Valley Stream's newest programs are a laughing matter

John Blenn is no doctor, but he will be prescribing the best type of medicine to Valley Stream residents beginning in June: laughter.

The village is hosting two eight-week courses — one on stand-up comedy and the other on acting — where residents who have an interest in performing can learn from Blenn, a 25-year comedy journalist, veteran performer and a professor at Five Towns College.

SallyAnn Esposito, the village’s Community Center manager, worked with Blenn 30 years ago at the Sam Goody in the Green Acres Mall and thought he would be a good fit as the village works to expand its cultural arts programs. She then put Blenn in touch with Mayor Ed Fare and the courses were launched, along with the idea of bringing Blenn’s play, “X’s & O’s,” to the village.

The two courses will begin on June 13 and take place in the Community Center. Blenn said he wants “to make the classes general enough that people from all walks of life can get something from [them] but not make it so simple that it’s a child-like course.”

In the course devoted to stand-up comedy, Blenn said it would focus on developing a individual voice, creating a unique persona and crafting material to suit that voice. “We’re trying to give them a very well-rounded idea of how you become a working stand-up comic from any point you’re launching at,” he said.

The acting course, Blenn added, will focus on several items, including how to get the attention of people in the entertainment industry.

For Blenn, stand-up comedy and acting are similar in that a person can learn a lot about himself or herself while entertaining. “There’s no greater shame to me in life,” he said, “than the crying shame of not having tried something, not learning about yourself.”

On June 21 and 22, the village is presenting its first Comedy in the Courtroom as Blenn will bring “X’s & O’s” to the Village Hall courtroom. The play, which Blenn originally staged in 1995, is about a fictitious former NFL star Marty O’Malley, who has four ex-wives and crippling alimony payments. After meeting an old friend who is a current lawyer, a plan is hatched to sue the four ex-wives for an alimony “rebate,” which is actually a ploy to gain media attention in order to expand O’Malley’s brand.