Amanda Seales And Matt Bellassai Sixth Show Added To Laughfest 2019 Lineup

Gilda's LaughFest today announced the addition of comedian Amanda Seales, who will perform on March 9 at 8pm at the Fountain Street Church as well as a sixth show for Matt Bellassai on Sunday, March 10 at 9pm. Tickets for the shows are on sale at laughfestgr.org, ticketmaster.com (search LaughFest) and the Van Andel Arena & DeVos Place Box Offices.

The LaughFest team also announced today the return of, LAUGHsketball, People and Pets and the Laughter RX Series as part of the March 7-17 festival.

Amanda Seales is a comedian, actress, writer, producer and more. She has performed stand up across the globe and has toured colleges doing comedic lectures on sexism, diversity and relationships to black popular culture. Seales is known for taking serious topics such as racism, rape, culture, sexism and police brutality and making them relatable and interesting through her stage and screen content. She is a series regular as "Tiffany" on HBO's "Insecure", has guest stared on ABC's "Black-ish", is the creator and host of LA's hit comedy game show "Smart Funny and Black," has performed stand up on Late Night with Seth Meyers and has opened for Chris Rock. Her strongly received, first hour long special, I Be Knowin', debuted on HBO January 26. Seales is only the second African American woman ever to have a special on HBO.

In addition, a sixth show for Matt Bellassai has been added on Sunday, March 10 at 9pm at the Pyramid Scheme. Bellassai, a comedian, writer and social media personality is known for his weekly show, To Be Honest, on Facebook boasting over half a million followers.

Returning this year is LAUGHsketball on Sunday, March 17 at the DeltaPlex. The free event will kick off with pre-game fun at 3pm followed by a 4pm tip off. LAUGHsketball is a family friendly game of basketball where comedians take on local celebrities. At the game will be a chicken toss, face painting, dunk tanks, silent auction, mascots and some seriously special guests. Admission is free for all ages.

People and Pets, also returning, will take place on Sunday, March 17 at 10am at GRCC Ford Fieldhouse. Bring your furry (or not so furry) pet to celebrate how funny pets can be. There will be contests for best pet trick, best look-a-like and most unique pet!

Finally, the Laughter Rx Series returns to the festival. The schedule of Laughter Rx events, headlined by the previously announced Ed Asner's "A Man and His Prostate," center around a health, wellness and laughter focus and offer a number of ways to navigate tough chapters when dealing with life's tough stuff as well as dive deeper into the health benefits of laughter. Several events will take place throughout LaughFest Rx, including Laughter Yoga, Ed Asner, Laughing Matter, the Funderwear Run, Brews, Beats and Belly Laughs, LaughFest Recovery Showcase, How Improv Can Not Only Make You Laugh, It Can Change Your Life, Laughter: Duct Tape for the Body and Soul, Laughter: Is it Really the Best Medicine? and Entertainment & Exercise. Visit laughfestgr.org for a full list of dates and times and other Laughter Rx events.

Other seriously funny shows previously announced include the Clean Comedy Showcase, the National Stand-up Comedy Showcase, the Best of the Midwest Competition, Pop Scholars, River City Improv, Rockin' Homegrown Jam, LaughFest's Best and the Dirty Show.

During the seriously funny 10-day festival, LaughFest 2019 will include more than 200 free and ticketed shows. LaughFest will feature over 100 artists at more than 40 venues in Grand Rapids, Holland, Lowell and Wayland's Gun Lake Casino.

Gilda's LaughFest was created by the team at Gilda's Club Grand Rapids in 2011. Designed to celebrate laughter for the health of it and raise visibility and funds for Gilda's Club mission of free emotional health support for anyone on a cancer journey or grieving a death due to any cause. LaughFest features free and ticketed events including stand-up, improv, film, showcases and a variety of seriously funny stuff.

Past LaughFest headliners have included Howie Mandel, Seth Meyers, George Lopez, Wanda Sykes, Billy Gardell, Iliza, Amy Schumer, Jay Leno, Lily Tomlin, Chris Tucker, Pete Holmes, Sinbad, Margaret Cho, Betty White, Whoopi Goldberg, Mike Epps, Kathleen Madigan, Martin Short, Kevin Nealon, Wayne Brady, Trevor Noah, Joel McHale, Lewis Black, Tiffany Haddish, Bert Kreischer and Anjelah Johnson.

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