Although it is highly unlikely that Angela Corcia ever cracked a joke when she read announcements over the public address system at Our Lady Mount Carmel elementary school as a young girl, but for her it was just another aspect of performance and gave her the confidence to face the public.

She often led The Way of the Cross in Church, a serious and reverent ritual that follows the last hours of Jesus Christ, full of prayer and self searching for wisdom.

Deep down, however, Corcia ached to make people laugh, and has been plying her trade as a stand up comic for as long as she can remember.

A survivor for several shows of the 2004 American Princess reality show, Corcia has done her best to get herself before the public - via the comedy club circuit or even as the co-host to local cable TV.

Corcia appears regularly at Caroline's, Stand Up, Comedy Club, NY Improv as well as her cable show in New York and New Jersey.

A graduate of Bayonne High School in 1997, Corcia is multi talented- an actress, brown belt in Karate, impersonator, balloon sculptor, singer, dancer, short story and poetry writer.

Even before she got her own show, Corcia made regular appearances on a Staten Island cable shows - Nights with Mary, NC Comedy, Fred's Interesting Topics, and F&N Football.

"Someone at the station thought I was hysterical so I got my own show," she said.

As an actress, she has played Sandy and Marty in Grease in Philadelphia, Rosalind in As You Like It, Fastrada in Pippin, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof, Lilly in Carnival, Vera in Mame and appeared in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

Corcia has also served as emcee for lots of charity events for Bayonne's youth organizations.

Most recently, she has been cast in the role of stand up comic in new feature film called "The Mentor," written by Pete Lorenzo - a well-established stand up comic and actor, who is expected to start shooting in New York and New Jersey by the end of the year.

"We met at Staten Island," said DeLorenzo, who is one of the best known New Jersey standup comics. "I gave her some pointers and input. She has a lot of talent and inspiration."

She remembered her music teacher, Carl Duda, telling her at 10 years old that she was to play the part of Vittorio Vidal in the play Fiddler on the Roof.

"He said I had something special," she said.

Each public appearance, she said, gives her additional confidence.

"I love to entertain. I love to take people out of their reality for a while and make them laugh," she said. "Laughing with Angela" is a 30-minute show that appears on Channel 19 three times a week in Bayonne, Wednesdays at 11 p.m., Thursdays at 9 p.m. and Saturdays at 1 p.m. The show is also broadcast on cable stations in Manhattan, Staten Island and Brooklyn.