WGN Radio - When the Universe Comes Together

    Yes.  I'm a big fan of The Secret.  Ever since my friend and comedian, Dobie Maxwell, lent me a copy of the video of the same name, I always seem to have a bit of "universal attraction" floating in the back of my mind.  If nothing else, it's just plain fun.  The video is also a great motivator if watched while walking on a treadmill.  It seems to put a little skip in my step. Positive attitude goes a long way in life.

     Today I had one of those "secret" moments which really caused my jaw to drop!  As I drove in my car from errand to errand throughout the northwest suburbs of Chicago, I listened to WGN Radio.  I am fascinated by the humor and interaction of Bill Leff and Wendy Snyder.  (Actually one of the things that truly amazes me about Bill Leff is his professional ability to "sell" a commercial without making innumerable jokes about the product.  Knowing the quick comedic mind of Bill Leff from his days as a stand-up comedian, I am sure this takes amazing restraint!)

     As I listened to the two co-hosts interact I imagined how absolutely wonderful it would be to co-host a show on WGN Radio.   I absolutely love being a guest comedian on WGN Radio and whenever I leave the Chicago radio station after an interview, I feel like the kid who has to leave the birthday party early.  To me, being a guest on the radio is very much like having an endless conversation with a girlfriend on the phone.  Chat, chat, laugh, chat and laugh.  What's not to like?!  Let's just say I was basically consumed by these thoughts of co-hosting on WGN Radio as I ran errands this afternoon and could not let them go.

     When I came home from running my errands I sat down at my computer and there was an email from Rick Geiser who is the publicist for Zanies Comedy Clubs.  Right there in front of me in black and white was an inquiry as to whether I would like to co-host an hour show on WGN Radio on November 13th at 10:00 a.m. with Frank Fontana!  Would I?!

     The universe and all that is good came together today and I am having the best time!  Here's to "The Voice of Chicago!"

WGN Radio - "The Voice of Chicago"

A Peek at "Down and Dirty" with Frank Fontana

Discovering Your Special Gift

I understand it now. I understand how to recognize a unique "gift" within oneself. After years of soul searching I have been able to share my insights with my children and other adults. I find it funny that a personal gift should be so difficult to recognize. To our friends it can be quite apparent. It is best to listen to friends and family as they praise our uniqueness. It is difficult for us to recognize our own gift because we assume everyone shares our talents.

With my own children I was always on the lookout for clues. It was a daily fun exercise to notice repeated patterns of actions or words that were unique to each child. My oldest son, Brendan, was only six years old the first time he asked me, "Mom, what do you think of black holes?" Was I supposed to be thinking of black holes? My heart raced for a correct answer that wouldn't scar him with my lack of knowledge on the subject. Black hole questions were followed by comet and constellation questions. None of my other children were that inquisitive of the night sky. Today Brendan is an astrophysicist.

Our senior babysitter noticed our second son's gift when he was only 11 months old. "This kid is hilarious and he knows just how to make you laugh. He is the funniest baby I have ever seen." Steven established a pattern of making us laugh to tears. Today he lives in Los Angeles and is in an internship program for comedy sketch writing.  Last week, Steven came in first in a stand-up comedy competition at Flappers Comedy Club!

Our youngest, Christine, was a quick study. At nine years old she would take graph paper and draw sketches of the interior of her room. Every piece of furniture was measured and labeled. I said, "Christine, are you doing that for school?" Christine used graph paper for fun! Being a "math-o-phobic", I knew the clues were adding up quickly. Christine is now in San Francisco getting stellar grades. She is majoring in Architecture.

In retrospect I see my own life story was formed by the time I was eight. My parents signed me up for piano lessons and I began to teach myself to sing. I didn't stop singing. I started dancing and twirling and I loved making people laugh with my miniature shows. My older sister started bringing me to audition at community plays. Because of my lack of voice and dance training I did not get the parts. I worried I had no special talent. Fifteen years later, I walked on to the stand up comedy stage of Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago as a new talent. Within minutes I experienced the joy of being on stage and I knew I wanted to make people laugh. I discovered my gift and knew I was home.

