Kidz 'N Comedy Host THE NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION SHOW 1/15

Kids 'N Comedy, New York's leading presenter of young comic talent, will present "The New Year's Resolution Show," a one-of-a-kind show of original standup material by teenage comedians, January 15 at Gotham Comedy Club, 208 West 23rd Street.

A new year means it's time for new beginnings and a renewed sense of hope for the future. It also means it's time to start making promises to yourself you'll never, ever keep. By mid-January, you've already fallen short, but you can at least remember the resolutions you aren't keeping. Funny, isn't it? Not to your parents, who never seem to understand these lapses. So Kids 'N Comedy decided to dedicate its January 15 show to the whole phenomenon, featuring Conor Williams, Charley Bardey, David Thompson, Jake Sidransky, Daniel Laitman, Andrew Vatier and more.

Kids 'N Comedy presents monthly shows at Gotham Comedy Club with a turntable of talented teens and 'tweens from the tri-state area. In the company's shows, each comic performs his/her own material, which is screened to be free of profanity and abrasive or cheap "low" humor (like fart jokes). They do, however, venture into edgy comic terrain: politics, getting old, even death. Laura Weiss wrote in Big Apple Parent, "This kid humor is quirky and often slightly mordant, with a sophistication that belies the comedians' youth. Plus, these kids are hilarious."

The show is at 1:00 PM; the reservations number is 212-877-6115 and online ticketing is available on the Kids 'N Comedy website, www.kidsncomedy.com.

LINEUP FOR "THE NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION SHOW"

Charlie Bardey is an eleventh grader who grew up on the border of Chinatown and TriBeCa, which he says was good because he got to learn how to peddle counterfeit handbags while simultaneously acting posh. His mother's in marketing; his father's a forensic psychiatrist, thriving off of the lovely junction of crime, insanity, and punishment. He enjoys wearing sweaters from the 70s that are too big for him, dancing to Beyoncé and getting angry at award show results. He has two younger brothers, a thirteen year old and a three year old. Showbiz experience? "I have practiced 'Don't Rain On My Parade' in front of the mirror, like, 50 times." He speaks both English and chatspeak. His passions are disguises, laughing, social interaction and crunking. Sports? "Excuse me?"

Daniel Laitman is 21 years old and an alumnus of Kids 'N Comedy who still performs with the troupe. He lives in Armonk, NY and studies film at Westchester Community College. His parents are both physicians and he has three sisters, one in college and twin sisters in high school. He became interested in stand-up comedy in middle school, where he co-emceed the school talent show in 8th grade, and went to Buck's Rock Camp in New Milford, CT, a creative and performing arts camp. He loved Clown Shop there, which was basically doing stand up and improv, and he was a junior counselor in clownshop the summer before last. He appeared in many shows there for other campers and parents, performing stand up. He also performed comedy at his high school's yearly talent show, where someone actually started a Facebook fan club for him. Daniel enjoys writing jokes and screenplays in his free time. He has a cat, Simba, and two dogs, Merlin and Minnie who, despite their names, are all girls.

Jake Sidransky, a native New Yorker, is a senior at Stuyvesant High School. His mother is in publishing and his father is a personal trainer. An only child and football player, he says he's pasisonate about the Yankees, the Giants, XBox, News and Politics, good food and travel. He has been with Kids 'N Comedy since 2005.

David Thompson, of Westchester, is a senior at Walter Panas High School, where he wrestles. His hobbies are Wrestling, Skateboarding and Drumming. He has an older brother, 20. He played the character of Stemler in "Win-Win" (2011), the film starring Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan. His passions are acting, comedy and eating.

Andrew Vatier, of Douglaston, NY, is a senior at St Mary's High School in Manhasset, where he has been class president this year and last. His mother's in Real Estate, his father's a contractor. His hobbies are sports, baseball, basketball, Lacrosse, music and travel. He's an only child who describes himself as a "people person"; naturally his passions include comedy and socializing. He played the opening of "Ratatouille" at the Ziegfield and has appeared in the Long Island Comedy Festival, a Ronald McDonald Fundraiser at Children's Museum of Long Island, the Nantucket Comedy Festival, and last but never least, Kids N Comedy. He works part time at McDonald's and has volunteered for three years at a summer camp.

