#91: We gotta laugh! How to find your funny with Stand Up comic, Susanna Spies

Description:

I loved sitting with my friend and guest, Susanna Spies. She is a professional stand up comic, actress and corporate trainer. YES she trains executives on how to be funny. No joke.

Comedy Stages include … 
The Improv in L.A.,
Laugh Factory, 
The Comedy Store, and dozens of additional comedy venues nationwide.
E-One Entertainment’s Uncontrolled Comedy, 
Nuvo TV’s Stand up and Deliver, https://www.facebook.com/susanna.spies

She is also the Founder of Comedy Playground, LLC,  where, since 2002, she has taught thousands of youth, adults, senior citizens, and corporations alike the universal language of humor! 

She has taught stand-up as a visiting faculty at AMDA in Los Angeles for over ten years and continues coaching clients of all ages nationwide. 

She has been featured in VARIETY as one of the nation’s top ten leading 
innovators in The Educational Impact Report and continues to encourage people to find the funny in everyday life!

Bio:

Susanna Spies is a seasoned comedian and actress who has made the world laugh for decades. Some credits include E-One Entertainment’s Uncontrolled Comedy, Featured on Nuvo TV’s Stand up and Deliver, The Angela Hoover web series as Carol in Carol & Claire, dozens of commercials, industrials, and Indie films. When it comes to the stage Spies has received rave reviews for her recent one-woman show: Waisted where it sold out in both NYC and LA in 2023, and previously wrote and starred in The Dryer where she wrote and performed over 30 original characters. Spies has brought the house down with her witty characters at some of the stand-up scenes most prestigious venues, like The Improv in L.A., Laugh Factory, the Comedy Store, and dozens of additional comedy venues nationwide. She is also the Founder of Comedy Playground, LLC, where, since 2002, she has taught thousands of youth, adults, senior citizens, and companies alike the universal language of humor! She has taught stand-up as a visiting faculty at AMDA in Los Angeles for over ten years and continues coaching clients of all ages nationwide. She has been featured in VARIETY as one of the nation’s top ten leading innovators in The Educational Impact Report and continues encouraging how to find the funny in everyday life!

Social Media: 

Website: https://www.susannaspies.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanna.spies
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susannaspies/?hl=en
X: https://twitter.com/susannaspies?lang=en
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCok_rKYDmoOzLXEFu9x9KVQ

Transcription:

(00:02):

Good morning, good afternoon, and good day. It's Tina Marie, and thanks so much for lending your time and attention and curiosity to our show today. I am extremely excited about our guest today because we're friends and you're gonna get to hear, you know, how we probably banter back and forth, but this is what we're gonna unpack. All of us, you know, we need to laugh and with so many avenues for finding comedy or finding sitcoms, I'm a rom-com fan. You know, wanna dig into what is that faculty within the human spirit that says we need to laugh. And we're gonna hear from an expert today on that. Susanna Spies, she is a seasoned comedian and actress who's been making the world laugh for decades, featured on comedy stages such as The Improv in la, the Laugh Factory, the Comedy Store, and dozens of additional stages across the us.

(00:57):

She's been on E one Entertainment's, uncontrolled comedy, Novo Standup Comic standup and Deliver Show. And she's also the founder of the Comedy Playground. I want you to lean into this one because what does a comic do when they're not on stage making us laugh? What Susanna knows is that laughter and this, this need for finding our maybe not so serious side is definitely needed for our spirit and our soul. And so what she does as a business is the comedy playground. And since 2002, she's taught thousands of youth, adults, senior citizens and corporate executives and professionals how to tap into the universal language of humor. So we're gonna be unpacking that as well. She's taught standup as a faculty, visiting faculty, faculty member at A MDA in Los Angeles for over 10 years, and continues to coach clients of all ages all over the world. You're also gonna hear the story of how I discovered Susanna. So Susanna, thanks so much for being here and being our guest on Light Your Life.

(02:00):

Thank you so much. I'm so inspired by you, just by the minute you open up your mouth. You are just so inspiring and so, so wonderful and so dang funny. And it's an honor to be here. I'm so happy to be here with you today.

(02:12):

It's awesome. It's gonna be so great. So I want to share a little bit of how we met <laugh> because it's funny in itself, right? I don't usually get speeding tickets, <laugh>. So I, I got pulled over. I didn't even know I was really getting pulled over. I thought he was joking. And so those lights don't joke. And so I pulled over into a Whataburger. I'm in Texas, and so Whataburger's like a really, you know, popular Oh, no, <laugh>, what gets through on your phone whenever someone's calling, it's your wife. That's what happens. <Laugh>, this is, sorry dear, but I'm turning off my phone, <laugh>. And so I get pulled over by a police officer and you know, I decide I'm going to get off with you know, defensive driving. And so I love the comedy defensive driving 'cause at least maybe I could laugh a little bit during a very boring time to not have to pay the speeding ticket.

