this to the Kennedy Center,’ a year and a half ago. And then when the opportunity came about, it was just so fantastic. It’s a dream come true,” says Rola Z.

Thérèse LaGamma, the Public Programming Director of Social Impact at the Kennedy Center, says that “Funny Arabs” meets their mission of putting the spotlight on perspectives that aren’t always in the mainstream. She also applauds Rola Z’s efforts to bring healing through comedy, as well as producing such a line-up in what has historically been a male-dominated industry.

“Folks will hear stories about the immigrant experience, displacement, belonging, and then everyday life,” says LaGamma. “This is comedy that’s going to cause you not just to laugh, but it will make you think. And I believe that is what good comedy should do.”

Yasmin Elhady, a comedian based in the D.C. region, says that she didn’t see herself as a funny Arab before Rola Z came into her life. She saw herself more “as a funny person who happened to be Arab and Muslim.” But watching Rola Z produce these culturally specific shows made Elhady want to join up because of how much her identity means to her, and how important it is for her sense of humor.

“The more specific you are, the more universal you become,” says Elhady. “And I am just so excited to share our culture with other people.”

The Kennedy Center will host “Funny Arabs” at the Millennium Stage on Saturday, September 9th at 6 p.m. Additional free tickets to the sold out show will be available at the Hall of States Box Office on the day of the performance starting at 4:30 p.m.