EVEN MORE RECENTLY Announced:
SECOND CITY JOINS THE ENSEMBLE!
VOLUME 7
THE FUTURE OF FUNNY
February 21, 2019
WE Global Learning Centre
339 Queen Street East
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Just Announced: Aurora Browne
from THE Baroness Von Sketch Show
THIS IS SERIOUS STUFF
Event Details
Volume 7 kicks off 2019 with an academic, humourless review of the changing face of comedy.
Remember how hard it was to get a laugh before the internet? People stayed up for late night talk shows, lined up at comedy clubs, waited through commercials, sitcoms reigned supreme, and your dad’s jokes were a hit at every party.
With social feeds and instant messaging taking over our lives, we’re increasingly demanding people get to the point, or in this case, the punchline. To keep up, we’re now innundated with a world of gif’s, memes, pull quotes and 5-10 second bits that either get the laugh or are forgotten forever.
We know how hard it is to break through with messages which is why brands, agencies, entrepreneurs, and more are looking to comedy as the silver bullet and it's having a profound impact across business, media, and beyond.
But how do you harness the power of comedy in a new world of media?
Who are the new players and how is the old guard keeping up?
How is the business side changing to integrate fresh (and funny) thinking into legacy systems?
And why did that chicken cross the road?
(Ok, maybe not that one....)
Thursday, February 21, 2019
WE Global Learning Centre
339 Queen Street East
6:30 PM
KAREN Clausen DOCKRILL
Director of Business Development,
Second City Works
Karen is the Director of Business Development at Second City Works, the B2B professional services arm of the world-renowned Second City comedy theater. Second City Works uses the Improv methods pioneered on stage to create professional development programs, creative content, innovative brand messaging as well as corporate events that drive business growth and organizational success. Prior to Second City, Karen led business development, marketing and strategic partnerships in the areas of consumer loyalty for the AIRMILES Rewards program, internet experience for Sympatico.ca, and for luxury travel brand Butterfield & Robinson. She is a member of SITE Canada and sits on boards for educational and health care institutions in Toronto. She is actively involved with homeless initiatives and volunteers with the Bob Rumball Foundation serving children who are deaf, hard of hearing and living with unique learning & physical needs.
Gary RIDEOUT JR
Executive Producer, Second City
Gary Rideout Jr. has recently joined the Second City as Executive Producer. He has spent the past ten years as the co-owner and Artistic Director of Comedy Bar. He has created and produced several award-winning comedy series for both traditional television and digital formats. He was an Executive Producer for The Canadian Comedy Awards and has held advisory roles with The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival, The Big City Improv Festival and was integral to the build and design of the new Bad Dog Comedy Theatre. Gary has toured the country producing and performing live comedy for more than 15 years and is a founding member of The Sketchersons, which has been nominated for eight Canadian Comedy Awards as best sketch troupe. He was the 2014 recipient of the Roger Abbott Award for his contributions to Canadian comedy.
CARLY HEFFERNAN
Artistic Director, Second City
Carly Heffernan is a recent alumna of the Second City Toronto Mainstage where she wrote and performed in 4 revues including the hit shows, We’ve Totally (Probably) Got This!, Live Wrong & Prosper and Dreams Really Do Come True (And Other Lies). You may have seen her on: The L.A. Complex (CW), This Hour has 22 Minutes (CBC), Dr. Love (Teletoon), Sketchersons TV (Rogers), Comedy Bar the Series (Bite TV) or heard her on Life With Boys (YTV), Definitely Not the Opera, Laugh Out Loud and Here or Now (CBC Radio). Carly is a former member of the award winning sketch troupe The Sketchersons and still parties on stage with the all-female, award nominated, comedy cocktail, She Said What!
AURORA BROWNE
co-creator, writer, executive producer and star, Baroness von Sketch Show
Aurora Browne is proud to be one of the co-creators, writers, executive producers and stars of CBC’s new sketch comedy series, Baroness von Sketch Show.
Aurora graduated from York University's theatre program with a BFA in Acting, and has been honing her sketch chops since 2000 when she was hired by Toronto’s Second City Troupe. Since then she has appeared on Comedy Inc, The Gavin Crawford Show, Comedy Now, The Ron James Show, InSecurity, Corner Gas and many others.
She recently co-created and starred in Newborn Moms, a web series about new motherhood on ABC Digital. She is also currently in development for season 2 of The Writer’s Block with Frantic Films.
Aurora has been nominated for numerous Canadian Comedy Awards for her work in Toronto’s red hot live sketch and improv scene, and in 2008 won the CCA for Best Female Improviser. She was also a nominee for the Tim Sims Encouragement Fund Award.
