Latest / WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio / Talk Line: Darren Mangler shares updates from The Spark Center for Performing Arts in Sterling

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Talk Line: Darren Mangler shares updates from The Spark Center for Performing Arts in Sterling · WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio

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  Speaker 1: Good morning, sock value. You've joined the Waking Crew here
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  Speaker 1: on FM ninety five one and a fourteen sixty wix
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  Speaker 1: and it's eight eighteen and that means it's time for
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  Speaker 1: talk line and I'm joined in the booth once again
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  Speaker 1: by my good friend from the Sparks Center for Performing
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  Speaker 1: Arts and Sterling, the one and only Darren Mangler. Everybody,
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  Speaker 1: good morning, and good morning Waking crew.
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  Speaker 2: Here we go.
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  Speaker 1: How have you been man? I got to see you
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  Speaker 1: over the weekend doing stand It was my first time
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  Speaker 1: getting to see you do it. Man, it was such
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  Speaker 1: an awesome show. I wanted to check that list. That
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  Speaker 1: was a great time.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, yeah so much. Well, at first, I don't
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  Speaker 2: know if anyone knows Davis, Illinois, but as I drove there,
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  Speaker 2: I thought for sure I was going to be eaten
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  Speaker 2: by Davis Cannibals. But luckily Pj's Corner there has a
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  Speaker 2: terrific bar and the owner is fantastic. The venue was
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  Speaker 2: a lot of fun. Damn near sold out. We had
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  Speaker 2: great We had four great young comedians out of Chicago
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  Speaker 2: that opened with which a myriad of different styles which
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  Speaker 2: is a lot of fun to watch. But just doing
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  Speaker 2: stand up, I don't care where I'm at. I have
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  Speaker 2: a blast doing it. It's one of my passions.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it really came through. It was a hilarious night.
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  Speaker 1: You know. I had great expectations and it even managed
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  Speaker 1: to subvert that. Yeah, it was a really great show.
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  Speaker 1: But while we will be talking stand up in a
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  Speaker 1: little bit, first I want people, for those who aren't familiar,
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  Speaker 1: to let them know about the Spark coming to Sterling
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  Speaker 1: opening here hopefully soon, and what that means to really
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  Speaker 1: have local theater back in our area.
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  Speaker 2: So excited and I'm actually surprised every time I mention
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  Speaker 2: what we're doing in Sterling right now, how excited people
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  Speaker 2: are in the Sterling Rock Falls area and the surrounding
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  Speaker 2: Souk Valley too. So Spotlights Downtown used to be the
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  Speaker 2: Grand Movie Theater when it was first built, and then
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  Speaker 2: it became Sneakers, which is a lot of people apparently
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  Speaker 2: met their spouses at this teenage dance club. Then it
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  Speaker 2: became a very hip jazz club called spot Our Starlights,
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  Speaker 2: and then that became for sale, and so then M five,
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  Speaker 2: Rocky McGowan and Darcy McGowan decided that they wanted to
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  Speaker 2: start a center for performing arts here in downtown Sterling.
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  Speaker 2: So we have completely refurbished the inside. We put in
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  Speaker 2: a sound booth for plays and musicals. We have built
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  Speaker 2: out the stage another twelve feet including storage. We have
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  Speaker 2: made it completely safe. The roof is safe, the bathrooms
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  Speaker 2: have been redone. It is gonna wait till you see it.
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  Speaker 2: It is an awesome, unique space. It's not a biggest
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  Speaker 2: stage as let's say Timberlake Playhouse, but it's bigger than
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  Speaker 2: a black box theater. And we're gonna do everything from
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  Speaker 2: stand up to musicals and plays and bands and comedians.
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  Speaker 2: I said comedians a right. I just love saying it.
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  Speaker 2: And then you know whatever else become a dwarf wrestling, dog,
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  Speaker 2: juggling whatever. The children's theater, Yes, the dragon Fire Children's
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  Speaker 2: Theater will be starting at the Spark as well, and
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  Speaker 2: that will be twofold One will be where the children
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  Speaker 2: get to perform, but we'll also have adults that perform
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  Speaker 2: for children as well. But I mean the dragon Fire
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  Speaker 2: Children's Theater, Now that's a name right there. Yeah, they're
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  Speaker 2: gonna love that, thank you. Yeah, we're gonna get a mask.
