By Sierra LaDuke
The house was PACKED at the Mesa Arts Center for the Humor Writes Showcase on April 27th. The evening event cleverly named, “Humor Nights” was SEED SPOT alumna, Tristan Gandolfi’s first opportunity to show the world how her curriculum is working.
Tristan’s mission is to help students develop their reading comprehension and other learning skills in a way that’s fun. What’s more fun than training to become an improv comedian? After school, once a week, students do just that. Tristan has brilliantly figured out a way to bridge laughing and learning in such a seamless way that students don’t even realize how much they’re doing the latter.
Now that you have a bit more background on what this epic venture is all about- let’s get back to the Humor Nights showcase.
Students from six schools near the Phoenix valley were given time in the spotlight to replicate an improv game they had previously learned in a Humor Writes class. While the rules of the games had been previously practiced, the hilarious material was thought up on the spot.
The audience consisted of kids, teenagers, parents and a few professional comedians. It was truly amazing watching young people light up and feed off the energy that the crowd exuded with their laughter.
What I think made Humor Nights so great was that it showed the impossible is possible. A curriculum based after-school program doesn’t have to be boring and dreaded by students, but it can actually be the highlight of their entire week. That’s really cool.
SEED SPOT is so proud of all Tristan has accomplished with her venture so far and we’re already looking forward to the fall Humor Nights showcase.
