About Laughter On Call | Building Connection Through Comedy

Our Backstory

In 2018, after her mother became depressed facing Alzheimer’s, our founder and CEO Dani Klein Modisett had the idea to hire a professional comedian to cheer her up. It worked! The quality of the end of her mother’s life was transformed, thanks to the connection that was created through laughter. Her mother started eating again, joining in with her community, and even singing. Modisett sensed that this breakthrough would serve others.

She wrote an article about the experience for AARP and received hundreds of requests to connect comedians to loved ones around the world who were feeling isolated by Alzheimer’s. This inspired her to launch Laughter On Call, initially pairing comedians with Alzheimer’s patients and quickly expanding to training for healthcare workers and families in simple comedians’ tools to help mitigate feelings of isolation. Then COVID-19 hit, and the whole world became isolated. Modisett had another light-bulb moment. Using the comedy prompts and Improv skills they relied on, she and her team developed virtual programming to give people around the world the comic relief they were craving.

LOC has run hundreds of events for Fortune 500 companies, mid-size businesses, universities, healthcare workers, and families worldwide – both virtually and in person. All of our engagements, whether for team building or with those facing Alzheimer’s, are grounded in proven Improv tools that create joyful connection.

We provide connection and experiential learning at its best. A WBENC certified company, our programs are run by a diverse group of professional comedians who make a clear distinction between “laughing with” and “laughing at.” We use affiliative humor, proven to bring people together, lend perspective, and introduce levity to any situation.

As Modisett noted in an interview in the Wall St. Journal, certified company, our programs are run by a diverse group of professional comedians who make the distinction between “laughing with” and “laughing at.” We use affiliative humor, proven to bring people together, lend perspective, and introduce levity to any situation. As Modisett noted in a recent Wall St. Journal article,

“Don’t be too dark or too harsh. Everyone’s feeling vulnerable these days. The kind of court jester right now is to be sensitive.”

As a compassionate comedy company, we don’t exploit vulnerability or engage with sarcasm. We use affiliative humor to bring people together. We’re committed to boosting morale and fostering inclusive environments, helping your team create a strong and healthy foundation for freeing creativity and increasing productivity.

Laughter On Call has been used as a case study for Harvard Business School, where Modisett has also been a guest lecturer. She has also been a guest speaker at The Stanford Graduate School of Business, Fuqua at Duke and run programs at MIT and Columbia.