New York, NY - For the 4th time, I was happy to visit the New School in NYC today to be a guest lecture for the Comedy as Commentary class. The class, as I’ve mentioned before, takes a look at the importance of comedy in providing commentary on what’s important in society.
I spent my time with the class answering questions about what it’s like to be a stand-up and improv conedian, some of the ins and outs of the industry and where people get material. Given my love for improv, I also got the students up and doing a few exercises themselves.
It was a great time. If you have a class you think would benefit from talking to a stand-up and improv comedian, send us a message and we can try to help you find someone in the area.
Baton Rouge, LA - I got a chance to return to Baton Rouge this past week and once again filled in as guest lecturer for my brother’s Public Speaking and Argumentation & Debate classes.
In each, I took key elements of the class syllabus and used improv exercises to experientially teach the subject matter. This, combined with my brother making connections to previous class notes, allowed the students to connect the theoretical discussions they had previously to the practice of using them in a safe and supportive environment.
My brother, who you may know as contributing author David Tarvin, will be providing a recap of what he saw as the value of the class.
Kyle, Humor That Works’ camera and editing expert, put together a great recap video of the September Relationship Training at OSU. You can get an idea of what we covered at the school, structured in the Theory -> Practice -> Application format.
Baton Rouge, LA – While visiting my brother at LSU (he’s getting his PhD there), I gave a guest lecture in two of his classes (Public Speaking and Argumentation and Debate). For both, I led the class through improv exercises and linked them back to becoming better public speakers.
Both sessions were very well received and were so much fun to facilitate. While it felt a bit traitorish to be helping LSU students (given that I’m an OSU grad), the students were so great I didn’t mind.
UPDATE: My brother shared with me some feedback from his class:
“The next time I have to deliver a speech, I will be able to do it with more confidence than ever before.”
“It was non conventional but very effective.”
“When Drew was finished with his hour and a half production, I felt as though I could get up in front of any audience and speak with more confidence than I do in daily conversations with my peers.”
To learn more about how improv could help teach your curriculum, check out our college humor programs.
Columbus, OH – I once again returned to The Ohio State University, this time to give Relationship Training to the incoming Resident Advisors for the year. We talked about relationships in theory (presentation), in practice (through interactive exercises) and in application (through roleplay). Overall, the event was a blast and the training was well-received. I [...]
Columbus, OH – Earlier this week I had the honor of going back to my alma mater, The Ohio State University, and spoke on my favorite subject–Humor in the Workplace. The training consisted of a 45-minute humor keynote and how I’ve applied that mentality to a relationship training program (which I’ll be conducting at OSU [...]
The following story is a break from the normal posts on the site, but one I thought I’d share. I wrote it to be included with HR Ringleader’s Game Changing Moments and thought it might be of interest to some people who are curious about how a computer engineer found and started using humor. ———————————————————– [...]
New York, NY – For the third straight year I was asked to be a guest lecturer in the Comedy as Commentary class at Parsons University. Much the same as past years, I answered questions and provided insights on what it’s like to do improv and stand-up comedy. I also spent more time leading a [...]
New York, NY – For the second year in a row, I was asked to serve as a Guest Lecturer in the Comedy as Commentary class at Parsons University. The class focuses on how comedy serves as commentary on society and current events. Much as I did last year, I answered questions and provided insight [...]
New York, NY – I was recently asked to be a Guest Lecturer in an interesting class at Parsons University: Comedy as Commentary. The class focuses on how comedy serves as commentary on society and current events. As a guest lecturer, I gave my perspective as a stand-up and improv comedian, answering questions and sharing [...]
New York, NY - For the 4th time, I was happy to visit the New School in NYC today to be a guest lecture for the Comedy as Commentary class. The class, as I’ve mentioned before, takes a look at the importance of comedy in providing commentary on what’s important in society.