(03:07):

And I thought to myself that Saturday morning as I was gonna dive into watching the, the comedy defensive driving, you know, I wanted to do standup all the time, my life. And so I've told so many people, I wanna do standup, I wanna do standup, I wanna get on a comedy stage. And so in that moment, that Saturday morning, I said, you know what, in order to make that happen, I believe I need a comedy coach. And so I went on the God of Google and I typed in female comedy coach. 'cause I just knew I needed somebody to resonate with me and my sense of humor. And your name popped up big and bold right at the beginning. And I clicked on your website and you had advertised that you were doing a comedy class. And it was starting that day at four o'clock.

(03:54):

And I was like, what are the chances? And so I clicked go and I gave you money, and I'm like, this is fun. I'm gonna be in my first comedy class, this is gonna be great. And then you called me on my phone, my phone's sitting on the table, my phone's ringing, and I see the name Susanna Sp coming across there as a call lady. I'm like, oh, this is cool. She's got such great customer service. And so I pick it up and I'm like, hi Susanna. I probably said your name incorrectly, but I said, hi Susanna. And you're like, do I know you? I'm like, I just signed up for your class and you said, I'm not teaching that day. And I went, oh, I was heartbroken. And you converted my class investment into private coaching. And we have been private coaching ever since.

(04:41):

It's been amazing. So thank you for one, having that class out there on your website, second for what you do in the world. And I want everybody here listening to investigate learning standup for yourself because it has taught me a ton about myself, pulled me outta my shell. Some people say you've never been in a shell team. Marie. Yes, I have <laugh>. I I have to put myself into a discomfort zone. We all do. And Susanna's helped me with that. And I've grown so much in the short time that we've worked together. I think it's been maybe seven, eight months. So thank you.

(05:14):

Oh, thank you so much. And I, I never wanna wish anybody to get a ticket, but if that was no precipice to figure out, you know what, I gotta change something from like put the funny into a situation that's not so funny, well then, lo and behold, here you are. And I'm so grateful every single week we meet, I always look forward to it. And I always have a stomach ache 'cause I'm always gonna laugh. So there you go. <Laugh>,

(05:36):

Right? Thanks. Yeah, thank you Officer Wilson. Yeah, and I did take comedy defensive driving. I didn't have to pay the ticket, but our standup comedy coaching is so much better than comedy offensive driving, just letting you know, oh,

(05:47):

Well, we're driving the ship of our own instrument, which is ourselves. So there you go. It's a sense of driving, but it's just without obstacles in the way we try to go. We try to drive around the obstacles and use the obstacles from life into something funny as opposed to an accident.

(06:01):

I love that. What a great way to just grab that and go with it. <Laugh>, you're just brilliant <laugh>. So I'm curious 'cause I don't even know if I know the answer to this, and we've been friends for many months. What got you into comedy, Susanna?

(06:15):

Well, okay, so I was I was actually somewhat of a, a shy teen. I, I was performing since a young kid, but I was a little bit awkward with knowing, I mean, most people that knew me were like, ah, you seemed extroverted. But inside I felt shy. So a lot of my work I would do as far as like, create and sort of using my imagination and finding comedy was always in my room, creating characters. And so since a young age, I was always like, whether it was from the salt and pepper shakers or my stuffed animals or my utensils, I was always figuring out a way to create characters and sort of use my imagination in a way that felt funny. So I was sort of creating and always was very attracted to funny at a young age. And then I started professionally doing performing standup at least in my late twenties. But I was, you know, up until that point, I've been on stages since I was, you know, probably realistically maybe grade school. Wow. Yeah, just doing, you know, just our typical, all of us are probably, you know, the school

(07:19):

Play

(07:20):

Yeah. The school play or the musical of the talent show. But then I started taking it seriously in college you know, sort of working as an English major, but then minoring in, in drama and, and getting a sense of knowing that I really loved performance. And then standup took its own direction after I did one show and I was like, whoa,

(07:41):

How'd you get onto that one show? Tell us about that.

(07:43):

I was involved in a class as well, and it ended in a show, and then the minute I was there on the stage, I was like, oh my God, this feels really good. And I just did it. And then I was like, wow. I, I had no intention of knowing, like I wanted to pursue standup comedy as much as knowing, wow, this felt really natural. And and for me as an actor, I, I still perform in any way that I can. I love acting, but you know, with standup, you create anything you want, it's just you up there. And so one of the things I really gravitate towards is doing character work. And so standup was a great vehicle for me in that capacity that wow, I could create characters and do it in this platform. So it kind of became my, my go-to from there.

(08:30):

Marvelous. And I've seen some of your characters, which you're just phenomenal at delivering. And there's a show that you did the dryer, I guess, where you wrote and performed over 30 original characters.

(08:41):

Yeah, so the dryer was based on a summer where I had to, I went through a really bad breakup and I was like trying to find my way. And I ended up going to Northern California and I worked as a director of a camp. And it was <laugh>. It was really great. But it definitely there was some great material that was brewing and I find that, you know, whatever we're doing in life, you can always find great material. But the sort of the backbone to that was that I developed characters that I experienced along the way. And then my more recent one person show was just last year called Wasted. And yeah,

(09:18):

That sold out, right? It

(09:19):

Did, it sold out in New York and LA That was based on unfortunately, an accident that I had that left me with a condition called CRPS, which is not fun, but it is, again, it's motivation to show that you really can turn something that's a crappy situation into something that can be very cathartic. And so my goal with that is to keep, keep performing that, and that has about 24 characters in it, so whoa. Yeah, I try to, I know it's weird. It's like,

(09:45):

How do you keep 'em all in there <laugh>? Well,

(09:46):

I, I know it's more like, where's Susanna and the other character, the characters come through better than Susanna does. So that's funny. Yeah, it's really fun. I mean, you know, there's material around us all the time. It's just knowing how to tap in and use it in a way that, that you can hone.

