Lil Rel Howery King of Comedy

From the impressionable age of eleven, Milton “Lil Rel” Howery set out to make the world laugh. With influential comedians like Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, and Louie Anderson in their prime, Lil Rel spent the early 90’s tuned into classic programs like Def Comedy Jam and Raw. While other young adolescents in his West Side Chicago neighborhood were doing typical juvenile things, he was studying and mastering the art of comedy. Now as a well-respected comedian, actor and writer, Lil Rel has become a comedic staple in Chicago and a rising star nationally. Check out his recent show Lil Rel at Denver.

Lil Rel is perhaps best known as a semi-finalist on NBC’s Last Comic Standing and from his show stopping performances on Comedy Central’s Russell Simmons Presents Stand-Up at The El Rey, Martin Lawrence 1st Amendment on Starz, and HBO’s Diddy’s Bad Boys of Comedy. He also recently appeared as a round table guest on E’s Chelsea Lately and has performed at some of the most prestigious comedy festivals in the world including the Just For Laughs Festivals in both Montreal and Chicago, the South Africa Comedy Festival and NBC’s Diversity Showcase, which he is returning to host this year. Lil Rel was also cast in the reboot of the Fox series In Living Color spearheaded by the original creator Keenen Ivory Wayans. His new CD, “I Know You Hear Me, But Are You Listening” is available on iTunes. With all of this already under his belt, it is no surprise that Lil Rel was also named by Variety as one of 2012 Top 10 Comics to Watch. Additionally, he has also just taped his Comedy Central Half Hour which airs Spring 2013 and currently developing a sketch series for Comedy Central.

As Lil Rel’s fan base grew, so did his opportunities. He submitted a performance tape to BET’s Comic View casting department and was offered his first paid television spot in 2001. Proving to be a natural comedian with an undeniable stage presence, he was invited to perform again on the following season. With Comic View at its peak of popularity, the exposure launched him to the next phase of his career. By earning the respect of powerful show executives through his hilarious story-telling and knowledgeable off-stage demeanor, Lil Rel became a regularly featured comedian all over television and the nation.

He currently tours the country leaving pieces of himself and his life on every stage and city he touches. Don’t miss out!! Catch him this June at Denver Comedy Works!

Denver Film Schools – Meeting the Need

With its urban excitement, its encouragement of the arts, and its beautiful setting at the foot of the Rockies, it’s little wonder that Denver, Colorado has a growing home grown film industry. Yearly, hundreds of industry professionals are drawn to the area because of the Starz Denver Film Festival and the activities of the Starz Film Center Denver. A great mix of visual and artistic inspiration is provided by Denver – this is made even more appealing with the accessibility of today’s digital technology. But why is a scarcity in the number of Denver film schools seen? The fact is, there are approximately three places in town to get any kind of formal education in the area of film, and only one of them is specific to film. This portion of Colorado has three reputable schools: Colorado Film Institute, Denver School of the Arts and Colorado Art Institute; and all these are barely enough to address the growing demand of film making education in Denver.It is interesting to learn, on the other hand, that the formal education route may not be the best alternative for a lot of aspiring film makers. A large number of the professionals in the industry, for instance, have learned their trade through hands-on, and quite a few film directors don’t have formal film training at all. In addition, the landscape of film itself is diversifying.

 

Many laptops today, for example, can be made as a miniature film studio, with HD capabilities and all. While it is still true that quality of professional-level equipment largely differs from basic laptop software, the public, more than ever, is getting easy access to film making tools. This situation then calls for alternative education methods for people who are really serious about taking their craft to the next level.Despite these changes, film making has always been thought of as an area where people learn best by doing. Even for those professionals who went to film school-ask them what their greatest influences and inspirations are, and they will usually mention their mentors, not their degrees. This is an art passed person to person, artist to artist-not necessarily using book learning and lab assignments. In this case, many people would truly need mentor ship programs rather than class studies, real professionals rather than textbook teachers, a real environment rather than a four-wall classroom. Yes, to some extent, Denver arts schools have met these needs by a mere few inches, but sometimes, a mentor-based education is way better than the traditional ones.

11th Annual Denver Chalk Art Festival 2013

More than 200 professional, amateur and student artists will delight and amaze Denverites with their incredible talents in what has become one of the city’s most treasured events.  Over the course of two days, the artists will take to the street armed with vivid pastel chalks and spend hours on their hands and knees recreating major masterpieces or sharing original works of art.  Spectators will watch as the intricate chalk paintings come to life and spread out to adorn four down town blocks in and around Larimer Square.  Visitors will enjoy live music, food and beverages while also having the rare opportunity to interact with the artists as they work.

The Denver Chalk Art Festival showcases six madonnari (professionals in this medium); all are award-winning street painters including first place finishes in the International Street Painting Competition in Grazie di Curtatone, Italy.  Two of the Madonnari, Stephen DeOrio and Mark Hollenbeck, are Colorado residents. Each Madonnari will draw a 12’ x 12’ street masterpiece. Guests can taste a variety of wines from around the world and enjoy live music while perusing the amazing chalk art.

For a small donation, children will receive their own bag of goodies and chalk, and take to the pavement to let their imaginations soar as they create their own work of art.  Donations benefit LAA and other local charities. Some of the most talented groups of art students from schools across the seven-county area of Denver return to compete on behalf of their school with cash prizes being awarded to purchase art supplies for their respective schools. Youth Challenge presented by The Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design.