Comedy A no-cost, low-risk, low-hassle Fundraising Extravaganza Designed for Catholic schools By Catholic school students and teachers! The funniest fundraiser you ll ever experience!
What is 9PE? What exactly is 9PE Comedy? 9PE is a charitable small business that puts on live, in-your-face, audience-interactive comedy shows at Catholic schools as fundraisers for the hosting and sponsoring schools. And why do you do this? Simply put, because we love comedy, and we love Catholic schools. All of the members of 9PE are alumni or current students in the Catholic education system, and we all believe very strongly in it. We re also goof balls who love to perform comedy and make fools of ourselves. So 9PE combines our loves into one big, shiny, ridiculous, package. So just who are you guys, anyway? 9PE began in the summer of 2006 as a project among a group of Marian Catholic High School alumni and students who wanted to hang out together, write comedy, and do something good for the school they love. Since then, some of our members have attended and graduated from colleges such as Notre Dame, Loyola, Illinois, and Illinois Wesleyan. Many of us have had comedy training from the nation s premier comedy schools such as The Second City and The Groundlings. Currently, our roster includes a wide variety of members from Catholic school teachers to accountants to full-time students. Oh. Ok. So what s the show like? A 9PE show is an off-the-wall, audience-interactive roller coaster of comedy. What the heck does that mean? Can you be more specific? Sure thing. 9PE performs improvisational comedy games that are made up on the spot based on audience suggestions and feedback. We also perform original skits and scenes that we ve written for the tour. Take that combination, and toss in a cup of audience-interactive games, a pinch of music, and a sprinkle of random silliness, and you ve got a 9PE show. Think of Whose Line Is It Anyway? meets Saturday Night Live with extra absurdity. So what s the show about? The show is a collection of short skits and games, and the topics vary greatly. On a typical show, there will be stories lampooning the idiosyncrasies of school life and the ins-and-outs of growing up, as well as appearances by some of our out-of-this world characters. Sounds swell. So is it appropriate for my school? Absolutely. We believe that a show can be really, ridiculously funny without being vulgar or profane. 9PE was made for and will always be suitable for Catholic schools. I see. How long is the show? A 9PE show lasts a little over 2 hours. We perform two 1-hour acts with a 15 minute intermission in between.
How 9PE Can Benefit Your School Community So why should our school be interested in this thing? 9PE benefits your school in two incredible ways: FUN and FUNDRAISING. We put on a top-quality show that your school community will love! We guarantee an incredibly entertaining evening. Who is going to come to this show, and why will they like it? 9PE shows appeal to grade school students, high school students, and their families. Our shows typically draw an audience of all ages, from little kids to grandparents. They will have a fantastic time watching the in-your-face show, shouting out suggestions, getting called up on stage, singing along, and even dancing in the aisles. Ok, so it will be fun. How does it benefit our school financially? Each hosting/sponsoring school or school group is in charge of selling tickets to the 9PE show. For each $12 ticket your group sells, you earn $5! So, let s say the 8th grade basketball team sells 100 tickets to the show. The 8th grade basketball team just earned $500! (100 tickets x $5) So wait.what s the catch? Do we have to pre-buy a specific amount of tickets? Do we have to pay for all unsold tickets ourselves? Do we have to pay 9PE a hefty up-front fee? No, no, and no! There is no catch. You don t pay 9PE any up-front fees. Your group or class sells as many tickets as you can and make money off of each ticket sold. That s it. We only make money when you sell tickets. WE assume all of the risk. Even in the worst case scenario, you win. Let s say your entire school only sells 20 tickets. Your school earns $100, and you still get a top-notch comedy show! WE just make less money. We designed this purposely to make 9PE as low-risk, low-hassle as possible so that it s more accessible to schools. Wow. This sounds like a no-lose proposition. Exactly! That s how we designed it. We want it to be low-risk, low-hassle to help your school. Thanks. You re welcome!
