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$TACK$ Lead Actor Mark Christopher Lawrence Nominated For Daytime Emmy® For Outstanding Lead Actor In a Daytime Fiction Progra
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Mark Christopher Lawrence, Christian Hoff & David Kamatoy Present atYAA 41st Annual Young Artist Academy™ AwardsSan Diego, CA (For Release) - The 41st annual Young Artist Academy™ Awards presenters will include NBC star and comedian Mark Christopher Lawrence, Tony Award winner Christian Hoff and television producer David Kamatoy on Saturday, November 21. This year, because of the ongoing restrictions for the Covid-19 pandemic, the event will be presented virtually with live audience engagement via Zoom and YouTube Premieres beginning at 2:30 p.m. Hollywood time. (YoungArtistAcademy.org)
Mark Christopher Lawrence is the recipient of the 2012 San Diego Critics Circle’s Craig Noel Award – Outstanding Actor Of The Year. He is an international headliner who has worked with the likes of Sinbad, Jerry Seinfeld, Rodney Dangerfield, and Jeff Foxworthy. Mark is best known for his series regular role as Big Mike on the NBC TV series CHUCK and has a recurring role on The PureFlix.com comedy hit, Malibu Dan, The Family Man. A strong supporter of youth actors and previous host of the 38th Young Artist Academy™ Awards, Mark will present the award for Supporting Role by a Young Artist in a Feature Film. Christian Hoff is a Tony Award-winning native San Diego entertainer whose early training through the San Diego Junior Theater program set a course to Hollywood and Broadway. He has recorded two Grammy Award-Winning original cast albums for “Jersey Boys” and “The Who’s Tommy.” Christian’s resume is highlighted with originating the voice of Hanna-Barbera cartoon “Richie Rich.” This will be Christian’s first invitation by the Young Artist Academy™ where he will present the award for Supporting Role by a Teen Artist in a Feature Film. David Kamatoy is host of The DavidKamatoy.com Show. As a television producer, he has been responsible for hundreds of episodes of business and lifestyle talk shows seen on BizTV and Youtoo America. David has worked closely with both Mark Christopher Lawrence and Christian Hoff over the years on a variety of entertainment and business projects. While he has been involved behind the scenes with the Young Artist Academy™, this will be David’s first invitation as a presenter. He will present the award for Leading Teen in a Web Series. Established in 1978, the Young Artist Academy™ is Hollywood’s first and longest running youth awards and has honored many young artists who have gone on to become internationally acclaimed adult actors. This list includes such luminaries as Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, Ryan Reynolds, and Michelle Pfeiffer. The list of presenters this year will include Daily Show Host Trevor Noah, academy alumni Scarlett Johannson and Mario Lopez, Sir Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings, X-Men), Star Trek legend George Takei, and creature character actor Doug Jones (Shape of Water, Star Trek: Discovery). For more information about Young Artist Academy visit YoungArtistAcademy.org. For more information about Mark Christopher Lawrence, visit MarkChristopherLawrence.com, Christian Hoff, visit ChristianHoff.com, David Kamatoy, visit DavidKamatoy.com. Media inquiries please contact KamatoyMediagroup.com |



San Diego, CA (For Release) - 
A former U.S. Marine who attended Harvard on a Marine Corps ROTC scholarship, James P. Connolly got his comedy start when he was ordered to write jokes for a Colonel. Since that beginning, he has appeared on America’s Got Talent, Comedy Central, HBO, in the Netflix series, “Larry Charles: Dangerous World of Comedy” and can be heard daily on SiriusXM Comedy Channels. His Dry Bar Comedy Special was released in 2022.
Billed as “The greatest band you’ve never heard of,” Featured Act The SHOW with Adam and Sean has performed at such venues as the Chance Theater in Orange County, The Stage in Burbank, and the Loft Ensemble in Los Angeles. Featuring San Diego native Adam Chambers and Omaha product Sean Durrie, the duo perform as the house band in a monthly show in LA called Another Late Night Comedy Show with Mike Perkins.
A recently divorced former desperate housewife living in beautiful Coronado, CA, Sue Shirey has been doing comedy for 15 years and is lead singer in the band The Suenamis. She is the founder and director of the James Shirey Foundation in memory of her son James who passed away in 2009 and has held many comedy fundraisers to benefit her foundation.
“I am honored to o
nce again be supporting GenerateHope with our show at UC San Diego Park and Market,” says Mark Chirstopher Lawrence. “This is an organization that is doing amazing work for a critically underserved population in our community, and I encourage everyone to come out and learn what they do and how you can help. We’ll ‘bring da funny,’ and you bring the energy. You’ll go home feeling good about what your attendance has done for this group, and you’ll have a ‘holarious’ time doing it.”