(10:01):

Yeah. And so you've taken your comedic way of being and your ability to see funny despite the circumstances and despite pain in life, which we all have. Right. And you bring it to audiences to help them do the same. Yeah. And so when did you start that avenue of coaching and facilitation and your workshops that you do for, for audiences and then incorporations and in companies?

(10:30):

Well, so Comedy Playground was a company I started back in the early two thousands, 2002. But it was sort of the outcome of working as a drama teacher in the, in the public schools. And so when I, when I was working as a drama teacher, I noticed, wow, these kids really are drawn to humor. You know, they don't really wanna learn the English, you know, the course that they're doing, but Right. You ate when there's humor involved. So I started creating a, a curriculum outside the classroom, and then that started developing into something outside of the schools, thus Comedy Playground was born. And then I sort of kept on nurturing youth at that time was mostly 10 to 19 year olds. And then I brought it into the improv in Hollywood where we showcase after their eight weeks and then the Covid side.

(11:16):

Yeah. So they've been doing showcases there. We have a show coming up on February 25th for the, the West Coast division. We call it CP West. There's a comedy playground west and a comedy playground east. And it's headquartered in, in la. And yeah. So the kids come and they learn improvisation and standup, and they culminate in a live show. And it's sort of, I realized when I developed the curriculum for teens and for preteens, that it's applicable to all ages. So the adult sessions, which is called Finding Your Funny, and the Corporate Sector, which is the humor activist, is all one of the same, it's the same curriculum for all ages. Hmm. Finding it funny, the adult class started probably about 15 years ago, and the corporate division was simultaneous to that. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. So the curriculum is applicable to every age, but it's just how I implement the program, whether I come on site or I do it on Zoom, or they do collective class or coachings, but ultimately it's the same across the board for each age.

(12:20):

Why would a company, I could, you know, I can assume or, you know, hallucinate why parents would want their children to have this. It's a great experience. It gets them into their comfort, you know, like build confidence, presence, things of that nature ability to articulate themselves. Why would a company bring you in for their professionals and for team development, I guess?

(12:43):

Yeah, that's a great question. So I think a lot of professionals in, in the, in the corporate arena, they get deer in headlights when they hear standup. I don't broach it that way. I broach it more along the lines of team building connective communications. I call them humor, humor, connectivity programs. So they're learning the tools of how they can apply themselves into the platform around humor. So it's less about, like the other day I was wah wah wa it's less about joke telling, but it's more about how you can effectively share who you are within a structure that is a beginning and middle and end. And we all know in business when you have a keynote or you have a five minute pitch, you have to be very succinct with time. Mm-Hmm.

(13:25):

<Affirmative>.

(13:25):

So I focus on time management, team building, storytelling and connective communication. And so it's under that umbrella that the humor is implemented and, and taught.

(13:38):

That's beautiful. I love that. I can definitely see that I, you know, you're, you've been coaching me and one of our first connections, I was like, okay, so the material in my life involves the people that I love. And oftentimes those things that are funny, you know, behind the scenes with your beloveds, right? You don't wanna put them on the spot. And so I would have to imagine that in the corporate setting, some of the funny that we could find involves our coworkers, <laugh>, and the people that are there, but we don't wanna put them on the spot. So, something you've taught me is the funny really isn't how you perceive yourself and those circumstances that are relatable. Right?

(14:17):

A hundred percent. I always say it's never the fact about what you see or what you perceive or how you experience something that's funny, it's the consequences around it. So I never encourage in any of my classes for any of my ages, anything that's ever out of res disrespect to anybody else. But if there's a behavior that someone notices that can affect them in some way, I encourage sharing that because I think that's really important that there's a, an outcome that's very cathartic and very healthy to overcome an obstacle, whether it's in the workplace, that someone might be talking really loud on their cell phone when you're trying to get work done, or, you know, finding connections with your coworkers that you wouldn't know. Wow, you love to barbecue. So do I, you know, so, so there are really, it's really based on what's called a POV, finding your point of view, that rules and dictates everything we have in life, whether it's based in comedy or not.

(15:13):

We all have experiences around what we feel about things. And so I love to connect people in the corporate structure that are on all levels, beginning middle management, executive levels where they're building connections with one another based on their own experience of loving a barbecue or can't stand traffic, or a casual day. Fridays something that's a common denominator. And from there, people start easing into the way they can talk more effectively. And you build trust in someone else when you can find a bridge of common denominators. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And that's all based in life experience.

