The Rhythmic Formula for Laughter with Improv Musician Laura Hall

This week musician Laura Hall joins Ryan in conversation to chat about her amazing work in the world of improv comedy. Laura is a world-renowned improv musician having started her career with Chicago’s Second City and eventually becoming Musical Director on Whose Line Is It Anyway? for 21 seasons. Very few people have mastered an instrument, let alone mastered the ability to quickly add mood, ambiance, and rhythm on various instruments. For over two decades, Laura’s ability to play music from all genres provided the backbone for performers such as Wayne Brady, Jeff Davis, Gary Anthony Williams, and Jonathan Mangum to riff and sing memorable comedy songs about all topics imaginable. Laura has become the top of her class in improv musicianship having written the book The Improv Comedy Musician and developed traveling classes to share her unique craft. In this conversation, Laura talks about falling in love with music, performance, and collaboration in her youth. She shares a chance encounter that helped her get a job working Coat Check at Chicago’s The Second City theater that eventually evolved into a touring performance position. Traveling with her husband Rick Hall to Los Angeles, she had the opportunity to join the cast of Whose Line Is It Anyway? where she performed in over 400 episodes. She talks about the arts of creating music on Whose Line?, her collaboration with guitarist Linda Taylor tackling all genres of music, and she sheds light into the production of the long-running improv comedy show hosted by Drew Carey and Aisha Tyler. Laura describes the importance of inspiring others to bring their musical talents to the improv world and the joy she finds working with local troops around the world. She also talks about the current Whose Live Anyway? tour that brings the fan-favorite TV show to theaters around the country. To learn more about Laura Hall’s work visit www.laurahall.com or find @LauraHallMusic on Facebook and Instagram. For more information on the Meditations with Ryan Zlomek podcast, you can find The World of Ryan Zlomek on Facebook, @ryanzlomek on Instagram, Bluesky, and Tiktok, or email [email protected]