1812 Productions Welcomes Obama Speechwriter David Litt

1812 Productions is pleased to announce Comedy Conversation, a one-night-only special event that goes behind the scenes to explore the creation and influence of political humor and satire. The evening features storytelling and a panel discussion with David Litt, senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama and head writer for Funny or Die's Washington DC office. Comedy Conversation will take place on Monday, May 13 at 8:00pm at Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Place in Center City. All tickets are $28 and are available at www.1812productions.org or at 215-592-9560.

During his time at The White House, David Litt wrote for Presidential Advisor Valerie Jarrettand ultimately became known as the "comic muse for the president," authoring four of President Obama's White House Correspondents' Association dinner presentations. Following his tenure, Mr. Litt became head writer for Funny or Die's Washington DC office and published the memoir Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey, White House Years.

Comedy Conversation is inspired by 1812 Productions' long-running political satire This Is The Week That Is. This Is The Week That Is has become a signature 1812 show, combining sketch comedy, satire, and musical parody to highlight the news of the day and explore the truth behind the headlines. This Is The Week That Is was recently honored with a documentary commission from American Theatre Wing, founder of The Tony Awards. The documentary, titled Conceiving Satire: The Making of This Is The Week That Is is now part of The Wing's permanent archive. Mr. Litt joins Comedy Conversation to tell stories about his time at The White House and discuss crafting satire and jokes for the president, as well as for international comedy platforms.

Mr. Litt will be joined by Dr. Dannagal Goldthwaite Young, Associate Professor of Communications atUniversity of Delaware. Dr. Young is a long-time member of Philadelphia's theatre community, performing with renowned improvisational comedy troupe ComedySportz for 20 years. Dr. Young is also a political scientist and media scholar whose latest book, Irony and Outrage, looks at why political satire tends to be liberal, while opinion talk programming tends to be conservative. Dr. Young will moderate a group discussion with Mr. Litt, Jennifer Childs, and Don Montrey. Jennifer Childs is the creator of This Is The Week That Is for which Don Montrey has been a head writer since the show's debut in 2006. Ms. Childs says, "We are thrilled to welcome David Litt to 1812 Productions. He has an amazing style and has crafted some of the funniest and most memorable political satire from the past 10 years. I'm looking forward to hearing more about his experiences and to giving our audiences a behind the scenes view of the world of political comedy."

Comedy Conversation will take place on Monday, May 13 at8:00pm at Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Place in Center City. All tickets are $28 and are available at www.1812productions.org or at 215-592-9560.

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