The Importance of LAughter, and a Corny Blog Post

Tags

Bill Murray, Comedy Store, hollywood, Humour, Laugh Factory, Los Angeles, Second City, Stand-up comedy

Greetings from Los Angeles! Let me introduce myself. My name is Justine Vadini. I am an Elon Alum (that still feels weird to say!) and member of the 2013 Bridges program. Week one has been so many things—overwhelming, exciting, and exhilarating (literally just hiked a mountain and still a bit out of breath) to name a few.

But more than anything, my first week in Los Angeles has been downright hilarious. In the midst of all the fear that comes with graduating from college and moving to a new city, humor has been my constant companion.

My first night here I had the opportunity to see some really great Improv at The Groundlings Theatre. Then, a few days later, the Bridges crew supported Elon Alum Jay Light as he performed stand up at the world famous Laugh Factory. The next day I ran into Elon Alum and stand up comedian Grace Baldridge at a coffee shop in Hollywood—(she had me laughing so hard I was in tears). To top all this off, I was invited to go to The Comedy Store and see an incredible line up of 16 comedians perform from 9 PM to 2 AM on Friday night.

So, why am I telling you all of this? I promise it is not just to brag or say, ‘I’m having more fun than you!’

No, I am telling you because having a sense of humor, being able to laugh at yourself, and being able to stand up in front of people and talk about your dreams directly relates to something our panelists , Renee Faia, Monica Mancini and Kevin Knoblock stressed on Thursday evening: Fear is pointless.

Yes, we want to take our careers and ourselves seriously.  We always want to be professional. But, if I have learned anything in my first week here, it’s that humor breeds resilience, and if we know we can get back up, we won’t be afraid to try.

To get you seriously laughing this week, here’s a piece from Tim Baltz of Second City. He’s one of Improv’s Top Ten Rising Stars:

Oh, and always remember the wise words of my personal favorite comedian, Bill Murray: “The more you know who you are, and what you want, the less you let things upset you.”