Kids 'N Comedy Presents THE HORRIBLE HISTORY SHOW Today, 5/20

Kids 'N Comedy, New York's leading presenter of young comic talent, will conclude its 2011-2012 season with "The Horrible History Show" today, May 20 at Gotham Comedy Club, 208 West 23rd Street. Charles I of England sent someone else to marry his wife for him. Ancient gladiators were mostly vegetarians. Attila the Hun bled to death from a nosebleed on his wedding night. This show is devoted to the lighter side of history and features Angela Citrola, Daniel Laitman, Jake Sidransky, Andrew Vatier, David Thompson, Zach Rosenfeld and Ryan Drum. The first five are graduating from high school and will go on to college in the fall; this is their last show.

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.

Throughout the summer, Kids 'N Comedy will offer performance workshops, writers' workshops and a summer camp, all for young comedians. Regular monthly shows will resume in the fall.

"The Horrible History Show" line-up includes the following performers.

Angela Citrola grade 12, hails from Northport, LI. She attends two high schools half-day each: Long Island High School for the Arts and Northport High School. Her dad owns a construction company and her mom is a nurse at the VA Medical Center in Northport. Her hobbies are performance, guitar and "everything that has to do with theater of any kind." She has three older sisters and a younger brother. She's done a slew musicals in community theater. Her first standup experience was a school variety show at age 13 and she's been with the Kids 'n Comedy Troupe since October, 2009. She has two dogs (Stella and Sammy) and a pet bearded dragon (Sonny). She speaks English and conversational Spanish. Her allergies include almost everything on the planet. She was a cheerleader but gave it up so she could do more theater.

Ryan Drum, a junior from Montvale, NJ, whose hobbies are Finance and Social Work, is a songwriter, band member and comedian. He's got three siblings, one's his twin. He's played in Kids 'N Comedy shows at the Gotham and at charity events for Ronald McDonald House and the Boy Scouts of America. He's also done voice overs and gigs with The Sightseers. He opened for "Ratatouille," the Disney movie, at the Ziegfeld Theater in 2007. English texting is his primary language. His two dogs are Rosie and Holly. He swims, plays golf, coaches The Fireballs (a soccer team for little kids in his town) and helps out with The Sharks, who are a Special Olympics Swim Team at the JCC.

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.

Zach Rosenfeld hails from Brooklyn, where he's a ninth grader at St. Ann's. His mom's a filmmaker and his dad's a businessman. His hobbies are Computer, Trumpet, Comedy, Golf and Tennis. He has a younger brother (Noah, age 8). He did lighting for a school play and a bit part in one of his mother's films. Job experience? "Casting Assistant. Shoveling snow." He owns a Labradoodle and has no allergies. His passions are Comedy and World of Warcraft; his sports are golf and tennis, formerly soccer.

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. The son of a speech pathologist and an engineer, his hobbies are Wrestling, Skateboarding and Drumming. He has an older brother, 20. He's done "a decent amount" of acting; notably, he played the character of Stemler in "Win-Win" (2011), the film starring Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan. He speaks some Spanish and a little bit of Hebrew. 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 "Rautotelle" 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.

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.

Photo of Jake Sidransky by Julia Slaff.

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