Headliner Edwonda White is a Def Comedy Jam AllStar and a B.E.T’s Comic View AllStar. In addition to her stand-up comedy, she is a screenwriter and radio personality who regularly appears on Quake’s House, a syndicated radio show on SiriusXM Radio. Edwonda has been featured on several television shows, including Martin Lawrence’s “1st Amendment Stand Up” on STARZ and Jennifer Lopez’s Comedy Show “Stand Up And Deliver.”
Featured act Louie Centanni is known for his poignant observations about the absurdities of childhood, aging, step-parenting, and owning a dog that is too big for this world. Currently he is workshopping an introspective and heartwarming blend of standup comedy and storytelling that reflects on whether any of us is ever truly "ready" for life's biggest moments.
Bijan Mostafavi is best known for his quick wit, hilarious stories and severe asthma. He was most recently the head writer and party correspondent for “Tonight in San Diego” on the CW6.
“I’m excited to be collaborating again with UC San Diego Park and Market for Comedy Night at the Guggenheim Theatre in San Diego,” says Mark Christopher Lawrence, “and to support a wonderful organization like GenerateHope. We’re gonna ‘bring da funny’ to Downtown and send people home laughing, and at the same time help very needy members of our San Diego community. I encourage everyone to get their tickets before they’re all gone.”
Part of the UC San Diego Park & Market complex run by the Collaboratory for Downtown Innovation, The Guggenheim Theatre is one of the most desired stages in San Diego. This partnership between UC San Diego Extension and the Downtown San Diego Partnership is designed to support entrepreneurs and Downtown innovators. Partner agencies in the project include the City of San Diego, Startup San Diego and SEED San Diego. Slated to be the best show in San Diego, Comedy Night at the Guggenheim is not to be missed.
Known as "Mr. Punchline," headliner Scott Wood has performed at such venues as The Ice House, The Comedy Store, and The Laugh Factory, and was named Stand Up Comedy Champion at the Improv Comedy Club. He is also the creator and host of the comedy cooking show "Something Smells Funny," currently streaming on Tubi TV.
Lisa Gilbert is a regular at Mic Drop Comedy Club and is recognized as one of the Best Of at The Comedy Store. Lisa has been featured in Comedy festivals like The Ladies Room Comedy Festival, Cactus Comedy Classic, Black Woman in Comedy Festival, and was a runner-up in the Funniest Housewives Comedy Competition.
A San Diego native, musical guest Ash Foster sings with multiple projects, including The Mondaze and The Gray Kats, as well as performing solo. She also hosts several events with House Concert Series and Make Music Day.
Lester Barrie is not only a headlining comic, but he is also a Christian pastor. He has been the opening act for Ray Charles and been a co-headliner with Mike Epps, Jonnie Witherspoon, and Bruce Bruce. Mr. Barrie holds the distinction of being named best comedian on Star Search over a young Dave Chappelle in 1993, and he continues to appear on stage at the Laugh Factory in both Hollywood and Long Beach.
Jesse Egan is a winner of the San Diego’s Funniest Person contest and performs stand-up in venues around the country. A graduate of UC San Diego, Mr. Egan has won 2 Emmys and an American Advertising Award as a script writer for Raindrop marketing. He also teaches courses in stand-up comedy and public speaking.
With a focus on slice-of-life situations, Jessica Alaniz has performed around Southern California. She has appeared at such venues as the Pasadena Ice House and the Laugh Factory in Long Beach and Hollywood.


After beginning a career in social work with the elderly, Steven David Elliot became interested in marketing after learning sales technique from a cousin. Remembering what his elderly clients had often said to him while in social work about regrets for things they had not done, Elliot decided to follow a dream and open up a bookstore. Eventually he had four successful bookstores, two each in North Carolina and Miami, Florida, which he ran for 15 years. Even in an era of growing online book sales, Elliot’s stores thrived because of his emphasis on networking.

















