For the fifth year in a row, Denver’s comedy improv community will perform to benefit Smile Train, the world’s largest cleft charity. The shows will take place in downtown Denver on August 17-19 at the Avenue Theater, currently celebrating its 25th year.
Founded in 2008 by Heather Clisby and Steve Loukas, the comedic efforts of over 25 performers of these shows has already raised enough funds to provide complete surgeries for more than 32 children.
One in 700 babies are born with a cleft palate, some so severe that eating and breathing are a challenge. The rate is higher in developing nations where the babies are usually shunned, abandoned or killed; attending school or getting a job is out of the question. Meanwhile, when cleft palate occurs in Western nations, it is usually corrected immediately.
Clisby experienced facial disfigurement as a child and wanted to give back the only way she knew how, by gathering funny friends and making people laugh. She approached the improv community in 2008 with the idea and a high-hilarity tradition was born.
“As comedians, we are all about the funny but the sad reality is so many children are born with a cleft palate in places like India, China and Bangladesh, where this 45-minute operation is an unthinkable expense,” said Heather Clisby, co-founder of the event. “Just one operation, at a cost of $250, can change the life of a child forever. Hopefully, these kids will grow up and bring their new smiles to one of our shows.”
