I feel like I've always been aware of my mother’s long tapered fingers. Most of the time they were covered in gold rings, catching light as she lit a cigarette or held a glass of wine, always with her pinky extended. In case you didn’t get it by the regal way she...
On Sunday a group of Improv comics met at my house in Atwater Village for some Interactive Storytelling training. As you can see, it was awful. Fortunately we also had snacks!...
I recently had the good fortune to travel to Israel with the Bnai Zion Foundation. They have been dedicated to building community in Israel with love for over 110 years! And we know Laughter On Call builds community and connections with laughter so it was a perfect fit....
Tom and Peggy Misciagna were sitting in their Manassas, Va., home recently, talking about the children they adopted overseas in the 1980s, when Tom, 64, misremembered a major detail. “We got two kids out of India — ” he said. Peggy, 59, chimed in. “Philippines.” “Oh yeah, Philippines,” said Tom, a retired...
Jackie Monahan is a comedian and writer. She has been working for Laughter On Call a little less than a year. I was lucky enough to catch up with her between her time with Carmen, who she makes laugh between 10-12 hours a week, and the rest of her jam-packed writer/performer schedule. DKM:...
Laughter On Call started as a way to bring some much needed comic relief to my mother. However, in the year since the idea of hiring a comedian to work one-on-one with her to make her laugh, it has become a company that offers so much more. The first growth spurt happened when...
I was late to altar, so to speak, meaning it took me a long time to settle down and get married. Apparently, my mother no longer remembers that I did. Every time my husband visits with me I introduce him to her, “Mom, this is my husband Rick.” She just stares at...
The great aspect of living in a city where everyone comes to realize their dreams, is that it’s full of creative people oozing ideas, good and bad. In no other city in the country are the coffee shops standing room only all day long. Whenever people visit and we venture out to...
When I first brought my mother to Los Angeles from New York City where she had lived for most of her life -minus a long decade she spent in suburban Connecticut - she was doing okay. Given how enamored she had always been about Manhattan, in that singular way that native New...