Susanna Spies

Susanna Spies: It's all about finding your voice.

As founder of LA's Comedy Playground, offering comedy training workshops in association with the world famous Hollywood Improv since 2002, comedienne and actress Susanna Spies has helped more than 1,000 individuals of every age and background find—and share—their unique voices through the universal language of comedy.

"It doesn't matter whether it's in a corporate meeting, a classroom, or even socially—everyone can benefit from being more comfortable and confident in their voice," Susanna explains. "And organizations can benefit tremendously. It makes a real difference when every member of a team feels empowered to speak up and voice their opinion. And teams always get stronger when they can laugh out loud together." In Susanna's presentations and keynote speeches, just as in her work at the Comedy Playground, Susanna encourages a lot of voluntary audience participation to help people find and tell their personal stories in compelling ways—usually resulting in hilarious standup routines from the most unlikely people. The elderly, children and young teens, non-native English speakers, and those who are simply normally too shy to raise their voice and share their opinions have all benefited from Susanna's inspirational message and encouraging, funny delivery. And they've also enjoyed the attention and confidence building of saying something funny, and having others appreciate and laugh at their jokes. Humor is a language that everyone understands. Everyone, no matter where they're from, knows what laughter means. Humor helps people drop their defenses, to be more open, more creative, and more connected with each other and with their team.