(15:51):

So that's amazing. So true. So true. Yeah. I was just thinking this morning, and you know this, I tend to just put some things down in, in my little notepad on my phone to see what's comedic, and we work on these things. <Laugh> this morning I was seeing myself from a different perspective is that, you know I think I do have OCD <laugh>. I was like, oh God, here's some truth telling. Just just things that, you know, I have to do in a certain pattern in a certain way. And then if I don't, then I feel irritable and I'm like, why am I irritable? Oh, you didn't do that thing that you usually do, and now you gotta go back and do it <laugh>. Yeah.

(16:26):

I, I think, listen, I think we all get relief when we can find someone else's. It's, it, it, you know, self-deprecating humor is always going to be not only I think something that can feel like it's a release, but it's relatable. You know, like, I love to have control around me, so I guess I'm kind of controlling Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And that's just kind of something I'm noticing of myself, but that can be good and bad, but it's how we use it in a way that can be, I think very proactive when you find the humor in it, because then it's not, it's not offensive in any way. It's, it's a language everybody wants to be on board with. People wanna laugh. And so when you can find that common denominator, whether it's through self-deprecating humor, or something that you may see in something else, Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, it's, it's, it's a relief and a release to everybody. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. Because every, I always say it's like a universal language. Everybody wants to hop on board. So,

(17:15):

So true. I was wondering, whenever you're performing do you sense any of the different changes of the energy of the room? Like, I'd have to imagine you do, like, when people start in your beginning, there's probably a certain energy, and then as you go, and then at the end, you know, you, you leave, you take us through that journey of the energy shift in an audience. For

(17:38):

Sure. I mean, I think like anything, you can walk into any scenario and if you're very in tune, you can feel what you're walking into before you even open your mouth. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And I always say to anybody I'm coaching or working with, whether it's a professional comic or someone who's never done comedy, the the laughter is less. Don't put the hone so much on the audience and the energy the audience is giving you, but how you feel about what you've just done, because you're the one who's in the conductor seat. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. But you're in the control and they're not. And I always say it's like, almost like a game of catch. So the energy that you are sharing with your audience is about throwing the ball and catching the ball and throwing the ball and catching the ball. So you tell the joke, they laugh back.

(18:18):

So it's a volley Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And if that ball drops, it's up to you to pick up the ball and figure out the volley again. And the best way to do that really is to, I mean, sometimes I've, I've had sets before where I might go blank and then instead of ignoring that mm-Hmm, <affirmative>, just like if you were in a school play and a piece of the scenery falls down, you can't ignore that. That tree just fell down on the stage. You have to work with it somehow. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And so I think the more you can be very attuned to knowing the energy around you and using it, the more effective and more empowered you'll feel when you're, when you're in that space. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> I, and I, and I also think like, you know, people will say, you know, oh, I had them and then I lost them. So you can feel when your audience is on board with you, and then if they're distracted or you're kind of, you need to engage them again. But that's the same, within the same context of if you're giving a keynote, if you have listeners on board, there's a difference between talking at someone and sharing with someone and stand up at the same thing. You wanna engage, you wanna have an interaction versus talking at Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, that's one, that's one dimensional. So I think if you can tap into that energy, you'll always have a volley.

(19:34):

And that goes to leadership too. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. Because leadership, when we're speaking too you know, our team, you know, are we engaging with them? Are they participatory? Are we just, you know, spouting words and hoping that they're listening? So, you know, this reminds me in a leadership sense of being present and being connected to the others. Yes.

(19:57):

And just taking your time, you know, just like, I think people wanna rush through an awkward moment. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. But I think the awkward moments are really great gifts. I know that feels weird, but, you know, sometimes I start my classes and I'll say, you know, where's, how are we on the awkward meter? What's the number on the awkward meter? And that's just a meter I start my first class with always, because it's like, people don't know each other. And it's like everybody's feeling a little self-conscious. No, it's an eight, it's a nine, and by the end it's a three or a two mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> because everybody's walls go down because we're all, we're kind of all in this together. And if you just take your time and let yourself land in something you would be really surprised in a positive way on the outcome. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, it's, it's, we get in the way of ourselves, really. That's our biggest obstacle, you know?

(20:43):

Absolutely. Absolutely. So take us into the workshops and the coaching you've done with finding you're funny. What has been a powerful transformation that you've experienced with a student or with a professional that you could share?

(20:57):

Well, I mean, I, I think every single situation has its own transformation in its own way. I've never had anybody, I mean, knock on wood, but fortunately in all the years I've been teaching, I've never had someone who hasn't been affected in some way. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Because people not only learn how to structure your own delivery of material, but you're learning about how to view things in a different way that you hadn't before. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. So there's a daily transformation that happens because you start to look at things in a different way. I, I, I don't know if I can think of one particular person. I know that across the board I've had several different people Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, whether it's the corporate or in the, the youth or adult program, that people who are very shy and introverted have really been so surprised at themselves because they've been able to get up there and speak in a way that they didn't know they could.

(21:50):

But when you trust yourself to be able to share your opinions on things, there's really nothing that, I mean, we all wanna share a good story, you know? Yeah. Even we're maybe afraid to, chances are likely we're gonna wanna get behind the things that we have a strong opinion on. And so the transformations happen when they're given that ability to do it. Like students who have been shy, students who have been, I have one engineer who had English as a second language, and he was very intimidated to know how is he going to do his speech or work with his, his you know, coworkers with this language barrier. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And then I just talked into sharing what you experienced as a kid or in an airport, something that's universal that they can relate to in some way. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And then it was flying colors. So I think every class has had its benefit of transformation. 'cause Every single time we do it, there's never, that's, there's never one that's the same. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. It's, it's always an outcome of growth.

