EDGY MANHATTAN THEATER BRINGS TOGETHER TV’S NEXT GENERATION

New York City’s Peoples Improv Theater, or the PIT, is dedicated to the development of original comedy. Composed of a theater that presents original comedic shows nightly and a school that offers a variety of classes, the PIT has been named “The Best New Development in Comedy” by Time Out New York. Classes at the PIT, which features an unparalleled professional writing program, have been named the “Best in New York” by New York magazine.

Now, a group of PIT alumni have produced an original independent television pilot, “What She’s Having,” that will screen in competition at the prestigious New York Television Festival. Held annually in Manhattan, the New York Television Festival is the industry’s first recognized independent television festival, uniting artists, industry, and fans. In past years, pilots that debuted at the Festival were purchased by networks such as NBC Universal and A&E.

Sarit Catz, the writer and executive producer of “What She’s Having,” teaches sitcom writing at the PIT. The two stars, Kimmy Gatewood and Canedy Knowles, took Sarit’s class. Kimmy also teaches a course at the PIT and both she and Canedy have performed at the PIT many times, as has Matthew C. Johnson, the pilot’s director and producer.

“I was having coffee with Sarit and the idea came up,” explains Matt. “Since we all know each other, the whole thing came together naturally. Then the real work began.”

Sarit elaborates, “When I was working on Hollywood sitcoms, there were hundreds of people each doing one job. On ‘What She’s Having,’ there were only a few of us and we were each doing a hundred jobs. When we finished principal photography, I felt like I’d been hit by a Mac truck.”

“And then we had to load it with equipment and I had to drive it back to the City!” adds Matt. This type of camaraderie is exactly what you’d expect from a group of people who come out of a comedy theater like the PIT. Camaraderie and a lot of laughs, which is exactly what the team believes they’ve brought to the small screen with “What She’s Having.”

“What She’s Having” will screen Saturday, September 8th at 2:15 pm and Sunday, September 9th at 5:45 pm. Screenings will be held at New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, New York, NY.


About Sarit Catz:

A recognized comedy expert, Sarit Catz began her comedy career in radio, creating, writing and producing three award-winning comedy services for ABC Radio Networks and other nationally syndicated services bringing her jokes, voices, song-parodies, and other bits to every market in the nation, from New York’s WPLJ to LA’s KLOS. Sarit went on to become a television writer/producer with credits that include “Coach,” “Full House,” “Soul Man,” “Talk to Me,” “The Crew,” “Café Americain,” and “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.” In the feature film arena, Sarit wrote and sold options on two original screenplays currently being marketed to studios by producers. She has won three (3) Writers’ Guild of America Awards and been named a semi-finalist in the ScriptapaloozaTV screenwriting contest. When Sarit’s children were born, so was her stand-up comedy career. Not only do the kids drive Sarit crazy enough to run screaming from the house and into the clubs, they also provide her with plenty of material. She has played numerous comedy clubs including The Comic Strip, Stand-Up New York, Gotham Comedy Club, Comedy Cellar, New York Comedy Club, Boston Comedy Club, Rascals, Jenkinson’s, Uncle Floyd’s, Yuk Yuk’s, Upstairs at Danny’s, and many more. Sarit has been named a semi-finalist in “The Great Canadian Laugh-Off” and is a three time winner of “Clash of the Comics.” She is currently in pre-production on “The Buzz,” a talk show which Sarit will be hosting. For more information, visit www.princessofcomedy.com.


About Matthew C. Johnson:

Matthew C. Johnson has written, directed and edited numerous shorts with his sketch group, The Royal We, including several pieces for Subway's Sa! viral marketing campaign. The group recently produced a pilot presentation for TV Land, which Matt produced and edited. The Royal We was nominated for a 2005 Emerging Comics of New York Award for Best Sketch Comedy Group, and their shows have enjoyed sold out runs in New York and appearances at comedy festivals across the country. The Royal We was also a Time Out New York critic's pick, which proclaimed “See them now, before they're sponsored.” Matt has written for the satirical political organization Billionaires for Bush. He studied filmmaking at NYU, improvisation at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and is a graduate of the Second City Training Center in New York, having appeared in that program's second revue showcase, A Time for Heroes & Hoagies, at PSNBC. Matt recently founded MC Johnson Films, an independent production company in Los Angeles, which released “The Moment,” a comedic short which Matt wrote, produced, and directed. For more information, visit www.mcjohnsonfilms.com.