Her son thinks she is hilarious.
margaret adaniel
Head of RBC Insurance Marketing and RBC Bank Personal Savings and Investing Marketing, RBC
As a marketing leader, Margaret looks to identify and maximize unique opportunities to drive revenue and strategically plan for the future, bringing a blend of creativity, business knowledge, and analytical skills with a passion for people.
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Margaret rejoined RBC in July of 2016, as the Head of RBC Insurance and Investments Marketing, after 10 years in various marketing leadership roles are HSBC, including the North American COO, of Marketing. Margaret started in the marketing profession at RBC Dominion Securities, where support the Investment Advisors in their individual marketing efforts and ran key loyalty programs, at which time she obtained her marketing degree. Early in her career, she had a sales advisory and branch management focused roles with Manulife Securities and Trimark Investments.
Margaret has held a wide variety marketing roles including Head of Brand and Sponsorships, Personal and Commercial Campaign Management and Commercial North American Events Head.
GABE DUNLOP
VICE PRESIDENT, DIPLY
Gabe Dunlop is a senior media executive, passionate pursuer of growth and recovering ad salesman. Gabe's experience spans biz dev, partnerships, media activation, ad-tech and content marketing. Gabe's been fortunate to work across some of Canada's most loved media properties including CTV, Virgin Radio, Family Channel, Comedy and TSN/RDS while leading brand partnerships with marketers such as The Canadian Tourism Commission, Universal Pictures, Diageo, The AGO, Unilever, Beam Spirits, Molson and the Heart & Stroke Foundation.
Moving into ad tech in 2017, Gabe launched MDC Partner's programmatic trading desk in Canada. Gabe currently works at Diply as part of the executive team transforming the website from a mass publisher to a category leader across Entertainment, Lifetsyle and Trending News. As part of Gabe's role he oversee's the content department which produces over 1,000 pieces of original social content every month including memes, listicles, and video.
Gabe also leads Life Unfiltered, a joint venture between Diply and America's Funniest Videos which was the fastest growing Facebook Watch page in 2018 amassing 6M fans in under 6 months. Gabe is also the co-recipient of two Media Innovation Awards in the Categories of Entertainment and Content Integration.
Sandy jobin-Bevans
Co-FOUNDER, NOrman howard
A nine-time winner at the Canadian Comedy Awards, Sandy is an alumnus of the legendary Toronto Second City Mainstage, and Partner at Norman Howard, a Toronto-based comedic content shop.
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Beyond appearing in countless commercials, Sandy was the host of HGTV’s Great Home Giveaway, and as an actor Sandy has appeared in such films as You Kill Me with Ben Kingsley and Harold & Kumar Go To Whitecastle with two guys who want to find a Whitecastle. Sandy was a regular cast member on the Comedy Network’s sketch comedy show Hotbox, as well he plays the single father of four children on YTV/Nickelodeon’s hit kids sitcom Life With Boys, and is the co-host of the W Network’s hidden camera gameshow, Deal With It. Look for Sandy as the (clearly guilty) Mayor of Flint, Michigan in the Lifetime movie, Flint, the dad on NBC Universal’s new family sitcom, Bijillionaires, and co-hosting Just Like Mom and Dad, now in it’s second season!
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For over 17 years Sandy has been using his experience as a professional improviser to leads communications/presentation skills workshops, working with such clients as Alcon, Baxter, BMO, Canadian Tire, CIBC, Deloitte, Expedia, Harley-Davidson, HBC, IBM, Mattel, HP, McDonalds, Scotiabank, RIM, Rogers, Telus, P & G, Walmart, Whirlpool, Sasktel, Sunlife, The Toronto Blue Jays, The Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Blackhawks, the NBA, Major League Baseball, the NHL, and Xerox among many, many others.
Alanna nathanson
Co-founder & CHIEF CRETIVE DIRECTOR, Giants & Gentlemen
Alanna is one those rare award-winning creatives that actually loves business, so… she started one. Giants & Gentlemen was founded on a philosophy she’s practiced her entire career: do great work that stands out, ego-free. Her drive to nurture young talent and push for excellence is a testament to all of the work that leaves the agency. She also impresses with her ability to pair the right cabernet with fries.
ANGUS TUCKER
CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER AND CEO, john St.
Angus is the Chief Creative Officer and co-founder of john st., one of Canada's most successful and awarded ad agencies of the last 20 years. john st. has used humour to sell everything from insurance to soup to whisky to early breast cancer screening. But it's their savage send ups of the advertising business in films like Catvertising, Jane St., and ExFEARiential that put them on the pop culture map, and got Angus his first actual death threat.
WE GLOBAL LEARNING CENTRE
We're proud of our association with the WE Global Learning Centre and now we invite you to be part of it, too.
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The WGLC is open for public rentals. Proceeds from venue rentals go directly to support WE Charity.
VOLUME 7
partners
Thank you to all of our partners who help us create something bigger.
