When In Manhattan with Christian McLean

Laughter is Contagious

Central Park is clearly the place to be this spring. Earth Day was a huge success, so thanks to all of you who participated. Your planet (and I) appreciate the effort. But your job in the park isn't over just yet, because I'm about to assign you a secret mission. If you wish to accept, read on - if not, read on anyway, because by the end of the article, you'll surely be gathering your guffaws and giggles and saving them up for a genuine laugh riot.

Want to know what all the hootin' and hollerin' is about on May 3? It's called LaughTour. Here's the scoop (and trust me it's a very in-the-know kind of event): On May 3 (that's right I'm giving you plenty of notice to turn down garden party invites) you and your friends must arrive at the East Green in Central Park (5th & 69th) at noon, where your trusted leader, Doug Weitz of Life Studio, will hash out the precise details of the next hour or so of your life. A lot of the information is currently under lock and key, but this is all you need to know - yes, it's one of those need to know basis kind of things.

Show up exactly at noon on the East Green. It is then and there that you will synchronize your watches, Doug will give you a final destination, and then you have about a half an hour to slowly meander though the park and very casually settle in at that location. At the predetermined time (for example 1:15 p.m.), you have to start laughing. That's it. Laugh your ass off! Once you start laughing, find someone else that's laughing and group up with them. Then group up with more chuckling chums, then more, and more, until it is one giant mass of hysterical people. The group will follow Weitz through the park for a few minutes to a final location, laughing all the way, and when the signal is given, you disperse and go about the rest of the day with a smile on your face. The wish, of course, is that the laughter will spread, attracting people who weren't part of the initial meeting on East Green.

Does it sound strange? Sure it does. It is strange. But it also airs on the side of brilliant. What makes the event even more impressive is that it is the brainchild of a 13-year-old boy. For the sake of anonymity, the name of the boy pulling the strings will not be released, but his story will be, because it's pretty cool. The boy is a member of Life Studio, an organization which offers transition coaching for kids, teens and the college bound. Weitz, founder of Life Studio, had been working with him in order to find a way to reignite his inspiration and discover something he was passionate about. Doug showed him a video called Frozen Grand Central (performed by a group called Improv Everywhere) where 207 people froze in mid-movement in Grand Central Station for five minutes, then unfroze and left like nothing ever happened. "This got him fired up in a real pure way," Weitz said. Step by step, the two began to hash out the entire LaughTour event. The boy even chose the spot where all the laughter will occur. They've also already planned a LaughTour in the Hamptons for August.

The energy and drive that created LaughTour is at the heart of Life Studio. Weitz had been an English teacher in the Bronx and East Hampton for years and in 2006, while tutoring a student, he realized he first needed to build a foundation of trust, then work from there, believing that if kids grow in character, self-reliance and self-confidence, all other aspects of their lives will also improve.

"In today's educational climate character education has fallen by the wayside in an era of testing," he said. "There aren't very many places that teach kids how to grow up to realize their unique potential." So Weitz began Life Studio to help kids realize they already possess all the tools they need to write their own narratives.

LaughTour is a huge chapter in one boy's life. It's time you pick up your own pen and write a few pages of your life. Get your giggle on, because a little laughter can go a long way.

Life Studio is run throughout Manhattan during the school year and based in the Hamptons throughout the summer months.

LaughTour starts at noon at the East Green in Central Park on May 3. For more information on LaughTour or transition coaching visit Life Studio at www.lifestudionyc.com.

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