Player Spotlight: ComedySportz Manchester
ComedySportz Manchester are delighted to once again be invited to the ComedySportz World Championship, this year in Indianapolis.
Since 2003 (in DC) ComedySportz Manchester have sent a team to represent the only UK team.
ComedySportz Manchester started life as ComedySportz Chorley back in 2001. Once the move to the big city happened in 2007 there was no looking back, and CSzMan is thriving more than ever. Now in their 10th year they are organising their 10 Year Anniversary Show this November back in their original home in Chorley, Dick Chudnow (ComedySportz Founder) will be flying in for the occasion.
Last time we were in Indianapolis we had a ball.
See our delightful British Charm and confusion with words.
See you in July where we will take on (down!) Indy and Buffalo!
Player Spotlight: Steph DeWaegeneer
If we had a crown to present to anyone, it would probably be set upon the head of Miss ComedySportz, Steph DeWaegeneer. Steph first joined ComedySportz in Houston, TX in 1991. She spent 10 years in Chicago, IL when the desire to pursue improv comedy full-time pulled her to the Comedy Capital of the Free World from 1997-2008. Steph hae always been an enthusiastic advocate for ComedySportz wherever she went, but it was during her time in Chicago, in 1998, when she began to carve out her niche’ as the Sales Goddess of CSz. Continuing to perform every week as a Player or Referee, she built an unparalleled sales record as the ComedySportz-Chicago Director of Creative Sales. She pursued the usual ComedySportz Touring Company shows and corporate team building bookings, and additionally put the word out the improvisers were the best choice for promotional marketing talent. Starting with the Chicagoland Macy’s department stores hiring ComedySportz Players for in-store promotions, holiday-themed events, and product launches and opportunities quickly built to huge projects such as national promo tours for Reddi-Wip and Wendy’s. When she decided to move to Houston in 2008, she wanted to bring her experience to transforming the ComedySportz-Houston client list. She currently works as their Sales Director, continues to perform every week, and Coach a ComedySportz High School League Team.
While traveling on a cruise sponsored by the now defunct plus-size lifestyle magazine, Figure she was selected to model in a plus fashion show. So like a good improviser she said “Yes! And…” That one event snowballed into her becoming the 2007 Ms. Illinois Plus America and first-runner up at the 2007 Miss Plus America pageant. (www.missplusamerica.com) After relocating back to Texas, she decided to give the pageant another shot and was crowned 2009 Ms. Texas Plus America and proudly promoted her platform a real life application of Yes! And… titled Live Life with P.O.P.: Power of the Positive! The only downside to winning that Texas title was that the national pageant conflicted with the ComedySportz World Championship. So while her teammates and friends headed to Milwaukee, Steph prepared to represent Texas at the national pageant in Louisiana. Cheers erupted at the after hours party in Milwaukee, when she began texting that she has won, and was crowned 2009 Ms. Plus America! The following summer she had to send her regrets to CSz-Philadelphia because again MPA was conflicting with CSz, and she had to crown her successor. When Steph was asked by the Pageant Director to emcee the 2011 Miss Plus America pageant, she said “I can’t commit until I find our when the ComedySportz Championship is. I can’t miss another year! I haven’t missed two tournament is a row!”. Whew! The events were each schedule two weeks apart.
Steph is elated to return to the ComedySportz World Championship. She loves seeing her ComedySportz friends from around the world, meeting first-time attendees, learning along side of them during Workshops, and laughing during the matches. There’s also the terrific after-hours social bonding time. “What happens at tournament, stays at tournament.” She encourages Loyal Fanz to come out at 7pm on Friday July 22nd when Houston takes on Provo.
Whether she wearing Ref strips or a sparkling crown, she embraces who she is with power of Yes! And.. She delights in being know throughout the community as “The Comedy Girl” or “that lady from Sports Comedy [sic]”. Even though she get’s a thrill every time she makes a sale, her greatest joy still comes from performing on the field with her teammates, and she has faith the Houston has what it takes to bring home the 2011World Championship trophy…or at least the Congeniality award.
Player Spotlight: Danny Rockey
Danny Rockey … how can we describe him? If someone was asked to do it in one word, well, it couldn’t be done. You could say he’s tall. Clearly, he’s quite tall. But that merely scratches the surface of what Danny is about.
Raised on the south side of Indianapolis, he was always trying to find a way to get even further off the ground. He started by climbing the refrigerator when he was only 2. Before he turned 6, he found a way on top of the roof only to discover that it does hurt if you jump. But he survived. Danny is a tall survivor. He broke his back in a car wreck at age 14, but healed in half the time of normal humans. A ComedySportz performer since 2003, Danny started in our workshop classes, and climbed his way through all three. On our playing field, Danny is known for his extravagant characters, funny expressions, and making his voice heard through song. He also has a favorite curly wig that he often wears. Danny is the son of two of our loyal fans – Dr. Donald Rockey and Terry Rockey – and gets to also play the role of funniest uncle to his six nieces and nephews.
Player Spotlight: “Mama” Mia Bauman
Multiple sclerosis isn’t funny. But if anyone could find humor in the disease, it would probably be Mia Bauman. As co-owner and executive producer of ComedySportz Indianapolis, Mia has performed in more than 1,000 matches and other improv shows since 1993.Improv comedy is all about dealing with unscripted surprises. Skilled performers leap into the unknown with each scene – with weird accents, bizarre situations, and offbeat relationships – and quickly take control of the situation as if they’d planned it all along. When a problem crops up in improv, a good player uses it to her advantage instead of freezing up. Such a problem came Mia’s way on a cold day in February 2004 … but in real life, not on stage.
She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis that day at the age of 34. Since her diagnosis, she has lost strength in her legs and now uses a cane or scooter to get around. But she’s not fumbling for a response to this unexpected development. Mia is doing everything that she can to fight the devastating effects of MS. In 2005 she started the MS Walk Team, dubbed Mia’s Magnificent Seven, to raise money for research and to help others in her community who can no longer work due to the crippling effects of MS. In addition to her work at ComedySportz Indianapolis, she is also the proud mother of Margot and Claire, and now a very happy Mimi to her first grandson, Dreydin. Mia is happily married to fellow ComedySportz player Chris Bauman.
We are honored to be giving a portion of the proceeds of our upcoming World Championship ticket sales to the Indiana chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, through Mia’s Magnificent Seven. Mia truly believes that a cure can be found in her lifetime, and we will continue to do all that we can to see that a cure is found so that no one else has to hear the words “You have MS.”
MS has changed Mia’s life, but it hasn’t taken away her quick wit and fabulous sense of humor, which remain intact. She’s still an extremely serious competitor, and is so certain that Indianapolis will win this World Championship that she’ll do backflips down Massachusetts Avenue when her team takes the trophy.
Or at least improvise an impression of someone doing backflips.
Check out the latest news about the upcoming 2011 ComedySportz World Championships set in Indianapolis. This is where you can keep up on the latest stories about the tournament.
Learn about the past hosts of the ComedySportz World Championships, history of both ComedySportz & ComedySportz Indianapolis, and when each CSz franchise started.
The featured spotlight page will highlight players that will be traveling to Indianapolis for this year's World Championship. You'll find out more about your favorite players than you wanted to know.
