During this time of uncertainty and stress, we hope this month’s newsletter provides a little cathartic joy -- and some helpful resources. Please take good care.
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Are you an artist, writer, activist or cultural strategist having difficulty continuing your work due to COVID19? Here are some resources from our friends that might help.
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For the educators in the CMSI community, Patricia Aufderheide prepared this helpful guide to fair use while teaching online.
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On April 1st (yes, April Fool’s Day) we announced the finalists for our 2020 Yes, And...Laughter Lab. This year the Yes, And… Laughter Lab received applications from more than 250 comedy writers and performers. We are so grateful to both our selection committee of comedy writers, performers and media leaders ( Abbi Jacobson, Aparna Nancherla, Baron Vaughn, Bassem Youssef, Franchesca Ramsey, Jeffrey P. Jones, Jenny Yang, Roy Wood Jr, Ryan Cunningham, and Wyatt Cenac) and our leadership committee of the entertainment industry and social justice leaders ( Arij Mikati, Betsy Richards, Elizabeth Grizzle Voorhees, Ishita Srivastava, Jennie Church-Cooper, Kristen Marsten, Negin Farsad, Sue Obeidi, and Erika Soto Lamb), who played critical roles in the decision-making process. What an amazing group! |
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What happens next?
Pitch Events:
We are hoping to hold two Yes, And...Laughter Lab pitch events in September -- one in New York and one in Los Angeles. We’ll stay in touch with the final dates and details in the coming months.
We are very thankful to our sponsors, Luminate, Pop Culture Collaborative, Comedy Central and Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art’s Building Bridges Program for supporting this initiative that centers the vital role of comedy and creativity in social change.
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We’re in the midst of a pandemic, but we’re also witnessing an uprising of new comedy from professionals and ordinary people, both here in the U.S. and around the world. Beyond making us laugh, what role does comedy serve in times of strife? Caty Borum Chattoo writes about why comedy is so important (and prolific) during the COVID-19 shutdown.
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CMSI is also happy to welcome new part-time research associates, Aras Coskuntuncel and Erica Diya Basu, who recently completed their doctoral work at the AU School of Communication.
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Take care and be safe out there.
Team CMSI
Caty, Varsha, Bethany, and David
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