4: Courtney Pong's Improv Builds a Foundation of Trust

Description

When I first was considering whether I should do a podcast or not and thinking of potential guests I could invite, Courtney Pong was one of the very first guests I thought of as an absolute ringer. She’s smart, savvy, hardworking, hilarious, extremely resourceful, and unbelievably knowledgeable. And on top of that, she’s all those things about the subject of Improv Comedy, which is incredibly niche, which is PERFECT for this show.

As highly as I thought of Courtney, I was aiming way too low because she was an absolutely spectacular guest with extraordinarily thorough and insightful answers to every question. This episode went longer than normal, but I guarantee you that it’s worth it.

Courtney talks about how even though it might sound cliche, she first stepped her toes into improv because she was following a boy that she liked, and how Improv didn’t really click for her until she saw a full show of Comedy Sports and when she did, watching them create a show from nothing was like watching real life magic. She talks about the challenges of being an AAPI (Asian American/ Pacific Islander), female, person of color, and business owner, and all of those things in a city (Boston) that has traditionally been unwelcoming to those all of those things. Meanwhile she is also working in a field (Comedy) that is predominantly White Male and also is traditionally unwelcoming to those things, and how she has to prove herself every time she steps on stage (and she does).

She talks about the words she does and doesn’t use when talking to potential clients about improv, and about why she believes “Yes, And…” to be the wrong principle to teach improvisers because it removes their own agency (can you believe it?). She talks about how she is helping people in her community to become better public speakers and how she recently became a… professor? (Wait, did I read that right? My buddy Courtney is now “Professor Pong?”) And she tells of her shining moment when she returned to her home base and answered the call to lead an event in front of a crowd of hundreds that was the culmination of almost 20 years of hard work.

Courtney blew my mind, and I know that you are gunna love her too!

Learn improv from Courtney!

https://www.rozziesquaretheater.com/

https://www.cszboston.com/

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https://www.cszworldwide.com/

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