MARQ OVERTON, the Playwright, was born in Harlem New York, a few blocks from the World Famous Apollo Theater, the Apollo Theater which was his first inspiration in the entertainment field. Marq would sit in the Apollo Theater Amateur Night audience and wonder what he would say if he was a comedian on stage in front of 1500 hundred people to avoid the fate of most comedians that dared to take its stage. What would he do differently to stand out to win the heart of the crowd? In retrospect that's where his comedy and writing career began. In the audience at the Apollo Theater. A few things have remained consistent with that moment throughout Marq's comedy and writing career, he has always studied his craft, strove to be different and stood out. A few months later he took the stage for the first time, not at some little comedy club but at the Apollo Theater. One year later after working out at all the comedy clubs around town Marq returned to Apollo to win first place and would go on to make numerous guest appearances at the World famous Apollo Theater. During his first year of comedy Marq was approached by a Party promoter who had previously seen Marq at the Apollo. The promoter wanted to venture into the field of comedy but didn't have any experience with comedy and didn't know many comedians. Marq who amassed numerous friends on the comedy circuit met with Andre Brown the promoter. They had a couple of meeting before they put together a show at the National Black Theater on 125th St. & 5th Avenue. That moment changed the History of African-American Comedy in America. For more info see "The Rise and Fall of a Comedy Dynasty" The Uptown Comedy Club Story. Marq Overton was a very important part of the comedy boom running comedy seminars and writing workshops. He appeared on all the major programs at that time; HBO Short Attention Span Theater, It’s Showtime at the Apollo, Apollo Comedy Hour, Def Comedy Jam & The Uptown Comedy Club. Now Marq is writing chapter two of his career. Marq Overton, the writer, he has written for Spike TV, The Big Head People, an animated sketch comedy, Standing Still, a featured length film considered by Bad Boy Films as well as for numerous comedians on today's comedy circuit. And now Marq hopes to affect the lives of as many people with what is his most ambitious work "Die Laughing", One Man's Story of Ignorance, Awareness and Redemption.
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