Manage Stress, with Anne Libera and Kelly Leonard

Meet Kelly Leonard, executive director of learning and applied improvisation at Second City in Chicago, and Anne Libera, Associate Professor in Comedy Writing and Performance at Columbia College in Chicago & Artistic Consultant at Second City in Chicago.This is the third interview in the Mental Health - Manage Stress series and we talk about using the power of laughter and improv to improve our health!Kelly Leonard began his Second City career in 1988, eventually becoming a producer of Second City in 1992 and Executive Vice President through 2015. He has produced hundreds of original revues with talent such as Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey, Keegan Michael Key, Seth Meyers, and Amy Poehler. His book, "Yes, And," received rave reviews in Vanity Fair and the Washington Post. He co-leads a new partnership with Booth School at the University of Chicago that studies behavioral science through the lens of improvisation. He is a popular speaker, appearing at Aspen Ideas Festival, Chicago Ideas Week, and TEDxBroadway, and hosts the Second City Works/WGN Podcast "Getting to Yes, And." You can find him on LinkedIn and Facebook, and on Instagram - @klsecondcity,Anne Libera is an Associate Professor and coordinates the degree in Comedy Writing and Performance at Columbia College Chicago. She is an Artistic Consultant for The Second City and served as Director of Pedagogy for The Second Science Project. She has presented on topics in improvisation and comedy at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Chicago Ideas Week, and Chicago Humanities Festival, and guest lectured at the Stanford Business School. Directing credits include Stephen Colbert's one-man show Describing a Circle, The Madness of Curious George, Computer Chips and Salsa, and The Second City Goes to War as well as Second City touring productions all over the world. Her book The Second City Almanac of Improvisation is published by Northwestern University Press. You can find her on Twitter - @AnneLibera1To learn more about the programs at Second City, click here, and to read the article mentioned in the interview, click here.Podcast Music - “Relieve Stress” by Lisette Kelly (guitar) and Tim Buell (percussion), Produced by Tim Buell. Podcast theme music by Nadine Kelly and Tim Buell, Produced by Tim Buell.