We needed a laugh in January, so we brought in Marquita Robinson (BLACK-ISH), Jon Vandergriff (HOME IMPROVEMENT), David Misch from MORK & MINDY to deliver his presentation “How Comedy Works,” and comedy legend Paula Poundstone to Zoom with our students.
Langston Hughes wrote, “Like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air and you." It was the middle of a tremendously difficult winter, but our week-long comedy intensive provided our students with the summer rain Hughes referenced.
Our first-year students spent the week as a comedy writers room, with comedy writing veteran Jon Vandergriff acting as showrunner. Taking characters from the dramatic series they developed this fall — which centers on a Black nurse in Brooklyn — they’re breaking stories about characters like Nai Nai, the Taiwanese grandmother with a fist of iron, or Artie, the trans French horn virtuoso. On Friday, a group of professional actors will read their scripts for the series they’re naming “Calling Nurse Ally.”
