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Thursday, August 26, 2010

CHESTER THEATRE GROUP SCHEDULES COMEDY WORKSHOPS FOR ADULTS

Here's something for those of you who aspire to Last Comic Standing or just want to entertain your friends or family:

Comedy Is Not Just for Comedians Anymore!

Are you comically curious? Comedy workshops for adult beginners and regular folk are being held at the Chester Theatre Group's Black River Playhouse in Chester, NJ, each Saturday morning with a new class beginning September 18. Kate Lyn Reiter’s popular comedy workshops now have a Saturday home with the Chester Theatre Group. They have been presented in the past in conjunction with Centenary Stage Company, Warren County Cultural & Heritage Foundation and Roxbury Alliance for Arts Council.

A breast cancer survivor, Ms. Reiter believes that laughter is the best medicine. Ms. Reiter works with ordinary people (as well as those facing serious illness) to re-frame the events in their lives and find the funny —even amid the most serious. The workshops provide a relaxed and judgment-free environment for regular folk to explore their funny bones! Participants learn how to find their unique voice, find the funny in everyday life and shape their experiences into laugh-riots!

Her unique approach lays out eight elements of comedy that make it easily accessible to everyone. Students will learn the shape and structure of things that make us laugh so they can hone their stories into sure-fire laughs. Most importantly, “you will begin to see your life from a new perspective—finding the funny all around us—appreciating the absurd—and lightening up the load in your heart!”

Special: 8 classes for just $195—with make-up classes for any vacation time missed! Saturday mornings 9:30 AM–12 noon, Sept. 18–Nov. 6. To register call: 908.892.5458. For more information, check out her web site at http://www.katelynreiter.com/.

Previous participants have included retired school teachers, engineers, insurance agents, homemakers, mothers, fathers, and lots of regular folk. Some have decided to go on to become comics but all have gone on to funnier and happier lives! Fred Holzapfel, a 47-year-old engineer of Long Valley, NJ, says, “My wife enrolled me, thinking it would be a break from my stressful and tedious career, and worries caused by my recent heath complications. Whether or not I ever perform in public, the overall experience has had a profound impact on how I now view life. The world is not a rational place; and if you look at it closely we’re surrounded by incongruity, confusion and silliness which together provide a strong foundation for comedy."

Ms. Reiter is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and has written and performed comedy in the New York City area for several years. In June the workshop alumni presented a sold-out Comedy Night fundraiser for Chester Theatre Group. She is an adjunct theatre professor at area colleges and frequently directs for the Centenary Stage Company and Chester Theatre Group.