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Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome one of corporate America's most beloved
comedy improv troupes, LaughingStock.
Thank you and good morning ladies and gentlemen. We are indeed the LaughingStock
Comedy Company. What we do is called improvisational comedy, and all that means
is we make it up as we go along, which we understand you're doing on a daily basis.
So, we ought to get along real well. Improvisational comedy means we take
suggestions from the audience and create scenes
right on the spot, based on their suggestions.
At the same time, all of our comedy shows are customized, meaning we've done a lot of
research in ahead of time,
we've found out everything we can about the group,
their common denominators, the things that they care about,
and we create sort of a loose
outline that's flexible enough for us to incorporate all of the suggestions that
the audience is throwing out,
and yet is solid enough that we're
actually able to communicate a message,
if that's what we're supposed to be doing, or reflecting back to them their
day-to-day lives. One of the things I'm very proud of
is that we are not an act where you have to be afraid
to sit in the front row. We entertain
everybody from the front row the back row, without making them feel
uncomfortable.
We don't roast individuals. We send up the culture
of the group for whom were performing. So,
we like to get them up close. We like to look into their eyes. We like to be
able to talk to them.
Our job is to relate to this audience
as if we were them. When we come off stage people say, "How long have you
worked for us?"
We get inside their skins so well. You know I would
really love a job. Do you have any experience? Well, no and here's the thing, I can't work
on Saturdays for Friday's for Sunday's after
pretty much 10:30am or Monday through Wednesday. Well, we have a
shift open Thursday then that would...
Well, I'm gonna need a day off for something. Welcome to Sonic drive-in please hold.
Welcome to Sonic drive-in, please hold. Welcome to Sonic drive-in,
please hold. Welcome to Sonic... See, it's not really a switchboard.
You're supposed to take the order, when they push the button.
I'm your new senior marketing field rep from Sonic, hi.
So, you're awful young to be the senior...
Oh, I've been here a long time now. How long? Two weeks.
We go to where our audience is, so if they're meeting
in the company cafeteria, that's where we go.
if they're meeting at a fabulous resort in
Aruba, well I get sometimes you just have to
bite the bullet and go there, too. We've performed for groups as small as
two in board room, and as large as I think the biggest audience I was 2600
real estate agents.
We did 6000 travel agents in three waves of 2000 each.
We've done multi-city performances. We've worked in ballrooms. We've worked in
aquariums.
We've worked outside and inside.
"Hello. Welcome to the wonderful world of
AGFA. I'm sorry, no one wants to take your call right now.
To leave a message for
Bob Fineman, press one. To retrieve a message
from Bob Fineman, press two. To listen in on someone else's messages,
press three. If you're a sales rep,
the answer is No.
To speak to an operator,
press zero now." [beep] "Hi, this is the operator."
Yeah this is... "I can't come to the phone right now."
Hah! Well, at least I'm not some pretty-boy TV extra.
Extra! I had a line. Oh yeah,
What was it? "Where's the cafeteria?" Well, I..I..so?
Here's Jackie! You're supposed to be on stage next!
I thought I was on stage. Whoa!
Big-*** girl, two o'clock.
I'm here with my friend Mr. Sake. I'm going to be helping him
with some investments, and we just thought we'd get some advice from you. I don't see him.
What, what, well here he is, right here.
You know I see the signs here at the bank for the Private Client Group.
Could you tell me about that? Yeah, sure, come here. [whispers] Lotsa money!
Wow! [whispers] Every day? Wow!
My whole family's here, Mehlman. I had all the suites fixed up. I hope you have a suite for everyone.
I had the three suites all fixed up. I did it just as you wanted me to.
I just need to know who's in the first suite. That's correct. The person's name in the first suite.
Who.
Who's the person the first suite. Is correct. What's the person's name in the first suite.
No, second suite. I don't know who's in the second suite. Third suite. How did we get to the third
suite already?
Before we go on to round two, let's hear from the game show orchestra.
GE we bring good things to life.
You know, rather than kind of list the
stellar number of companies that we've worked, for I guess I'd rather talk
about the breadth and depth of LaughingStock.
We've performed for technology companies. We've performed for sales groups. We've
performed for associations,
communications,
retail, just about any category of
company you can imagine. You know, I don't like to brag.
I think it's tacky for me, for example, to
recite the list of Fortune 500,
Fortune 50, companies that we've performed for.
I would just feel like a show off, and
my mother raised me better than that. Another question please.
"What's a cluster?"
I'm dying to find out. According...
to...the...most...
recent...research...conducted...
by...people...who...
like...research...a...
cluster...is...a...group...of...
extremely...sensitive...
code...monkeys.
[phone ring] Morpheus, we need an expense report clarification program.
How do we eat three meals a day in New York City on a $38 per diem.
And he said to be able to do it for less than a quarter million dollars.
Hey, pal, I don't get out the shower for less than a million dollars.
Continue the scene as if it were a game show.
Okay, Ed Feebleman of Hinsdale, Illinois.
You have bought a very expensive system, and they've told you it's going to be two or three days
but it's going to be more like two or three years. [buzzer] Yes?
What is, "I'm screwed?" Very good. Science fiction.
I can't do it, sir. I'm sorry I can't do your project in 48 hours. There's no...
dilithium crystals.
But I... And all of your...futon...tubes are...tied.
We work with a small number of very funny
individuals that we have found in the last few years
in our travels. These people are trained as actors and comedians.
These are seven delightfully different people.
They are well-versed in the business of America. They understand business and how
it operates.
So, depending on what your show needs are,
or the demographic of your audience,
or your goals for the meeting,
we bring along the appropriate third
person. But there's lots of times when
you need all of us, and we're able to do that as well.
This is an unscheduled meeting. It's not yesterdays meeting, it's not tomorrow's meeting. No, tomorrow's meeting
got cancelled next week. I can't go back in time for meetings, I hurt myself last time.
Maybe we could have a meeting about a meeting later. Is this the sales meeting or the territory meeting
or the ad hoc meeting? It's the GM's meeting. Yes, and you know we decided to keep our meetings short, so I think
we accomplished a lot today.
But when that chorus kicked into the big catalog production number, with all the dancing
prizes, and the entire Macy's department store appearing in a puff of smoke.
I was weeping. She wept. I really wept. Comedy is a great stress reliever,
because laughter is the best medicine. People laugh,
they feel better. If your business is like anybody else's business right now,
comedy is the way to break that stress. Give them a little mental coffee break,
a bit of a release from the day-to-day stuff.
Our comedy is extremely sophisticated.
It's almost entirely verbal word play,
very very high-end. We've had people who were just not able to follow our
shows because it's just so brainy. What if I'm trying to sell this customer, that I've got a
great relationship with, some stuff and I don't even know what it is.
Butch. Butch. Butch. Sure you're scared.
We're all scared. Operating systems for a thousand.
The answer is, UNIX. [buzzer] Butch?
What the hell's that? You are correct!
Are you ready for the future? Yes, no, yes, well I don't know, I don't know. I'm just a middle manager in purchasing.
They don't let me make any decisions, especially about technology.