PARSIPPANY — Little Vikings Competition Cheerleading held a successful sold-out Comedy Night onSaturday, February 10 at the Parsippany PAL Youth Center, 33 Baldwin Road.
The night featured two comedians, Derrick Knopsnyder and Michael Dean Ester.
Derrick Knopsnyder officially made his start doing stand up comedy after his freshman year in college, at the age of 19, and he never looked back. Since then Derrick has become one of the fastest rising comedians in Pittsburgh, and is the youngest comedian to be a regular feature act at his home club, the Pittsburgh Improv.
Being a young comedian, Derrick uses his boyish charm and quick wit to connect with audiences all over, but it’s his awkwardness that keeps them laughing all through the night, making him a fan favorite wherever he takes the stage. In 2010, Derrick started out with a dream of being a stand up comic, and four short years later he’s living that dream. Since then he has had some success in the comedy industry, such as winning The Stand Up To Cancer Comedy Competition in Huntington WV, and was most recently named a finalist at the Cleveland Comedy Festival.
During the four years Derrick has been performing stand up, he also completed his bachelor’s degree in Professional Golf Management, and a master’s degree in science. Balancing school and comedy was a difficult process during his first four years. However, he was able to do so successfully earning dean’s list every semester, and performing stand up at clubs and colleges all over the east coast.
As a recent college graduate he is able to use his experiences as a student to entertain this generation of college students in a hilarious way. Now that he is finished with his education he is ready to jump into the comedy scene to pursue his dream of becoming a national club and college act. This is one comic you don’t want to miss! Neon Entertainment has some of the funniest stand up comedians in the country available to book anywhere in the United States.
According to the IRS, Michael’s occupation is a “Professional College Student!” His perky blend of campus comedy has been served up at over forty NACA and APCA Showcases. Two time nominated NACA’s, “Comedian of the Year,” and “Best Male Performer!” by Campus Activities Magazine, Michael has over 1,800 live performances to his credit. His crowd-pleasing talents are matched only by his professionalism. Maybe that’s why his upbeat humor is a repeat success at so many schools across the country, often as the first face new students see. Penn State University and the University of Maryland entrusted Michael with ‘Welcome Week’ audiences as large as 10,000 students – – two years in a row!
Little Vikings Cheerleading program is dedicated to instilling firmly in the children of the community the ideals of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, courage and respect of authority. This program will give all children the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of cheerleading, regardless of ability, sex, race or religion. Little Vikings organization as a whole provides continuity of teaching, strategies, and code of conduct for their football players and cheerleaders that prepares them for their high school career
