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Jillian NadiakBSP Reporter

Accord resident, Brian Jaffe has been conducting auctions and making people laugh since 1973. His recent hit show Going Once! Laughing Twice!! parodies the world of Fine art auctions. Its been playing at St. Lukes theatre in New York City since last September.

Jaffe is no stranger to auctions. His long history in the professional world of auctioneering is what helped him create the show. Having started his own auction company in Kerhonkson in 1973, he has since conducted his hilarious benefit auc-tions throughout the United States.

In 2013, Jaffe raised more than $8 mil-lion dollars for nonprofit groups. He has presented a fund raising auction for one organization for over 25 years in a row and is headed back this year as well.

In his YouTube video Meet Brian Jaffe, he compares his auctions to a game like Simon Sez. Im the leader of the game, he said, And if you want to play you have to bid, and bid his audicencs do. He once sold a $5 bill for $1,500 at a hospital fund-raiser by creating a fun atmosphere that people both enjoyed and became a part of. He makes people laugh as they part with their money and holds a personal record of raising over $1.25 million dollars in 30 minutes for Teddys Fund.

What makes Jaffe so successful as an auctioneer is his natural sense of humor and his quick-witted rapid fire responses to whats going on around him.

I was always a kid who got in trouble for making wise remarks, Jaffe said with a smile. Now, I make a living doing the same thing I used to get thrown out of the classroom for.

Along with having a natural sense for jokes, Jaffe has always been a writer as well. Mark Twain once said, Write what you know. Going Once! Laugh-ing Twice!! is an entertaining example of what can happen when you do just that.

By being the writer, the star and keeping up with the direction of his own show, Jaffe is part of an interesting new experi-ence. He is never away from the process of development. He doesnt have to seek out permission for his changes. Its some-times difficult wearing so many hats, he said, and probably pretty hard for the actors, but the energy on stage would say

otherwise.As the ticket holders enter the theatre

for this post reopening of Chumps Auc-tion House, they receive bidding paddles and random amounts of the shows currency, Chump money. Once inside the theatre the audience becomes the art patrons and collectors of Chumps fine art. They enjoy the chumpagne being served, browse the gallery and meet the hilarious characters Jaffe has created.

Two stand out characters included Chumps famous artists, Jean-Paul Georg-es-Ringeau and their Performance Artist Heidi Hoe. The audience is immersed in the show making decisions on what they want to bid on in the upcoming auction. The immersion doesnt stop once the audience takes their seats either. As one reviewer put it, Madcap subplots explode

like firecrackers all over the damn place," as the show unfolds.

An auction cannot take place without its bidders. At this show, the audience mem-bers both bid on and win the actual items selling during the auction.

Without giving away any important de-tails, the show starts with a jolt and main-tains that energy throughout its entirety. Not only did Jaffe write Going Once! Laughing Twice!! he also stars in it as the gallerys crooked owner, Freddie Kahn.

In the theatre, a show is locked after the opening night; neither the lines nor the shows direction changes. Precisely because Jaffe wears all those he has the freedom to make changes as he sees fit. The show is ever-changing according to Jaffe and this helps make it a different experience for the viewers who come back to see the show again and again. One of the biggest changes he currently has planned is for the character Daniel Pinkerton, the General Manager of the Chump Auction House. I dont feel that there are enough strong female characters around, he said. So he decided to replace Daniel with a Danielle to play his nem-esis. As of Feb 13, actress Laura Maitland from Australia will be joining the cast as Danielle.

My show is so interactive Ive even been donating actual speaking parts to ticketholders through my group sales de-partment. Now that has been a riot! Jaffe said with a big grin summing up his vision of his show.

Call St. Lukes Box office at 212-246-8140 to purchase tickets for only $39.50 (regu-larly $69.50) with the code GOLTBPS and Brian will be pleasd to donate 10 percent to the High Falls Historical Society.

Accord auctioneer has second act

Brian Jaffe discussing, "Going Once! Laughing Twice!!" with future cast member Laura Maitland. Photo by Jillian Nadiak.

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