(22:46):

That's beautiful. It sounds like we allow ourselves this space to be vulnerable with ourselves and others, and that brings that human element. It

(22:55):

Is. And that's hard. It is hard to be vulnerable, but boy, that's where, I mean, as Brene Brown says, you know, that that's where the real gold is. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> I do these exercises in each course that are based on truth. Everything in comedy, whether it's standup or anything, I believe in any art form within the comedy genre. Yeah. You know, with the exception of sitcoms and scripted writing, I, I, I really do believe it has to land in truth and authenticity. So the way I design the coachings or the classes is everybody's just sharing their truth. There's not necessarily a right or wrong Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. But when you tell the truth on something, again, that's what you root consequence around. And the consequences around that truth is where there's, there's funny Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. So it is vulnerable. And it's, I think because it's a vulnerable thing, it's extremely empowering when you can trust yourself

(23:51):

To, to help. It takes courage. It does. Takes courage. Yeah. Something that I definitely appreciated by your methodologies in your work is that you brought a framework and basically, I just wanna say a science to having a comedy way of being, a comedic way of being. And what I love about that is that it's something that's repeatable. So you can learn your methodologies, you know, one can learn your methodologies, and then just take that framework into, you know, like you said, holding a meeting with your team building a keynote building a presentation being a standup comic. Right. And what I love is that, you know, it's, it's, it works. And science, in your case, what you've developed, which is brilliant, definitely works

(24:40):

Well. Thanks. Yeah. I, I really do believe that. And I, I mean, I've worked with people who are scientists to doctors, to lawyers, to pharmaceutical executives, to coaches, to, you know, again, we all have experiences from life. And so that curriculum is applicable across the board, and it's very accessible. It's not, it's not a hard thing to follow, but it is very structured. But I, I believe that structure is very helpful because it keeps us on track. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>, it's not so broad based that there isn't an outcome that's wobbly, but it's very tight. Yeah. And so you actually walk away with something you can use, whether it's standup or a toast at a wedding, or a speech at a, at a, at a business function that can be applicable to All

(25:21):

Right. One of the first exercises you give whenever we're warming up <laugh> in our coaching session is you give a, a list of topics and then you say, find three that you have a point of view on. And so you just toss them out there. I'm gonna make one up right now, like hot dogs, you know, like if hot dogs, you have a point of a strong point of view on hot dogs. You know, you can find any comedy in anything, like you said, once you have a point

(25:46):

Yeah. That curriculum. So if you sign up, you'll learn more about those, those exercises. But yes, absolute yes. So there's a way of finding how you have POV on on different specific activities that, that I'm happy to share when, when you, when you're in the, in the course. But yeah, it's, it's really tapping into the topics that are relative to your life and Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And that's the magic that you just sit back and then I help, I kind of help pull it outta you. And then Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> all that stuff

(26:12):

Out. That's what I was gonna share. You know, if you don't think funny's inside of you, or you don't have that belief of yourself Susanna helps you understand that you've got this beautiful, funny bone, I guess that gives you confidence in yourself in a way that you wouldn't have ever predicted, which I didn't. And I've enjoyed it. I hope my spouse has enjoyed it, <laugh>.

(26:36):

It's great. And I mean, have you noticed, like, when you walk into the world now, you know, whether it's any of the activities you've done with me, but do you kind of look at things in a different way now?

(26:44):

Yeah, I'm, I'm more at ease. I was <laugh> delightfully cut off multiple times yesterday on the way home. Just the, the, the constructive and creative way that people drive is very interesting. And so I said you know, I don't really wanna judge people, but you guys give me so much, so many ways to judge you, so thank you, <laugh>. But it's a different way of perceiving the world and, and not taking things offensively or getting offended or, or being anxious or worried. Those things go down. And then just the ability to laugh at life and smile, and know that it's all gonna work out is, is just a, it's such a piece.

(27:29):

Yeah. And, you know, just circling back to what you mentioned as one of the activities, which of course I'll go into and answer any questions for anybody, but it, it's so true. Like anything, I, I think I wanna just cap on what you were saying that, you know, people make the mistake of thinking, oh, I have to be funny uhhuh <affirmative>. No, you don't. So my job, and what I do is I just encourage you, I will throw things your way that might, you might love, you might have a pet peeve over you might you have some sort of a feeling on it. Yeah. Based on you sharing that is where the funny can then result. So like, I think if you think about if you had a bad day at work and you wanna come back, or you had a bad incident on the freeway, chances are you come back and you wanna tell Jackie about it, and you'll be like, oh my god, Jackie, blah. And you'll just, you'll just, it'll

(28:13):

Just

(28:13):

Bother you. <Laugh>. It's the same thing. So my job is tapping into what do people have strong opinions on? Or you could talk about chocolate and how much you're a chocoholic and you need it every day at three, but you're not thinking about how shy you are when you talk about your love of chocolate. Right? Mm-Hmm. You're focusing it on your passion of loving chocolate. So that's what I try to do in the first class is like, let me, all you have to do is show up. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And my job and my, my sort of craft is, is trying to encourage you to share on things that you have an automatic reaction to.

