Shadow Politics, November 15, 2015
Our guest this week is Sam Pressler - President and Executive Director of the Armed Services Arts Partnership. He will be talking about https://www.asapasap.org/comedy#intro-shift - an eight-week comedy writing and performing class exclusively for veterans and service members. By the end of the eight weekly sessions, participating veterans deliver a five-minute stand-up set to a public audience, and are then inducted into alumni meet-up groups. They have been featured in Soldiers Magazine, Military Times, Stars & Stripes, and on NPR, and the class is being covered by the Washington Post and ABC News this fall.
Guest, Sam Pressler
Sam Pressler is the President and Executive Director of the Armed Services Arts Partnership and an Echoing Green Global Fellow. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from the College of William & Mary in 2015, where he received the Ewell Award, McGlennon Scholarship, and recognition as a TEDx Innovative Thinker. While in college, he founded the W&M Center for Veterans Engagement, W&M Military & Veterans Council, and Student Veterans of W&M. Pressler is largely credited with establishing the robust veteran’s arts community in Southern Virginia, and for leading the transformation of W&M's policies toward its student veterans.
The Armed Services Arts Partnership strives to build and sustain communities around the expressive arts at no cost to veterans and military families by partnering with respected nonprofits and colleges located in areas with high military populations. We focus on developing the literary, musical, and comedic skills of our veterans in sustained, community-based environments. In the process, we also hope to foster resiliency and improve well-being among our participants, and bridge divides by connecting veterans, students, and local communities through the arts.
Sam is also the Founder and President of The William & Mary Center for Veterans Engagement (WMCVE) enables William & Mary students and faculty to create, plan, and execute community-creating, expressive arts initiatives for service members, veterans, and military families throughout Virginia. The WMCVE provides three therapeutic outlets - community, expression, and learning - without the stigma associated with seeking traditional therapy.
Current offerings include:
- Writing: Veterans Writing Project (veteranswriting.org) & Hampton Roads Veterans Writing Group
- Music: Musicorps (musicorps.net)
- Comedy: Comedy Bootcamp (ComedyBootcamp.org)
Comedy Bootcamp is an eight-week comedy writing and performing class exclusively for veterans and service members. Each course, which is led by a professional comedy instructor, covers the basics of writing and delivering jokes, stage presence, and developing and organizing material. Throughout the class, aspiring comics receive constructive feedback from their instructors and fellow classmates. By the end of the eight weekly sessions, participating veterans deliver a five-minute stand-up set to a public audience, and are then inducted into alumni meet-up groups. We've been featured in Soldiers Magazine, Military Times, Stars & Stripes, and on NPR, and our class is being covered by the Washington Post and ABC News this fall.
Shadow Politics
Shadow Politics is a grass roots talk show giving a voice to the voiceless. For more than 200 years the people of the Nation's Capital have ironically been excluded from the national political conversation. With no voting member of either house of Congress, Washingtonians have lacked the representation they need to be equal and to have their voices heard. Shadow Politics will provide a platform for them, as well as the millions of others nationwide who feel politically disenfranchised and disconnected, to be included in a national dialog.
We need to start a new conversation in America, one that is more inclusive and diverse and one that will lead our great nation forward to meet the challenges of the 21st century. At Shadow Politics, we hope to get this conversation started by bringing Americans together to talk about issues important to them. We look forward to having you be part of the discussion so call in and join the conversation. America is calling and we're listening… Shadow Politics is about America hearing what you have to say. It's your chance to talk to an elected official who has spent more than 30 years in Washington politics. We believe that if we start a dialog and others add their voices we will create a chorus. Even if those other politicians in Washington don't hear you — Senator Brown will. He's on a mission to listen to what America has to say and use it to start a productive dialog to make our democracy stronger and more inclusive. If we are all part of the solution we can solve any problem.