How it Works First, 9PE connects with a school to host a show in their auditorium. Let s say, for example, St. ABC High School would like to host a show. Second, 9PE and the host school meet to discuss official details. St. ABC High School would like to host a show on Thursday, October 14th. St. ABC s auditorium has 300 seats. However, St. ABC s administrators aren t sure if they can sell all 300 tickets. 9PE and the administrators agree that St. ABC will sell 200 tickets and that 9PE will offer the remaining 100 tickets to other local Catholic schools. Third, 9PE contacts other schools to sponsor the show as well. 9PE contacts nearby schools - likely parochial grade schools that are feeder schools to the high school - and asks the grade schools if they would like to sell some tickets to the show. Fourth, the host and sponsoring schools sell tickets. 9PE will provide all schools with guidelines for selling tickets, counseling on selling and marketing ideas, and a complete marketing bundle that includes: fliers, posters, announcements, parent letters, and more! Fifth, it s showtime!! 9PE stages an over-the-top, in-your-face comedy event! Host and sponsor schools turn in their ticket money to 9PE, and 9PE presents each school or group with a check for the amount they ve fundraised.
A Great Idea For Classes Need more money for the sophomore class dance or the 8th grade class trip? What better way than by putting on an event your classmates and friends will be excited to come to! It sure beats selling wrapping paper! Teams A great way to raise funds for sports banquets, new uniforms, and team parties! Clubs Earn enough to buy new club equipment/apparel or to go on club outings! Parent Boards Tired of the same old fundraisers? Give the bake sale a break and put on an out-ofthis-world show instead! And other school organizations! Show Me the Money In Summer 2009, 9PE generated an average of $1,200 per show at Marian Catholic with little publicity when school was not in session. Www.9PEcomedy.com Check Us Out Online! Get the latest info on upcoming shows Watch video clips Browse hundreds of pictures from past shows Read cast biographies Post your thoughts on the message boards
Contact Us To inquire about booking a show at your school or sponsoring a show at another host school, or for any questions, please don t hesitate to contact us: 9PEcomedy@gmail.com About 9PE What does the name 9PE mean? The group s name began as 9th Period Emmaus, which was a play on the name of a homeroom-like class at Marian Catholic and the fact that the school day had 8 periods. When the school day schedule changed and the Emmaus class was dropped, we shortened our name to 9PE. Who s in charge of this operation? 9PE s founder and President is Steve Tortorello, a native of Tinley Park. Steve is a lifelong attendee of Catholic schools and graduated from Marian Catholic and the University of Notre Dame. He is currently in his 2nd of 2 years serving with Notre Dame s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) program as a teacher in an inner-city parochial school in East Los Angeles while earning his Masters in Education from ND. Steve has been performing comedy for almost a decade; he has trained at The Second City and The Groundlings and has been taught directly by cast members of shows such as Saturday Night Live and Reno! 911. Steve has also worked as an intern on Late Night with Conan O Brien. Eric Hamilton is 9PE s Vice President of Creative. Also a Marian alum, Eric graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in acting. He has trained at The Second City and performed stand-up comedy opening for Demetri Martin and Mike Birbiglia. He currently serves with Loyola University s LU CHOICE Program as a teacher at Our Lady of Charity in Cicero while earning his M. Ed from Loyola.
Comedy Book a Show For Fall 2010! Beginning on May 1st, 9PE will start booking shows for Fall 2010. In the meantime, Please talk with your faculty, class moderators, coaches, and club moderators to see if a 9PE show is a FUNdraising event they would like to host! If you have any questions at all About 9PE, please let us know at 9PEcomedy@gmail.com Schools would be crazy not to work with this group! They would get great people, great talent, and a great experience all at the same time. - Mr. Jack Heneghan, Vice Principal, Marian Catholic High School Steve and his friends are incredibly creative and dedicated to the mission of Catholic education. I highly recommend working with them. You won t be disappointed! - Fr. Tim Scully, founder, Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) Program University of Notre Dame