(28:49):

Definitely. So, yeah. And it's just a magical thing inside of there. All of a sudden out of the blue, there's a punchline that develops, and you didn't even know it was there. <Laugh>

(29:00):

The thing, I know it's weird, but that's the, I mean, it happens all the time when people are like, I'm funny, but it's when I'm just sort of spitting, spitting conversation with my spouse or my friend, I'm like, that's because you're just authentically talking.

(29:12):

Right.

(29:12):

And so, really the root of everything is just stay in truth. Tap into those things that you might have an opinion on. And the funny comes later, that's like the icing on the cake. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. And that's, believe it or not, everybody can, can find how to, how to write standup. It's just, it's very formulaic.

(29:31):

Yeah. I love it. I love it. It has been such a joy. And I told you yesterday, I'm not gonna, there's no part of me that wants to stop this. It's, it's giving me so much growth across, you know, as a professional and a coach and a keynoter and someone who goes in and does corporate facilitation for, you know, just leadership topics. You know, I've never rarely would I think that, you know, put some comedy in there or relatable things, but it's been a changer. It's been a game changer because then people that would otherwise come in the room, because they have to <laugh>, they were told they need this training. Once we can break the ice or, or have some relatable content that we all can connect on, then the training has, has a beauty to it. So this, I can, I've transformed my facilitation and my work and my way of being from working with you.

(30:19):

Oh, that makes me so happy. I mean, anyone who knows you and doesn't know you, man, you are so funny. You're such a light. So you light up the room, but you really do have a, a skill. And I, and I am so happy to see you nurturing that muscle. I mean, like anything we're learning, you know, standup is like, it is your, your instrument, the more you do it. And again, whether you do it as a standup comedy or whether you do it just to keep yourself, you know, fresh, fresh and speaking in front of a room, that's very important. And you know, I, I, I think that when you, it's like working out at a gym, you know, only, I think this gym is a lot more fun, <laugh>,

(30:55):

But it's,

(30:57):

It's a little easier. But yeah. I mean, I think all I can really say to everybody watching is it, it's less about like, when we have to think about, I have to be funny. I have to be funny. I mean, I'm sure now that people know you're doing standup, are you getting people saying, you so say something funny, they

(31:13):

Do it. Like, I'll be in the bathroom. The worst was in the bathroom. I'm coming outta the stall. Some of my, the people in the building go, oh, I hear you've been doing standup. What's funny today? And I'm like, you know,

(31:26):

I, I know. And then, and then you're like, well, you'll be in my next joke now. Just kidding. But I know it, it's less about, 'cause again, I, I know it sounds strange, but there, there's such a shift, I think, in my own passion around comedy, especially standup right now, that the funny is the, of course, the goal finding the funny Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. But I think that captivating your audience and actually have them walk away with something they've learned is even more true.

(31:51):

True. I, i, that, that totally. That's

(31:53):

The winner. That's really what my focus on is on. So I think that standup can be extremely educational and very moving for people to learn about things. Right. That are really important.

(32:04):

And we can broach topics that are otherwise hard to talk about in a room if we're just gonna go straight in and talk about a topic. You know, just, you know, the things that happen in life. Right. we can take sides on, but if we bring it to the table in a, in a lighter sense and then we're more relatable and we'll listen to each other more and we'll honor each other more because we're there in a place where we're not taking ourselves so seriously on our opinion. Right.

(32:37):

Yeah. Because I think it's like, it's so, so valuable. Even if two people are on the opposite sides of the scale with what they might agree on, it's so valuable to take pause and listen to that point of view of the other. And when you can do it in a way that there's, it's sort of, it's, it's nested in humor. It's, it's less def, it's less di people don't get as defensive. They're more to want to listen. I think some of the most powerful comedy specials, you know, Hannah Gatsby has an incredible special, it's very informative. Some of it is hard because it's less funny. I mean, she's brilliant and hysterical. Yeah. But it's the, it's the ability in the art form that I think that can be very educational to people listening as well. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative> that really, I think it, it, it sort of, it transcends beyond funny. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>, it's, I think it's a necessary art form to really Right. Enlighten people.

(33:27):

Yeah. I was gonna say enlighten and enrich. And it connects people. But, you know, you have audiences, I'm sure you've had audiences that are from different backgrounds, different socioeconomic roots and educational backgrounds. And yet we all find that commonality in sitting there and choosing that space. The people come to comedy, you know, in the comedy, you know, showcases that you're in choosing to be entertained, choosing to laugh, choosing to be lighter, choosing to let the world not feel so serious for a little while. And that's a beautiful space.

