By Tara Vocino
Correspondent
July 03, 2008 12:11 am Everyone needs a good laugh now and then, and when it's for a good cause, that's even better. Rob Delaney, an actor, singer and comedian who grew up in Marblehead, will be the headliner at a comedy show and fundraiser for the Family Self-Sufficiency Center at Finz Seafood & Grill in Salem on July 9. Two Boston-area comedians, Myq Kaplan and Bethany Van Delft, will open the show. Delaney, who returns home twice a year to visit his mother, said he looks forward to seeing his family and friends in Marblehead and Beverly after his charitable stand-up performance. "Anytime that I can help a charity like that and do something that I love, it's going to be a wonderful time," said Delaney from his home in Los Angeles. Barbara Ryther, program director for the Salem-based Family Self-Sufficiency Center, said the nonprofit organization is a social service agency that provides literacy and work readiness for students and adults in the Greater Boston area. She said the vast majority of people the center serves are immigrants, and it provides ESL classes to help them enroll in area schools, such as North Shore Community College and Salem State College, and to find employment. Delaney has fond memories of growing up on the North Shore. While attending Marblehead High School he said he appeared in all of its plays and musicals, including "Guys and Dolls" and "Oklahoma." "I always performed in theater and film, but I always loved the funny stuff," he said. "I discovered improv my senior year of high school, and there's nothing more fun than that," said Delaney. Delaney lived in the Clifton neighborhood of Marblehead before attending New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1995. During summer breaks, Delaney said he enjoyed teaching sailing. From a young age, Delaney's influences have been comedians Bill Cosby and Boston's Louis CK. After studying improvisation at Improv Olympic Conservatory in L.A., he decided that he wanted to do stand-up comedy professionally. "As a comedian, I go on stage every single night," he said. "I create my own material and book my own gigs. I'm much happier to perform words that I wrote, because I care about them more." Lisa Fox of the Family Self-Sufficiency Center recruited Delaney for this event. She met Fox through her husband, Dan Fox, a classmate from Marblehead High School. "The president of our board of directors, Bob Shea, knows the owner and manager of Finz and inquired about utilizing the function room for a comedy show," Fox wrote in an e-mail. "Finz was more than willing to give us the venue free of charge. We were thrilled, to say the least." At Finz, Delaney said he will perform his stand-up act, which is geared toward an adult audience. "My jokes are observational humor. They aren't political, and I don't talk too much about current events," he said. "I talk about myself, my family, little things I find funny or embarrassing. I never laugh harder than when people make fun of me." When Delaney's not doing stand-up for charity, he performs at Improv in Hollywood, The Comedy Store and in the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Each year, Delaney said he sings the National Anthem at Red Sox and L.A. Dodgers games. "I don't get paid, but they give me incredible seats. I'm a baseball fan, so it's better than money," he said.
If you go What: Comedy show to benefit the Family Self-Sufficiency Center Where: Finz Seafood & Grill, 76 Wharf St., Pickering Wharf, Salem When: Wednesday, July 9. Doors open at 6 p.m.; show lasts from 7 to 10 p.m. Tickets: $40 at the door; $35 in advance Info: Family Self-Sufficiency Center: 978-745-7049; Finz: 978-744-8485; www.robdelaney.com.
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