Sally Edwards is a professional Corporate Christian Comedian who tours nationally. Sally Edwards' clean comedy has been featured on A&E's "Comedy on the Road" and Showtime's "Comedy Club Network."

Sally Edwards is the president of The Humorous Speakers Bureau in Chicago. For booking information see: http://ComedyBySally.com

Re-invent Yourself Mid-life!

A Comedian's Perspective - Reinvent Yourself at Mid-life

Why do adults plunge into a mid-life crisis?  Perhaps it is the naming of the personal phenomenon.  Afterall, "crisis" does not conjure feelings of great joy and happiness.  Rather, it causes one to imagine greeting cards with pithy sayings about being "over the hill."  Let's step away from that doomsday picture for a minute.

Now imagine that mid-life is inherently regarded as a fantastic life hurdle that one has just crossed. I see self-confident adults who dare to reinvent themselves. These adults are having fun, traveling and discovering new career pathways of adventure.

There are so many options for living in this world. Why do so many human beings label themselves as only one thing? The obvious answers are need, money and opportunity. Once a person is established in a successful career, it is not a popular and/or intelligent choice to simply walk away from it all. A successful career is great for the ego, the stability and of course, the family. However, what happens when retirement is on the horizon? Does it have to signal gloom and doom?

A counselor once told me, "It's not what happens to you in life. It is how you interpret it." This is one of the most invigorating statements I have heard. With just a change of thought process, an individual has the personal power to turn everything good. All that is needed is a positive attitude! I approach midlife crisis in the same positive manner.

Midlife crisis can be viewed as a midlife "dream." Take that extra energy and put it into projects or plans for the future. I had my own midlife crisis when I realized I was overwhelmed in the world of stand up comedy from having to perform up to ten shows a week. With my husband's encouragement, I became a corporate comedian for women's events. Now I am able to perform one show per week that is as profitable as an entire week of standup comedy in a club. As a clean corporate comedian, I am asked to appear at luncheons and banquets. This is much more conducive to my early to bed, early to rise schedule and it presents the challenge of performing entirely solo. I am on the other side of my midlife crisis discovering a new type of audience and new performing platforms.

If you're approaching any type of "crisis" you may wish to redefine it. Referring to a midlife "crisis" as a midlife "discovery" may give you an extra edge in enjoying various life stages. Interpreting life in a positive manner will open exciting paths of self-discovery.

Clean Corporate Comedy for Women's Events

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Sally Edwards is a Clean Female Corporate Comedian who tours nationally. Sally Edwards' clean comedy has been featured on A&E's "Comedy on the Road" and Showtime's "Comedy Club Network."

Sally Edwards is the president of The Humorous Speakers Bureau in Chicago. For booking information see: http://ComedyBySally.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7624286

Stand up Comedy - Your First Appearance on the Comedy Stage

Tips for Performing Stand-up Comedy

You think you're a funny guy or girl and you've gathered enough courage to perform on New Talent Night at a local comedy club. How should you prepare to face a room full of strangers and make them laugh? First, you need your arsenal of funny material. Take time during the day to sit down and write a joke with a simple joke structure. The simplest and most basic form of joke writing is "set up and punchline". "Setting up a joke" is providing basic information about an experience or topic. It establishes a place, a feeling and a presence. The punchline element produces the surprise and the unexpected ending. A genuine surprise elicits laughter from an audience which proves your joke is effective. 

 Memorize your jokes and rehearse them either mentally or verbally. Create a visual picture in your head of the subject matter and your first jokes will be more easily committed to memory. Continue rehearsing your jokes daily until they can be recited out loud and with confidence. Achieving a relaxed conversational tone will demonstrate command of the stage and put an audience at ease. Many new comedians assume they can stand on stage and be an "off-the-cuff" guy or girl. This can be a dangerous assumption. The first time on stage can be intimidating and it is very possible that increased nervousness will steal your mental reflexes and response time. You will be facing lights and strange faces as the audience stares at you, and you alone. Most likely, you will feel robbed of your humorous creativity as you know it. Having a solidly memorized "set" of material will give you a performance safety net on stage. It is better that improvising skills are utilized once an audience is engaged and laughing. 