Conor Williams, of East Northport, describes his father as an Entertainment Attorney and Professional Sleeper and his mother as Owner of a Performing Arts school. For hobbies, he writes, plays video games, enjoys music (listening and playing) wrestles alligators and collects dirty laundry in his room. He's acted in nine plays and is lead singer in The Superband. Job Experience?: "Not if I can help it." He owns two black cats and his mom wonders why she never wins the lottery. He's allergic to school and says if he were good at sports, he wouldn't have had to learn to be funny and do stand up comedy.

SUBSEQUENT SHOWS

January 29: "The Philosophy Show" -- The teen comics will crack books to prepare for "The Philosophy Show." What better way to deal with the confusion of adolescence than by weighing Hegel against Kierkegaard? With: Leo Frampton, Val Bodurtha, Lee Wolfowitz, Eric Kurn, Zach Rosenfeld.

February 12: "Comics in Love" -- Love hurts, especially when you have braces. With: Conor Williams, David Thompson, Jake Sidransky, Eric Kurn, Daniel Laitman, Val Bodurtha.

February 26: "The Did You Know Show" -- Did you know that cat pee glows under a black light? How about that Albert Einstein never wore socks (and probably smelled awful)? Come hear teenagers perform original stand-up about their favorite random facts. With: Charley Bardey, Lee Wolfowitz, Conor Carroll, Dillon Heverin, Zach Rosenfeld, Andrew Vatier.

March 25: "The New York Show" -- Kids who grow up in New York are a wild breed. They eat bagels, catch the subway by themselves, and even write and perform their own stand-up routines. Come listen to them complain about the MTA (among other things). Lineup TBA.

April 22: "When We Were Young Show" -- Who said you had to wait till you were old to start complaining about change? Our nostalgic teenagers long for a simpler time. Lineup TBA.

May 20: "The Horrible History Show" -- John Quincy Adams kept an alligator in the White House. Need we say more? This show is devoted to the lighter side of history. Lineup TBA.

Complete info on all shows (including lineups) will be available on the Kids 'N Comedy website, www.kidsncomedy.com.

For biographies of the young comedians in the Kids 'N Comedy troupe, visit: www.jsnyc.com/season/knc_bios.htm.

ABOUT KIDS 'N COMEDY

Kids 'N Comedy originated in 1996 as a talent show for kids at a The West End Gate restaurant on the Upper West Side that was owned at the time by Associate Director Stu Morden, Art D'Lugoff and Manny Roth (Cafe Wha). The talent of the kids caught the attention of BBC-TV, which filmed a documentary about them, which resulted in more media attention. Demand spiked among kids wishing to perform and this prompted Morden and his wife, Artistic Director Jo Ann Grossman, to establish Kids 'N Comedy to serve these budding comics through classes taught by a rotating staff, an intensive summer comedy camp, and professional gigs. Their performance series started at The Knitting Factory in 1996 and moved to Caroline's in 1998 and to Gotham Comedy Club in 2000. The founders point out that there's a ten year ramp-up to a comedy career and stage time is essential to becoming a good performer. Before there was Kids 'N Comedy, getting that stage time was nearly impossible, since Comedy Clubs are primarily bars and therefore off-limits to teens.

Parents report that their children's involvement in Kids 'N Comedy yields an increase in self confidence and a better attitude toward school. One parent wrote, "My son (like his father) has always marched to the beat of a different drum. As a result, he has had to take a lot of criticism from his peers and was not always the most secure of children: funny, pleasant to be with, but always uncertain as to who he was. As a result of your efforts my son has found that the road less traveled could possibly be the most rewarding."

Distinguished alumni of Kids 'N Comedy include Josh Peck, star of Nickelodeon's "Drake & Josh," and Lucian Maisel, who can be seen in the film "The Ex" with Zack Braff and Amanda Peet. Last Spring, ensemble member David Thompson made his film debut in "WIN WIN" with Paul Giamatti (directed and written by Tom McCarthy).

Beside their regular shows at Gotham Comedy Club, Kids 'N Comedy performers have appeared at a variety of benefits and charity events, including events of the WB11 Care for Kids Fund, a fund of the Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation (supporting needy families, including teen mothers, homeless families and at-risk youth), Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation (it brightens the lives of seriously ill children and their families) and the Toyota Comedy Festival.

This program has been made possible in part through the sponsorship of The Field, a not-for-profit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization serving the New York City performing arts community.