Kwantlen grad offers discounts on a chance to laugh

Has the semester got you down? Need a laugh? A cheap, affordable laugh that is?

A Kwantlen alumnus working with ComedyFest Vancouver is offering current students discount tickets for the remainder of the festival.

Karin Lornsen, a 2007 graduate of the public relations diploma program, told The Chronicle that $9.95 tickets to a select set of performances at The Cultch theater (see details below) will be reserved for Kwantlen students. Interested students only have to show up to the theatre, located at the corner of Venebles and Victoria, with a valid Kwantlen student ID to receive discount admission to some of the most cutting-edge performances of the festival.

She also said that if students want tickets for other festival shows, they can be ordered from the Ticketmaster website for the same price.

After graduating from Kwantlen, Lornsen worked as a PR intern at Karyo Edelman Communications, one of Vancouver’s biggest PR and communications companies, but felt the constraints of working in a structured, “hands-off” environment. “It was a great experience and they had lots of major clients,” she said, “but I wasn’t allowed to do much.”

Once her contract expired, her communications savvy earned her a position in radio promotions and social media with Destination Funny, the local promotion company that puts on Comedy Fest Vancouver every year.

Lornsen said that the job change has let her “get her hands dirty” and have some fun while she works.

“There is definitely a sense of humor around here. Our producer is a stand-up too, he headlines at Just For Laugh…we’re like a family around here, hanging out, opening bottles of beer. It’s crunch time now, but it’s been a great experience.”

Lornsen may be out there enjoying the PR career that she wants, but she remembers what it was like to be a student and is happy to reach out and offer some entertainment to Kwantlen students.

“I was a student for 10 years, I definitely know how it is financially. I thought it would be a good opportunity for students to kick back before exams and have some fun.

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Shows that are being offered at a discount are:

• Edge of the Fest with David Cross, hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos: Saturday, 8 p.m., The Vogue
• Comedy Death Ray : Thursday, 8 p.m., The Vogue
• Best of the Fest with Tom Arnold: Friday, 8 p.m., The Centre in Vancouver For Performing Arts
• Best of the Fest with Red Green: Saturday, 8 p.m., The Centre in Vancouver For Performing Arts
• SF Sketchfest: Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., The Cultch Comedy Lab
• Picnicface & Friends: Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 9 p.m., The Cultch Comedy Lab
• Comedy Noir: Jesus Roast: Saturday, 9 p.m., The Cultch Historic Theatre
• Comedy Noir: Hitler Roast: Friday, 9 p.m., The Cultch Historic Theatre
• Comedy Noir: Obama Roast: Thursday, 9 p.m., The Cultch Historic Theatre
• Politics, Truth and Other Incompatibles: Thursday, 7 p.m., The Cultch Historic Theatre
• I’m Only a Little Racist: Friday, 7 p.m., The Cultch Historic Theatre
• OMG: Saturday, 7 p.m., The Cultch Historic Theatre