Jon Stewart Hosts AFTER SCHOOL SPECIAL 5/20

The Story Pirates (Benjamin Salka, CEO; Lee Overtree, Artistic Director), a national arts and literacy organization, will host its Third Annual "After School Special" Fundraiser on Friday, May 20, 2011 at Peter Norton Symphony Space (2537 Broadway). Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. for a silent auction and the show will begin at 6:00 pm.

Members of the Story Pirates will present a special version of their musical sketch comedy show alongside co-chair Jon Stewart ("The Daily Show") and specials guests Ana Gasteyer ("Saturday Night Live," Wicked), John Oliver ("Community," "The Daily Show") and Kristen Schaal ("Flight of the Conchords," "The Daily Show") who will bring to life stories written by kids seated in the audience.

All funds raised at the Third Annual After School Special will benefit the Story Pirates, bringing quality arts and creative writing programs to low-income students. The annual fundraiser seeks to raise over $100,000 for underfunded programs for children in need. Story Pirates serves primarily low-income, culturally diverse elementary school students in over 150 schools in New York and around the country.

"Our shows are comprised entirely of stories written by children and acted out by professional actors and comedians," said Benjamin Salka. In making the announcement, Lee Overtree added, "Our goal is to make kids laugh and show them that their words and ideas matter."

Mr. Stewart says of the group, "I believe that what the Story Pirates are doing is helping America-nay, humanity-helping humanity itself... the Story Pirates give kids a love of creative writing and a confidence in that ability that they can't get anywhere else."

An online auction will feature the chance to have Jon Stewart perform in a lucky child's original story. Bidding on this item will close on May 13th.

Other online auction items include a gym membership to Crunch, tickets to a taping of The Daily Show, in addition to many other great packages that will be available for public bidding until midnight on May 19th.

The Story Pirates mission is to promote literacy as a vital part of childhood education and to preserve the spark of youthful creativity often lost in the transition to adulthood. The cornerstone of the company is the Play/Write Program, a series of creative writing and drama workshops that lead to a musical sketch comedy show acted by adults and comprised entirely of stories written by kids. For seven years, the Play/Write program has brought high quality arts programs to tens of thousands of students who need it most.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.storypirates.org.