 The first time on stage triggers the primal fear of facing a roomful of unfamiliar faces. You are taking on a very formidable challenge when standing on the comedy stage. Don't be too hard on yourself. Congratulations on conquering a fear that is only second to death. It does get better and more fun as you feel more comfortable on stage and as you get to know your "character". Performing on a weekly or nightly basis will make the joke writing easier and the performances will appear more natural. Taking those first few steps on the comedy stage are giant leaps in terms of personal goals and a lifetime of effort and enjoyment.    

ComedyBySally.com

Comedy in L.A. with Ray Romano

     Just took a trip out to L.A. and had a super time.  My husband, Bert and I, planned the trip to see our children who are in L.A. and San Francisco respectively.  However, we did spend some time at The Comedy Magic Club in Hermosa Beach because my husband is a friend of the manager Richie Barrett.  Our son Steven, who is also a comedian, joined.  (Of course that was the best part for me.)

     Richie was an awesome host and made us feel very much at home.  We ate dinner in his company in a private room and really received the super treatment.  It was a special thrill for our son because he is relatively new to the comedy scene and he got a real bird's eye view of backstage.

    As is customary to the Comedy Magic Club the stars were out.  Although I have met most "wow" comedians from their visits to Chicago, I had never met Ray Romano and he made a special guest visit that evening.  It just so happened that there was a benefit that night and the audience was all women.  Believe me, I wanted to be on that stage but Ray handled the same sex crowd with finesse.  They loved him!

      We exited when Ray's portion of the show was over.  On the way out, I passed him in the hallway and shook his hand.  He was very gracious and I told him I was big fan of his show that still airs daily.  If you want to know what Ray Romano is really like - watch "Everybody Loves Raymond."  At first glance, it does seem to provide a true reflection.

Smile - You're Doing Stand Up Comedy!

I am a stand up comedian who did not smile. Not only was I a stand up comedian who did not smile, I was a wife, mother, friend and stranger who did not smile. The odd thing is that I thought I was smiling.

Five years ago, my husband said to me, “Sally, you’ve got to learn to smile on stage!” I said, “I do smile. What are you talking about? I’m very happy.”

I saw the videotapes and realized I was wrong. Five years ago, I began to teach myself to smile. I made it my mission and passion. I wanted to communicate correctly how I was feeling. If I met someone, I thought to myself, “Make youself smile!” When I greeted my children when they came home from school, I thought, “Make yourself smile!” And, of course, on stage, it was a constant, “Make yourself smile!”

At first smiling felt very insincere because it required a constant mental and physical effort. However, as I continued my efforts, I realized that, in fact, it was much more sincere to be happy and communicate that emotion. It changed my life so greatly for the better. If you are not a natural smiler, now is the time to make the change.

I’m convinced that smiling is hereditary. Some people have such an easy time with it. They’re smiling all the time from an early age. Consequently, they seem to have more friends, successful careers and happier children. Truly they have unknowingly harnessed the power of this great secret.

Does your dog smile? Mine does. And I’m willing to bet that you’ve noticed that your dog smiles too. Doesn’t a dog’s smile make you feel great? A dog doesn’t smile often but when it does, everyone notices and everyone comments. A smile counts and it goes a long way.

Now it’s your turn. Even if you smile only as often as your dog, you have the ability to teach yourself to communicate more effectively and sincerely. It requires a concerned effort and will feel very unnatural at first. It will feel like you’re not being “you”. That’s the good news! You’re becoming a better “you!”

Smiling comes very easily to me now. I feel as if I have made a great discovery and I am truly enjoying it. The other morning as I walked my two dogs in the park, I ran into a friend and he gave me a wonderful compliment. He said, “Sally, it’s good to see you. You always look so happy!”

That’s because …. I am.

Mom Stories - "Mom, Who Am I?"

   I don’t know what goes on in kindergarten but I can tell these kids are doing a heck of a lot more than me when I was five.  I know that “David” was the longest name I’d ever seen and I still had no idea was “M,N,L,O,P” was when I entered first grade.  Kids today are reading at a third grade level at a time when my father would simply look at me and say, “Don’t flunk sandbox.”