(34:06):

Yes. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. Yeah. Because I mean, listen, let's face it, it is a really, it's an intense world where we're living in right now. Totally. And especially with the pandemic. And that's the irony too, is people will say, how can you, how can you do a set when things are so glom right now? I was like, but that's exactly the need. You know, it's not to, it's not to lighten the heaviness of the world and the issues at

(34:27):

Or ignore it, or

(34:28):

To diminish them or minimize them. It's to use them in some capacity that we can actually get through some of this darkness. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. Because humor and lightness is a lot more powerful than dark and sadness. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. You just have to use it. And so if you don't get in that comedy vehicle, I like to use the metaphor Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And you're never gonna win. You're, you're never gonna get to the finish line. But you gotta keep, you gotta stay in that driver's seat. And, you know now is especially the time because, you know, we can wallow in just the doom of the world, which is, again, it's scary out there. It's very heated on so many levels. But when you can kind of find a way to transfer some of that energy into something more positive and and effective you know, it really could, I think it can transcend a lot of the negative mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>

(35:19):

Lot.

(35:20):

And so you work with people individually, private coaching you so anyone listening, if you have that in you where you want to learn your funny side, your, your comedy way of being, if you do wanna be a standup comic, I mean, not everybody wants to do that. It takes a lot of courage. Trust me, I'm doing it. And it's like, ah there's a ton of growth in it. And those that want to simply learn a new way to connect with people be it a person in a singular meeting, or connect with yourself for having six, you're connecting with yourself in a whole new way. You take yourself less seriously. You're definitely more approachable. Susanna is an amazing coach, and I'm gonna give you her information. Let's go ahead and give them your, your website or where you want them to go.

(36:09):

Thank you so much again, just I have to just thank you for everything you're doing and having me on. And yeah. So I can work with everybody in whatever capacity. So the coachings are, they can be based, they're based on appointment, so they're on Zoom. All that information is on my website as well as my classes online, which is through susanna spies.com. So it's S-U-S-A-N-N-A-S-P as in peter, IE s.com. That has all my adult class information. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> as well. Coaching appointments. And then the corporate structure, there's just a separate website, but it's all kind of, it's all entangled. Course. <Inaudible> is not my strong suit <laugh>. But that's called the humor activist. You can, you can take a look at that website, humor activist.com and see kind of the different programs, the corporate end offers. But either, either one, you know, getting to me directly is through susanna spies.com.

(37:08):

That's awesome. If you have any classes coming up.

(37:11):

I do. I have one in March. I was looking down, 'cause I was like, oh, I have to look for that date <laugh>. I was like, trying to be subtle. I always have Saturday workshops, which usually, you know, works for everybody 'cause everybody works during the week in different time zones and everything. So the next one will be in March because I'm in a session right now and it's gonna be Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> March 2nd for five weeks. So March 2nd, 9 16, 20 third, 30th. And that's going to be my Zoom class. It's from two to four Pacific, five to seven Eastern. And that the beauty with Zoom, as we know from the pandemic is it, it encourages people from all over. So if you have a friend and you're living in Houston, you're like, oh, Suzanne, I have a friend in New York.

(37:55):

You both can join in. That's the beauty. Yeah. So we've had people from the Philippines. I had one from Europe, from London, Atlanta, New York. So that's the next session. It's always five weeks on Saturdays. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And they're ongoing. So February, I'm traveling, so there's sort of a, a pause on the program until March. But I am enrolling now. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> for the five week session. And the last week we end in a Zoom show. So you, you will learn how to develop a five minute set Yeah. That you can take with you. I record it, I edit it, and I send it to you so you can have a clip. And if that is not of interest or working with anyone's schedule, then I do the one-on-one coachings. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. And those are available individually or in packages of 3, 6, 9, or 12. Okay. And the only thing I would say to that is because that's individually based, those do book up based on appointment. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. So if that's of interest to you, just reach out. I can give you a 15 minute consultation on the phone. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> obviously. And then we can kind of navigate what kind of package you would wanna look at. And those are ongoing as well.

(39:01):

That's awesome. The energy is just so phenomenal. I, I can't say enough about how you've helped me and transformed my life. So are you coming up for any performances? You know, are you gonna be performing anywhere on stage? Yeah,

(39:12):

I have. So I have a a, a gig Uhhuh <affirmative>. You're gonna be going. I have my, my youth performance at the Hollywood Improv Lab, February 25th I'm hosting, but they're the kids performing, they're way funnier than me. They're amazing. Really. they're so awesome. And then my own performance. I have a show that's a private event in March, and then another one in New York. I'm sort of getting, I'm in between both coasts, so I'm Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> I'm trying to navigate as I go. With February being travel month, I'm, I'm sort of probably gonna hit some more stages more in March than I am, although the, the late February show Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. So, you know, just gotta keep on working it out, finding that's money, that's keep keeping myself accountable as I would in my own coaching, to staying on task and looking at the different exercises that I, I, I do my own exercises that I teach. So that's why I'm like, if you sign up, I'll, I'll show you what those are. But

(40:09):

Yeah, they're great exercises. Oh my God. And we have to do what we say. I mean, that's called being a fraud if you don't Right, <laugh>.

