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Wavelength  

Comedy & Educational Troupe

Wavelength is an ensemble of professional actors and educators that uses the research-based benefits of humor, laughter and improvisation to train, motivate and inspire professional educators. Wavelength was founded in 1980 by Jim Winter, a former high school English teacher, who saw the connection between teaching and acting while he was studying improvisation at the famed Players Workshop of Second City in Chicago.

Winter convinced his fellow ensemble members that their ability to celebrate and satirize political and social situations would be a big benefit to educators. “Besides,” he told them, “if we focus our humor on education, we’ll never run out of material!”

Wavelength has performed its humorous and insightful keynote shows in over 2500 school systems for over 1.5 million educators in the U.S. and internationally. Wavelength has also developed teacher-training workshops that use theatrical and improvisational communication techniques to enhance educators’ creativity, collaboration and overall classroom efficacy.

All of Wavelength’s ensemble shows have been developed into award-winning DVD training packages. A typical Wavelength keynote performance runs approximately one-hour and is performed by a cast of five -- four actors and a piano accompanist. The performance includes a mix of audience-inclusive improvisations as well as scripted scenes, developed through improvisation and input from renowned educational consultants.

Wavelength’s technical requirements are simple: they just need to be seen and heard. They have performed in the most modest (and most elegant) of school settings for audiences as intimate as 35 and as grand as 10,000 teachers. Wavelength’s current ensemble consists of 25 actors and musicians trained in educational issues and improvisational performance. This number allows flexibility in booking and actor availability.

Notable performers whose careers include a tour-of-duty with Wavelength include actors Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad), Dan Castellenetta (Homer Simpson), T. C. Carson (Living Single), T’Keyah Keymah (In Living Color, Cosby); screenwriters Danny Rubin (Groundhog Day), Mary Ruth Clarke (Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers), and Jon Rosenfeld (SNL writer and founder of Amsterdam comedy club Boom Chicago.)

Rated "the best in-service ever" by over 1.5 million teachers, Wavelength has created six live performances perfect for engaging and inspiring your audience. Through its history, Wavelength has become respected among teachers for its professionalism, cutting edge insight into educational issues, addressing controversial challenges in an engaging and eye-opening manner, and most of all, living up to its original and time-tested credo: Communication through Comedy.

Speech Topics

Musical Staff: The Musical about Teaching

Your favorite Broadway show songs parodied and adapted to today's most pressing educational issues. Highlights include, "Mentors," "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Board," and "You Should Have Crammed All Night." Written and performed by our 3-person ensemble featuring some of the most talented musical theatre actors in Chicago. Excellent for laid-back, inspiring celebrations.

• RUNNING TIME: 60 minutes • CAST SIZE: 3 (2 actor, 1 musician) • RESONATING AUDIENCE: All staff • TOPICS INCLUDE: Mentoring, block scheduling, school board meetings, difficult students, standardized tests.

Faculty Lounge

This one-woman presentation, created by founding members Debbie Lauer and Rochelle Richlieu, is a reminder "why you became a teacher" as 11 characters, played by one actress, interact and pontificate during "Teacher of the Year" voting. The faculty lounge is buzzing with the hopes, dreams and frustrations in this educational tour de force of characters, including teachers, administrators, parents, students and local politicians. "Belly laughs to tears."

• RUNNING TIME: 60 minutes. • CAST SIZE: 2 (1 actor, 1 musician) • RESONATING AUDIENCE: All staff • TOPICS INCLUDE:Teacher evaluation, student engagement, teaching techniques, parent intervention, community involvement.

The “Sense” of Humor

Sometimes educators feel they need to be "given permission" to use their natural senses of humor in the classroom. This presentation empowers educators to experience and practice the techniques for using humor, laughter and spontaneity in their classrooms. Explore current brain and educational research on purposefully using humor in professional learning environments. Jim Winter, the founder of Wavelength and a Certified Laughter Leader, or Wavelength veteran Michael Edgar Myers, also a CLL, will facilitate this fast-paced, engaging, interactive, multimedia session for small groups or thousands.

• RUNNING TIME: 60 minutes to all-day seminar • CAST SIZE: 1 • RESONATING AUDIENCE: All staff • TOPICS INCLUDE: Customized local matters, plus achievement, change, leadership, standards, technology, health and wellness, support staff, teacher appreciation, Professional Learning Communities.

“Those Who Laugh…Last!”

This is a perfect show for those who have a special topic or unique theme that needs some customized "humor tailoring." Wavelength's trained and informed improvisers and actors know the current issues within education so they can easily improvise with audience suggestions. They use several improvisational structures, along with our time-tested comedy sketches, to engage the audience while addressing the particular concerns of audience members.

•RUNNING TIME: 60 minutes. •CAST SIZE: 5 (4 actors, 1 musician) •RESONATING AUDIENCE: All staff •TOPICS INCLUDE: Customized local matters, plus achievement, change, leadership, standards, technology, health and wellness, support staff, teacher appreciation, Professional Learning Communities

The Seven Habits of Highly Ineffective Educators

Wavelength's all-time hit show gets a 21st century makeover with new characters, but still celebrates and satirizes educational issues, culture and trends. Your audience will see themselves (or those they work with!) in such scenes as "Teacher Anger Jeopardy," and "Diversity Day Luncheon" as well as participating in improvisations with the cast. Audience interaction enhances the humor around ineffective habits as, "But We've Always Done It This Way" with an onstage group therapy session for those within education who are "change-challenged." This is guaranteed to motivate your staff, while illuminating the struggles and challenges facing everyone in education.

• RUNNING TIME: 55 minutes • CAST SIZE: 5 (4 actors, 1 musician) • TOPICS INCLUDE: Anger management, collaboration, multiple intelligences, diversity, quality teaching, change & technology. • VIMEO LINK: https://vimeo.com/80271130

UnCommon Core Comedy

The latest nationwide educational platform -- Common Core State Standards (CCSS) -- also provides fodder for Wavelength's newest comedy platform. Fast-paced parodies, jump-up-and-dance music and ample audience participation highlight a series of sketches that reflects the joys and frustrations of engaging students. Give your faculty the bonding experience of encouraging students to "own their learning;" riding with a Driver's Ed/PE instructor who merges CCSS in her student's road test; or turning venting into vent-elation in the soon-to-be classic, "CCSS Rap." Plus, our "pre-prep" with you allows us to customize our scenes and improvisations to be relevant and appropriate for your audience.

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