Laughing Matters is the longest-running

improvisational comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv or impro in British English, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its ...

troupe in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, US. Formed in 1985,Comedy Free-for-All
by Tray Butler for

Creative Loafing Creative Loafing is an Atlanta-based publisher of an arts and culture news and events newspaper/magazine. The company historically published a weekly publication that once had a 160,000 weekly circulation. While Creative Loafing is no longer p ...

, February 10, 2001. Retrieved March 25, 2007. the troupe has since branched out and now provides a wide variety of audience interactive entertainment, including murder mysteries, team building, and children’s performances.Young Audiences 2006 – 2007 Programming

Woodruff Arts Center Woodruff Arts Center is a visual and performing arts center located in Atlanta, Georgia. The center houses three not-for-profit arts divisions on one campus. Opened in 1968, the Woodruff Arts Center is home to the Alliance Theatre, the Atlan ...

. Retrieved March 26, 2007. Laughing Matters performs both public and private shows at venues that include the

Alliance Theatre The Alliance Theatre is a theater company in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center. The company, originally the Atlanta Municipal Theatre, staged its first production (''King Arthur'') at the Alliance in 1968. The ...

Dave & Busters Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (stylized in all caps) is an American restaurant and entertainment business headquartered in Dallas. Each Dave & Buster's location has a full-service restaurant, full bar, and a video arcade; the latter of w ...

, and the Fox Theatre. They perform improv comedy monthly at a public show at Manuel's Tavern (founded by prominent Atlanta politician Manuel Maloof). Colleges where Laughing Matters have performed include

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

, and the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

. Corporate clients include the 1996

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

Organization Committee,

BusinessWeek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

, and the

March of Dimes March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to co ...

. For several years, members of Laughing Matters have portrayed clients and witnesses for the National Criminal Defense College in a program designed to sharpen the skills of defense

lawyers A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as wel ...

. The National Criminal Defense College is held in

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...

, adjacent to Mercer Law School.Trial Practice Institute
National Criminal Defense College. Retrieved March 26, 2007.

Notable current and former performers

Gary Anthony Williams Gary Anthony Williams (born March 14, 1966) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He has voiced the character Uncle Ruckus on ''The Boondocks'', General Horace Warfield in '' StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty'' and Dr. Richard Tygan in '' ...

Ex-Fayetteville resident goes Legal
by Rodney Ho for

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

, January 16, 2007. Retrieved March 25, 2007. plays a recurring character on the television series ''

Boston Legal ''Boston Legal'' is an American legal comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, to Decem ...

'' and has numerous TV and film credits. *

Nick Jameson Nick Jameson (born December 5, 1948) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and producer, known for his portrayal of Russian president Yuri Suvarov over three seasons on the show '' 24''. He currently resides in Reykjavík, doing live comedy, ...

About Us
from Laughing Matters website. Retrieved March 25, 2007. has appeared in numerous video games and animated series. * Brian Sack is a correspondent on CNN Headline's

Glenn Beck Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...

program. *

Mike Schatz Mike Schatz is an American creative director, copywriter, actor, and comedian. He is best known as the voice of Emory the Plutonian on the Adult Swim series '' Aqua Teen Hunger Force'' and the film; '' Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for ...

Creative Director's Hobby is no Laughing Matter
by Erin Moriarty for the

Atlanta Business Chronicle The ''Atlanta Business Chronicle'' is a weekly newspaper covering business news in Atlanta, Georgia, published by American City Business Journals. The paper has both a weekly print edition and an online edition. History The ''Atlanta Business ...

, September 29, 2006. Retrieved March 25, 2007. voices the character of Emory on the animated series

Aqua Teen Hunger Force ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force'' (also branded with different #Alternative titles, alternative titles for seasons 8–11), is an American adult animated television series created by Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro for Cartoon Network's late night progra ...

References

External links

Laughing Matters official website

{{authority control American comedy troupes Improvisational troupes Performing groups established in 1985 1985 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)