A Humor Milestone: Completing AATH Level I Humor Academy
When I was writing my Master’s dissertation on, “Stand-Up Comedy as an Applied Theatre Practice: One Black Woman’s Authoethnograical Perspective” I was seeking academic, comedic resources and stumbled upon the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH). At the time, AATH was building a Humor Research library which allowed me to access resources specific to humor and comedy. I explored more about the organization and saw they had an opportunity to become a Certified Humor Professional (CHP) through their Humor Academy. I love a credential so I was intrigued to acquire the additional letters and also extend my humor research beyond academia.
As a result, I spent the last year meeting virtually, once a month with humor professionals from around the world. I got a chance to learn how folx applied humor as college professors at HBCUs to how one organization in Indonesia books stand-up comedians for entertainment for employees to boost rapport and morale in the workplace.
Humor Academy Level I participants that met on Thursdays and were led byLevel I East Coast Advisor Uncle Sporty and Level I Internaitonal Advisor Connie Pino
What Humor Academy Taught Me
Being in Humor Academy allowed me to be critical in how I understood and interpreted humor. I was able to learn about humor theory and present to my peers the topic of healthy and hurtful humor which led to a discussion about the different ways our sense of humor can impact others.
Being part of Level I Humor Academy really forced me to think about how I can extend connecting humor more deliberatively into my practice as a Creative, especially at a time that was riddled with so many emotional challenges due to the consistent murdering of Black people because of the pandemic and police.
Image of a blurred crowd with a protest sign that says, “Black Lives Matter.” Image courtesy of James Eades, @eadesstudio
How My First Year in Humor Academy Started
George Floyd was murdered on a Monday and my first Level I Humor Academy meeting was Thursday that week. During that first meeting, I met Diana Scott Shields who eventually became a thought partner and humor collaborator. Diana and I connected one-on-one the next day following our first Humor Academy meeting.
The call with Diana grounded our shared interests in improv comedy and spoke to our very different lived American experiences. Through inspired dialogue and connection in times of racial unrest in the United States, we decided to partner on delivering a virtual playshop series for a new client. Over the next six weeks, we collaborated virtually to deliver a 3-series workshop that focused on applying improvisation to increase compassionate listening to interrupt bias, explore how “yes, and” can lead to more respectful communication, and how to foster collaboration to increase virtual idea sharing and brainstorming. More recently Diana and I are leading a series on applying improv to emerging leaders at a for-profit as part of their leadership development program.
Applying Humor Outside of Humor Academy
Throughout AATH’s Humor Academy, I began to journal more about the applications of humor. This allowed me to increase my own awareness of how often I laughed. Laughing grounded me and allowed me to find the funny in these difficult moments as a way to process these challenging times. Soon, I began to seek out laughter as a daily practice for my own health and well-being.
My response to applying humor to difficult moments led Diana and me to apply to present at AATH’s annual conference. We submitted a workshop on, “Using Humor to Address Challenges in a Changing World.” The workshop was accepted and Diana and I will present to AATH on Friday this week during AATH’s annual conference. Our workshop explores how improv, racism, and the Humor Academy brought us together to collaborate and deliver anti-bias playshops to organizations.
I am proud of the work that I was able to accomplish during such an unpredictable time in our lives. I wouldn’t have been able to be as successful, motivated, and flexible in these difficult times had it not been for applying humor during those challenging moments. I have gratitude for AATH, Humor Academy, and Diana for supporting ways to bring in play and laughter over the last year.
To register for Mary and Diana’s workshop on Friday, April 28, 2021, register for AATH’s conference here: https://www.aath.org/conference.