(40:16):

Yeah. I mean, the good news is like, it's not like brain surgery, but people really do overlook the simplicity of how you can find the funny, like, we wanna think it's some scientific thing and I can't do it. I'm like, yeah, you can, you can do it. If you're walking on the street and you see a dog taking a poop without a poop bag, I mean, that's gross. But there's gonna be,

(40:36):

Oh, everywhere I have something on poop bags. Like, like imagine all the humans are gone and aliens or whatever takes over. They find all these very colorful, very graphically, you know, cute <laugh> plastic bags with poop in it. You know, they're probably going, what, what celebratory thing were they always celebrating here in this human <laugh> to bag up poop? It must be the most, you know, riveting and, you know, honored substance on the planet because they protected in these very celebratory bags.

(41:10):

Then you gotta wonder like, what does their planet look like? Are you stepping in poop every two seconds? You know what I mean? Like, oh God, do you bring a poop bag to to to Pluto <laugh>? You know, do they wear masks on other planets? You know, like, I mean, there's all kinds of things, but I mean, what I'm getting at is, there's funny even in the mundane, so it's not that the activities are hard, to your point, they're just topics. Yeah. And then I, it's like an onion. We just unlayer one layer at a time and the gold is in the middle. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. But I really do wanna emphasize to anyone listening, it's, it's not about you having to be funny. I work with people who literally are as shy as they, you can imagine. It's, it's tapping in. It's, it's beyond the, excuse me, it's beyond the funny. It really is. Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>.

(41:53):

It's the relatable, you've helped me know so much. It's the relatable,

(41:58):

That's the stuff.

(41:59):

It's the relatable. It's funny. And I, I had a question down here and I guess I'll go ahead and ask it. And you know, it's just, you actually make executives funny. <Laugh>.

(42:08):

I know. Well, I mean, again, like, it's so funny when you said

(42:12):

Cfos <laugh>

(42:13):

Energy, when you asked the question earlier about have you ever seen the energy shift? Or like, have you ever seen a transformation? I actually have. I remember very vividly seeing two executives that were literally crossed armed, and they were like, Hmm, I wonder what this girl can do. Right. And we did my thing, and then by the end, they were totally open armed. I was like, ah,

(42:32):

<Laugh>, I

(42:32):

Did it.

(42:34):

Woohoo.

(42:34):

'Cause People, I think people wanna, they wanna clam up executives, especially because their comfort is what they know.

(42:41):

Yeah. It's

(42:43):

Comfortable going outside what, you know. But the thing is, this is all based in what, you know, that's what they, that's what they're like, oh, I just talk about the things I have strong opinions on. I'm like, yes, <laugh>. And they have opinions. <Laugh>, they definitely,

(42:56):

They know <laugh>.

(42:58):

So Yeah. They love it. I love it.

(43:00):

Yeah. So I have my magical hat, we call it Ideas from the Hat or Thoughts from the Hat. And so I was going through a few of 'em and I was like, I wanna find one I wanna ask Susanna. And it is if you could have a serious or maybe a funny conversation with a human of your choice dead and they come back to life or a live currently, who would that be?

(43:24):

That's a great question. That's a very good question. And I, I think the first person that automatically came into my mind, there's two people. I don't know if I can tell two.

(43:34):

Yeah, go for it.

(43:35):

Probably Lucille Ball, just 'cause I think, oh, I, she's just a, she's pretty much the legend of all Legends or Carol Burnett. Yeah, I'm very drawn obviously to the generation of women who really, really spearheaded comedy. Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative>. So she was such a legend that obviously it goes without saying, but the same as the Lily Tomlin, Carol Burnett. You know, there's like ob obviously Lucille Ball's spirit has inspired me every single day. I would love to talk with her about like, how did you, you know, what happened with you and Desi and how did you start what, you know, there's actually a theater not too far that I was gonna visit that she used to perform in. I get very inspired by her. So that would be my, probably my ultimate. But Lily Tomlin and Carol Burnett are Right, right beside Mm-Hmm. <Affirmative> just 'cause I'm so inspired by the character work and I just love that they spearheaded at a time, I mean, comedy's become more popular for women now, thank goodness.

(44:32):

Thank goodness.

(44:33):

It still unfortunately is, there's debate on that. But I do love seeing that, you know, females are really getting, there's so many amazing strong women comedians and women voices out there. And, and I think those three really, those, those are at the top of the top of the mark for me.

(44:51):

I Awesome. I, I concur. And thank you for sharing that. Thank you so much. So everyone make note of Susanna's website. Susanna, S-U-S-A-N-N-A, spies, SPIE s.com. And the comedy, you said advocates? No,

(45:11):

So the Humor activist, which is if, if you go to susanna spies.com, it has links to the other websites, but that Oh, cool. That one, I think based on who's listening would probably be, probably be the most useful.

(45:24):

That's awesome. Susanna spies.com. And I can't wait to see you more. And whenever we put out our show notes, we're gonna put some links into your comedy shows so they can just go to YouTube and watch you perform, which is so fun. <Laugh>, thank you so much. Thank you again.

(45:41):

Thank you so much for having me and anybody who is listening, obviously knowing Tina Marie or new listeners, go see her stuff too. She's just so wonderful. And in, in any, in any scenario, wherever you are, just remember, laughter is like the most powerful, one of the most powerful free tools we have out there. So tap into it. It's very, it's a great resource to, to, to plug into. It's important. So thank you Tina Marie, for making me laugh all the time.

(46:08):

Aw, thank you, Susanna. Until next time.