Comedy Night
is the hilarious result of a partnership between a cancer survivor
and her funny, big-hearted friend, both determined to fight ovarian
cancer with humor and raise money at the same time.
Stacey Hartmann and Charleen “Charlie B.” Earley met eight years
ago through their work. Their professional relationship – Stacey was
a magazine editor and Charleen a freelance writer and budding stand-up
comedian – soon evolved into friendship. Within a few months of their
first meeting, Stacey was struck at age 39 with a devastating diagnosis:
late stage ovarian cancer. At the time of her diagnosis in the summer
of 2000, statistics gave Stacey a 20 percent chance of surviving five
years. Undaunted, Charleen rallied to her side with funny emails,
jokes and good cheer. When Stacey completed her months of grueling
treatments, Charleen suggested putting together a comedy show to benefit
the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition.
The first
comedy show for NOCC was held in 2001 at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg,
with headliner Brian Copeland. The show moved the following year to
Danville’s Village Theatre, where it became wildly successful, with
sellout crowds that raised approximately $5,000 a year to support
NOCC’s educational and awareness programs. With encouragement and
support from the John Muir Women’s Health Center, the show moved in
2006 to the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek.
Stacey and Charleen serve as co-producers for Comedy Night, each giving
their special talents and skills to support their heartfelt cause.
Charleen performs her comedy routine and serves as emcee for the annual
show. Charleen’s also responsible for recruiting the other comedians
who perform at the benefit. Using her contacts in the Bay Area and
national entertainment scene, Charleen has lured the talents of Mark
Pitta, Johnny Steele, Brian Copeland, Tommy Drake, Regina Stoops,
Larry “Bubbles” Brown and many more to perform for Comedy Night.
Charleen, 44, is a single mom who lives near Brentwood. While comedy
is her passion, Charleen makes her living as communications coordinator
for Trilogy in Rio Vista and as a part-time journalism instructor
for Deer Valley High School in Antioch. She also freelances for several
Bay Area publications.
A Danville mother of
three, Stacey works part-time in marketing for the Town of Danville.
She’s a volunteer with the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition/San Francisco
Bay Area Chapter. Stacey serves as the marketing, promotional and
overall organizational core of Comedy Night. Now 47, Stacey is grateful
to have beaten the odds, reaching the eight-year survival mark in
July 2008. Having a strong sense of humor is vital to recovery, Stacey
says, and the healing power of laughter has helped her deal with setbacks
such as a breast cancer diagnosis in 2002 and a recurrence of ovarian
cancer in 2004. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy for treatment
of the ovarian recurrence.
