Скачать или смотреть The Serious Work of Making People Laugh

Description:
Potential Spam is an Atlanta-based sketch comedy troupe that's been putting up completely original shows every month for the past year. The catch? All ten members have day jobs—researchers, professors, accountants, people in advertising and trucking. Today, four of them join us to talk about what makes creative collaboration actually work when everyone's juggling full lives, why they show up week after week for zero dollars (sometimes negative dollars), and what it looks like when creative practice becomes the thing that makes the rest of your life make sense.



Key Topics:




• Building creative community alongside demanding day jobs


• How diverse professional backgrounds strengthen collaborative work


• The freedom of creating without monetization pressure


• Maintaining a monthly production schedule as a volunteer team


• Finding creative identity and voice through consistent practice


• Why the post-show bar might matter as much as the performance


• What "taking the work seriously but never ourselves" looks like in practice




Featured Guests:




• Allison Salinger – Improv performer and teacher at Dad's Garage Theatre; Public health researcher at Emory University


• Birton Cowden – Mainstage actor and writer for Potential Spam and Sketchworks Comedy; Professor of entrepreneurship


• Mitchell Mack – Actor, impressionist, and musical sketch writer; UCB and standup comedy background


• Javier Dominguez – Actor, writer, and voice-over artist; Second City trained; returning guest




Notable Quotes:
"I felt like for too long I was consuming instead of creating, and I felt empty. Since I've been here, I feel like I've been awake. It sounds cheesy, but I feel like I was asleep for a long time." – Javier Dominguez



"We take the work seriously, but never ourselves. Rehearsals are just as much giggle fests as they are hard work. But boy do we take the work seriously, as if Lorne Michaels is gonna be in that audience." – Allison Salinger



"My favorite part of the show is the post-show. We go to the bar afterwards, and I wanna know your favorite part of the show, and I wanna bond with you over that." – Mitchell Mack



Connect with Potential Spam:




• Website: potentialspamcomedy.com


• Instagram: @potentialspamcomedy


• YouTube: Past shows available on their channel




Upcoming Show:
One-Year Anniversary "Best Of" Show: February 7, 2026 at The Warehouse in Scottdale. Free drinks, snacks, music, and karaoke to follow.



Follow Could Be Pretty Cool:
@couldbeprettycool | couldbeprettycool.com | couldbeprettycool.substack.com



Keywords:
sketch comedy, Atlanta comedy, creative community, improv, collaborative creativity, creative practice, work-life balance, volunteer arts, comedy writing, Dad's Garage, creative fulfillment, side projects





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