Here’s my roundup of the latest comedy news that caught my interest. Which item is your favourite in Comedy Roundup 20191227 – the love and improv story, The Good Place, or something else?
Improv in Business
Amy Gascon uses improv to help business employees bring out their creative side. In March 2019, Gascon opened The Comedy Project in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She and her staff put on comedy shows, and offer improv, comedy writing and performance training. Gascon and her staff also do on-site improv workshops for companies and organizations, to help employees with their public speaking and communication skills.
You can get improv and business skills training in Dallas Texas too, where Amanda Austin offers corporate training at the Dallas Comedy House. Austin has been offing these popular classes for a decade.
The Good Place
Yes, improv classes are usually good places – welcoming to newcomers, and a safe environment to let your guard down. There’s also a television comedy series called “The Good Place”, and D’Arcy Carden, who play Janet on that highly-rated show, credits improv for helping her career. Has improv helped your career in any way?
This short video shows some of Janet’s finest moments on The Good Place.
The Groundlings
Did you know that Heidi Gardner, from Saturday Night Live, has a background in the improv-comedy group the Groundlings? Read about Gardner’s kooky characters who appear on SNL’s Weekend Update segments. For example, she plays teenager, Bailey Gismert, who does movie reviews, and insults the co-anchor, as you can see in the video below (she calls him a stalker!)
The Groundlings have been performing for 45 years, since Gary Austin founded the group in 1974. You can learn about the group’s history, and see which other comedians and actors have belonged to the group. I’m sure you’re familiar with some of the alumni, such as Phil Harman, Lily Tomlin, Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon.
Love and Improv
Do you know of any couples who met at an improv class, like actors Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone? They met at an improv class at The Groundlings (see above), way back in 1998, and are still going strong.
Since then, McCarthy and Falcone have worked together in other projects, such as Gilmore Girls, where McCarthy played loveable chef Sookie St. James. They were both in the movie, Bridesmaids, too.
In this clip from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone talk about writing their first comedy sketch together. Everything is funnier in a Scottish accent, right?
Defensive Driving
Maybe you’ve heard something “offensive” at a comedy club, but would you be interested in “defensive” comedy? In some areas, if you need to do a defensive driving course, you can take this online certified defensive driving course, from an improv club – The Improv Online Comedy Traffic Safety Course. Verify with your insurance co, of course.
Improv and Parkinson’s
And to hear more about the benefits that can come from improv, listen to Larry Gifford talking about comedy and improv training on his “When LIfe Gives You Parkinson’s podcast“.
Gifford was diagnosed with Young Onset Parkinson’s Disease in August 2017, and started his podcast a year later, in September 2018.
Here’s the link to the “Is Laughter the Best Medicine” episode where he talks about comedy and improv.
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Comedy Roundup 20191227
In this Dogleash Comedy Roundup – Love and Improv, Parkinson’s Disease, Defensive Driving, The Good Place and more!
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