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'TWO LAUGH MINIMUM' COMEDY NIGHTS COMING TO ARTSQUEST CENTER
DATE: February 24, 2011
CONTACT: Mark Demko, ArtsQuest, 610-332-1300, ext. 342, or mdemko@artsquest.org
'TWO LAUGH MINIMUM' COMEDY NIGHTS COMING TO ARTSQUEST CENTER
Myq Kaplan & Jon Fisch are Among First 4 Acts Appearing in New Weekly Comedy Series
BETHLEHEM, PA - Myq Kaplan, Jon Fisch, Rodney Laney and Mark Viera are the first four comedians announced for ArtsQuest's new "Two Laugh Minimum" Wednesday night comedy series in the Fowler Blast Furnace Room of the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem. Tickets for each show are $10 for ArtsQuest Members and students with ID and $15 for the public. They will go on sale Tues., March 1, 10 a.m., to ArtsQuest Members and Fri., March 4, 10 a.m., to the public and will be available at www.artsquest.org or 610-332-3378.
Myq Kaplan - May 4, 8 p.m.
A Top 5 Finalist on last summer's season of Last Comic Standing, Myq (pronounced 'Mike') Kaplan made his network television debut on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and has appeared on The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson and in his own half-hour Comedy Central Presents: Myq Kaplan special. Kaplan has also appeared on Comedy Central's Live at Gotham and at the "New Faces" show of the 2009 Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. He was voted 2008's Best Local Comedian in the Boston Phoenix, and won the 2009 NY's Funniest Standup Competition. The Comedians magazine calls him "a comedy machine, in the best possible way. The way that some machines vend soda or prevent other machines from killing future revolutionaries - that's how Myq Kaplan does comedy: relentlessly, methodically, unblinkingly."
Jon Fisch - May 18, 8 p.m.
Chosen as one of Comedy Central's Fresh Faces of Comedy and named one of Back Stage Magazine's 10 Standout Standups, Jon Fisch tours the country performing in theaters, colleges and clubs. His appearance on Last Comic Standing 4 earned him wide recognition and a new legion of fans. Fisch has performed at multiple festivals including the 2007 HBO Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colo., and the 2010 Great American Comedy Festival in Norfolk, Neb. He's also a staple on the New York City comedy scene, regularly performing at Gotham Comedy Club, the Comedy Cellar and the world famous Comic Strip Live. Fish is also the host of the popular podcast, "In the Tank."
Rodney Laney - May 25, 8 p.m.
Rodney Laney, who has appeared on truTV's The Smoking Gun Presents and at the prestigious Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, began performing professionally in the late 1990s at clubs and colleges from New York to California. He was featured at Chris Tucker's Comedy Club in Atlanta, during the Urban Comedy Festival "Laffapalooza" and Judy Carter's comedy showcase in Big Bear, Calif. Laney has completed pilots for Comedy Central, MTV, A&E and has been seen on P.Diddy's Bad Boys of Comedy on HBO, Fox News Channel's Red Eye, The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Comedy Central's Premium Blend. He performs in New York City at Gotham Comedy Club, Broadway Comedy Club, Caroline's and Dangerfield's.
Mark Viera - June 22, 8 p.m.
Mark Viera brings his lighthearted, fun-loving approach to comedy to the Lehigh Valley for the first time ever! A Bronx native, Viera has appeared on Comedy Central and HBO Latino, while his stage credits include Stand Up NY, Caroline's, The Comic Strip, Nuyorican's Poets Café and CAMARADAS el barrio.
The Two Laugh Minimum Wednesday night comedy series showcases some of the hottest comedians from New York City and throughout the nation. In addition to the headline performer, each Two Laugh Minimum show includes a featured act and an MC, at least one of whom will be a comic from the Lehigh Valley or Philadelphia. For more information on the new comedy series, visit www.artsquest.org.
ABOUT ARTSQUEST
ArtsQuest™ is a Bethlehem, PA-based nonprofit dedicated to presenting music, arts, cultural experiences and educational and outreach programs that aid in economic development, urban revitalization and community enrichment. Through festivals such as its flagship event, Musikfest®, and the Banana Factory® cultural arts and education center, ArtsQuest's programming currently reaches more than 1.3 million people annually. ArtsQuest is furthering its mission of celebrating arts and culture through the development of the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks™. The 65,000-square-foot building, set to open in May 2011, will feature live music, independent and scientific films, new festivals and community celebrations year-round, reaching an additional 750,000 people each year. For more information on ArtsQuest, visit www.artsquest.org or call 610-332-1300.