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Next Laugh-in is “All for Aleppo”

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all for alleppoChris Lawrence, organizer of monthly Laugh-ins at the New Deal Cafe, got the idea to produce a benefit for Doctors without Borders in Aleppo by following Virginia-based comedian Rahmein Mostafavi on Facebook. There he learned that Rahmein is touring touring the comedy circuit, raising money for that cause.

Rahmein explains that “I’ve done other fundraisers in the past, like for the Orlando Fund last year, but right now there is so much going on in the Middle East, centralized on Syria; so I chose Aleppo this time. All the images of children and other civilians having their lives taken or otherwise destroyed was more than enough to inspire me to raise this money.”

Chris is no slouch when it comes to raising money for causes himself. He wrote me that “Last year I held a comedy show to benefit Ellicott City flood relief, an urgent local cause. I’m also producing a benefit show in Virginia for the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation.”

This time it was Rahmein’s plea to help the people of Aleppo that spoke to him, though they’d never met. Chris thought, “I’m not a doctor, so I’m doing the next best thing…raising money for people doing that work.”

I asked if Rahmein was of Syrian descent and learned that his father is Iranian and his mother American – “whatever that means!” Though raised in a Muslim household, there was no pressure to strictly follow the faith; simply to “do whatever I wanted to do to make me the best man I could be.”

Joining Rahmein and Chris on stage next Tuesday night for the benefit show are local comedians with no connection to the Middle East, but Chris tells me that comedians are a generous bunch and they often “circle around issues of major importance. Not one comedian I asked (knowing they wouldn’t get paid) turned this down. We may have sharp tongues, but we have big hearts too.”

Laugh-ins at the New Deal

I was surprised to learn that the monthly Laugh-ins at the New Deal recently celebrated their second anniversary – time flies! As the organizer and booker of talent, Chris tries to line up people with different comedic voices every month, so every show has a different vibe.

Coming up? Some of the biggest local names in comedy have appeared at the Laugh-in and Chris hopes to nab a regional headliner sometime this year. To keep things lively, there are also guest hosts. Local favorite Rich Potter (“God: The One Man Show”) may be hosting soon.

 

Follow Susan Harris:
Susan started blogging about Greenbelt soon after moving here in 2012, and that first blog has grown into this nonprofit community website. She also created and curates the Greenbelt Maryland YouTube channel. In 2021 Susan joined the Board of Directors of Greenbelt Access TV. Retired from garden writing and teaching, she continues to blog at GardenRant.com.

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