Comedians Unite in Brooklyn to Help Young Superheroes

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NY CULTURE July 7, 2013, 9:52 p.m. ET Comedians Unite in Brooklyn to Help Young Superheroes

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By ANDY BATTAGLIA "This place is cool!" exclaimed 11-year-old Duncan MacLeod, as a flowing blue cape flapped above his outstretched arms on a recent afternoon. He was flying—or, technically, standing atop an industrial-strength "Cape Tester" at the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co., with a large fan beneath his feet that made his new villain- vanquishing accessory billow.

Such flights of fancy are routine in the storefront guise of 826NYC, the nonprofit children's tutoring center in Park Slope that teaches kids and anyone else with an imagination to be silly and serious at once. On Wednesday, a cadre of comedians will gather in service of both for a benefit Enlarge Image Jason Andrew for The Wall Street Journal event at the Bell House in Gowanus, Duncan MacLeod tries on a cape at the Brooklyn. BrooklynSuperhero Supply Co.

"If I was a kid, I couldn't think of anything Popular Now What's This? more amazing than a place that Court's Secret pretended to supply superhero products 1 Redefinition of and, when you open a [secret] door, you 'Relevant' Empowered learn to write and do cool projects and Vast… work with people to make films," said

Eugene Mirman, the Brooklyn-based stand-up comic who will host the benefit Feeding Off an Enlarge Image event alongside fellow comics Reggie 2 Underground Jason Andrew for The Wall Street Journal Watts, Mike Birbiglia and Daniel Kitson, Market in Cronuts Employee and tutor Chris Roberti shows some of the store's wares. and author Sarah Vowell.

"A lot of people come and never know Pilot Error Eyed about the door," said 826NYC education 3 in Crash associate Chris Roberti, pointing to an otherwise ordinary shelf in the superhero supply store that swings open to reveal a different kind of enterprise. While Opinion: ObamaCare's 'Liar' patrons ogle odd products for sale in the storefront shop—invisibility detection Subsidies goggles, evil-blob containment capsules, 4 thunder inducers, and cans of

"antimatter" and "reflex," among other crime-fighting items—kids from all over the city congregate in the hidden tutoring 5 Chinese center to take part in programs devoted Company Town Struggles Enlarge Image to writing, filmmaking and creativity of Jason Andrew for The Wall Street Journal many kinds. Comedian Eugene Mirman sits in the store's tutoring center, which will be the beneficiary of a fundraiser on Wednesday. Founded in 2004 as part of a project led Show 5 More by the writer Dave Eggers, 826NYC is one of eight such tutoring centers around the country, each with its own strange storefront to capture kids' attention (like the Pirate Supply Store in San Francisco, the Available to WSJ.com Subscribers Bigfoot Research Institute on Boston and the Time Travel Mart in Los Angeles). Since the beginning, the center in Park Slope has offered drop-in tutoring sessions for Court's Secret students ages 6 to 18 in need of help on their homework, as well as more structured Redefinition of classes and workshops for children who sign up or visit by way of field trips offered 'Relevant' Empowered for free to public schools. Vast NSA Data- Gathering "With the superhero theme, the look of the place is whimsical and kid-friendly, but the ethos behind what we do is a rigorous and old-fashioned insistence on follow- through," said Ms. Vowell, who has served as president of the 826NYC board since Turning Permanent its founding. A point of pride for her is an emphasis on collectivity and concretization Residents Into Citizens that attends students' efforts. "We don't just foster student writing—we publish it," she said, alluding to bound volumes of group-written stories given to kids after classes and numerous anthologies assembled for sale. "We don't just run student filmmaking workshops every summer—we make sure those films are screened in a real movie As Fed Opening theater at BAM." Looms, Larry Summers Circles Expenses for such activities are considerable, and as 826NYC approaches its 10th anniversary year, its creative ways of inspiring kids to be imaginative and resourceful face serious challenges. At 88, Former AIG "As a mostly volunteer operation, we run on generosity and enthusiasm," Ms. Vowell Boss Is Building a New said. "Money-wise, there have been some grim, lean years for us. Honestly, our Empire financial situation right now is worrisome, but I feel fortunate that money has always been our only problem."

Hence the benefit this week, one of many such 826NYC fundraising events that tap illustrious supporters and friends from different quirky corners of culture. One past benefit was a poker tournament emceed by "This American Life" radio host Ira Glass; Real-time coverage of greater New York others include the annual series "Scrabble for Cheaters," overseen by the likes of Weather Journal: A Break in the Heat, But Only Barely actor Peter Dinklage and humorist John Hodgman, for which players can pay extra to Monday could see the heat wave break but only just barely. invent words and spy their opponents' holdings. New York Photos of the Week, June 29 - July 5 Benefits of the sort account for around 30% of 826NYC's annual budget, Ms. Vowell In this week's photos from around New York, Coney Island holds its annual hot dog-eating said, and their success is especially important as the center prepares to undergo a contest, Jersey City gets a new mayor and the change in leadership. Later this month, departing executive director Scott Seeley will Statue of Liberty reopens be replaced by Joshua Mandelbaum, most recently of the international-literature NYPD Recovers Bodies Believed to be Missing Jet Skiers program Words Without Borders. Similarly, the founding director of education, Joan Worker Killed by Falling Pipe on Governor's Island Kim, will be replaced by Mariama Lockington, from 826 National in San Francisco. NYPD Searches for Suspect who Shot Officer in Leg

See All Less momentous, but likely more fun, the benefit on Wednesday will traffic in clever, RSS Feed crafty comedy for the sake of the kids at 826NYC. "It's nice to see a place where people can go whether they're interested in the idea of being a superhero or striking More in New York Culture up great conversation around people who are really into what have you," said Reggie City Takes Helm of Seaport Museum Watts, whose expansive brand of stand-up branches into beat-boxing, a capella compositions, music videos, and multimedia theater pieces. "It's healthy to support Rethinking Carnegie's Library Gift something that might be considered weird." Vinyl and VHS for Brooklyn Label Mr. Mirman shared in the sentiment one afternoon this week as he made his way from Off-Broadway Shows Make a Curtain Call the depths of the tutoring center, through the Superhero Supply Store storefront, and Young Superheroes Amass Powers to the waiting world outside. Glancing at a product on display, he paused before the in Brooklyn exit and reflected. "For $12 you can buy a force field," he said. "That seems fair." Getting Around Greater New York A version of this article appeared July 8, 2013, on page A23 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Superheroes Amass Powers In Brooklyn. Starting Address OR Intersection or Popular Restaurant/Place

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