            This was never more apparent to me the day Christine came home from kindergarten and said, “Mom.  We’re going to play a game.  Standing in a white lace dress and ankle socks, Christine looked like an angel and she spoke with the innocence of someone who didn’t know they were about to challenge the incredible competitive character known as “Mommy.”  Christine continued in a soft voice.  “I’m going think of something in the world and you get three guesses to figure out what I’m thinking of.”  Maybe this heavenly being knew a little more about playing the big slots than I gave her credit for.  It seemed that the “world” is a pretty big playing field and the human component of “thinking” could not be scored in a fair and honest manner.    I became aware that the odds of winning were stacked in her favor.

            I began to guess.  “Christine, you’re thinking of your big red doll.”  “No!”  “Christine, you’re thinking of your baby doll.”  “No!”  “Christine you’re thinking of that lamp right over there.”  “No!”   I’d lost – but by how much?   I had to know now.  “Christine, what may I ask were you thinking about?”  Christine looked at me in the eyes as if she was pulling in her poker chips.  …. “Mount Fuji!”  … I wasn’t even close.  “Christine?”  “What.”  “I want to talk to your teacher.”

A Female Comedian's Insight - Understanding Your Children's Gifts

I understand it now. I understand how to recognize a unique "gift" within oneself. After years of soul searching I have been able to share my insights with my children and other adults. I find it funny that a personal gift should be so difficult to recognize. To our friends it can be quite apparent. It is best to listen to friends and family as they praise our uniqueness. It is difficult for us to recognize our own gift because we assume everyone shares our talents.

With my own children I was always on the lookout for clues. It was a daily fun exercise to notice repeated patterns of actions or words that were unique to each child. My oldest son, Brendan, was only six years old the first time he asked me, "Mom, what do you think of black holes?" Was I supposed to be thinking of black holes? My heart raced for a correct answer that wouldn't scar him with my lack of knowledge on the subject. Black hole questions were followed by comet and constellation questions. None of my other children were that inquisitive of the night sky. Today Brendan is an astrophysicist.
Our senior babysitter noticed our second son's gift when he was only 11 months old. "This kid is hilarious and he knows just how to make you laugh. He is the funniest baby I have ever seen." Steven established a pattern of making us laugh to tears. Today he lives in Los Angeles and is in an internship program for comedy sketch writing.

Our youngest, Christine, was a quick study. At nine years old she would take graph paper and draw sketches of the interior of her room. Every piece of furniture was measured and labeled. I said, "Christine, are you doing that for school?" Christine used graph paper for fun! Being a "math-o-phobic", I knew the clues were adding up quickly. Christine is now in San Francisco getting stellar grades. She is majoring in Architecture.

In retrospect I see my own life story was formed by the time I was eight. My parents signed me up for piano lessons and I began to teach myself to sing. I didn't stop singing. I started dancing and twirling and I loved making people laugh with my miniature shows. My older sister started bringing me to audition at community plays. Because of my lack of voice and dance training I did not get the parts. I worried I had no special talent. Fifteen years later, I walked on to the standup comedy stage of Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago as a new talent. Within minutes I experienced the joy of performing and making people laugh. I discovered my gift and knew I was home.

Sally Edwards is a professional Corporate Comedian who tours nationally. Sally Edwards' clean comedy has been featured on A&E's "Comedy on the Road" and Showtime's "Comedy Club Network."

Clean Comedy Events for Women's Groups with Keynote Speaker Sally Edwards

It has been a wonderful week booking Clean Comedy Events for Women's Groups.  Clean comedy that is non-offensive allows women to laugh without the fear of embarrassment.  We have a great time and everyone is a winner!  Upcoming Clean Comedy Events for Women's Groups include:

Catholic Women's League of Rockford - Sept. 18th - Keynote Speaker and Comedian

St. John Neumann, St. Charles, IL - September 27th - Keynote Speaker and Comedian

St. John United Methodist Church, Louisville Kentucky:  Nov. 14th - Keynote Speaker and Comedian

Christ Community Church, St. Charles, IL - Dec. 14th - Keynote Speaker and Comedian

Keynote Speaker and Comedian Sally Edwards

Clean Comedy for Women - Sally Edwards' Keynote Speaker

http://ComedyBySally.com