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  Speaker 2: We're gonna get a big dragon mascot. It's gonna be
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  Speaker 2: a blast.
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  Speaker 1: I want the first turn in the suit.
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  Speaker 2: Done, yeah, because as soon has to fit me, so
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  Speaker 2: you'll be up looking in there really easily.
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  Speaker 1: No, I absolutely love that. I think parents in the
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  Speaker 1: area are gonna love for their kids to be able
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  Speaker 1: to be a part of this. And then just all
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  Speaker 1: these cool classes, this this nightlife entertainment coming to Stirling
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  Speaker 1: and it's such a great location.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's perfect. So it's with a yeah. And so
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  Speaker 2: when people come to see shows, you can get an
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  Speaker 2: early dinner from any of the amazing restaurants and rock
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  Speaker 2: Falls and Sterling and then just hop on over into
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  Speaker 2: the you know, into the We even have a bit.
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  Speaker 2: We even kept the dance floor so unlike other venues
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  Speaker 2: in the area, not only will we have bands, but
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  Speaker 2: you'll have a place to dance and not block anybody's
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  Speaker 2: view or be an annoyance and just get down, get funky.
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  Speaker 1: I love that. Yes, we need to get out and
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  Speaker 1: shake your groove thing a little bit, you know what
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  Speaker 1: I mean.
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  Speaker 2: Like, listen, Yellstone is going to be streaming for the
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  Speaker 2: rest of our lives. Turn off the TV, come see
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  Speaker 2: live entertainment. Hangout. We have a full bar inside, we
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  Speaker 2: have a VIP section. It's really going to be a
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  Speaker 2: very unique venue in someplace that you're just gonna want
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  Speaker 2: to be around a lot of the times, especially if
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  Speaker 2: there's like something you've never seen, Like let's say we
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  Speaker 2: get a guest speaker in that talks about bass fishing, Like, well,
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  Speaker 2: that'd be fun she sit there for an hour and
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  Speaker 2: listen how to bass fish from a professional. You know,
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  Speaker 2: it's gonna be different events like that that will hopefully
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  Speaker 2: speak to many people around the area.
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  Speaker 1: There you go, not just one thing, something for everyone
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  Speaker 1: absolutely and speaking of something for this guy that I'm
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  Speaker 1: very excited about is some of the the first class
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  Speaker 1: is coming out having to do a stand.
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  Speaker 2: Up very first class that we're starting up. Starting in
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  Speaker 2: two weeks, We're going to be doing a stand up
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  Speaker 2: comedy class. Now, I know, as soon as you hear that,
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  Speaker 2: everyone almost has a heart attack thinking about it. And
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  Speaker 2: I get it. People have said, you know, they'd be
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  Speaker 2: less afraid if they jumped out of a plane with
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  Speaker 2: a parachute that opened fifty percent of the time than
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  Speaker 2: actually doing stand up, And I get it. But I
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  Speaker 2: think it's one of those fears that if you conquer it,
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  Speaker 2: then you get to move on to your next fear.
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  Speaker 2: I think even as someone I have done it since
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  Speaker 2: nineteen ninety seven, and my first gig was at the
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  Speaker 2: world famous comedy store on Hollywood Boulevard in La Mitzi
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  Speaker 2: Shore was still alive and I was literally wanting to
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  Speaker 2: throw up before I went up, and I was just
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  Speaker 2: gonna do three minutes and when you right before you
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  Speaker 2: get on stage. Even this last gig, I've been doing
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  Speaker 2: it for twenty five years now, Even this last gig
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  Speaker 2: in this little small bar in Davis, Illinois, I was
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  Speaker 2: nervous as hell before I went up. And it's almost
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  Speaker 2: like when you're going on a roller coaster and you
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  Speaker 2: hear that clickity clock as you go up right, but
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  Speaker 2: as soon as you grab the mic, they announce your
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  Speaker 2: name and you start talking. It's one of the best
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  Speaker 2: roller coaster rides you're ever gonna be on. I would
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  Speaker 2: suggest if you've ever even thought about it, or even
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  Speaker 2: if you haven't thought about it, and now you're thinking, geez,
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  Speaker 2: do I want to conquer that fear? I think everybody
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  Speaker 2: should do it.
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  Speaker 1: I yeah, I absolutely agree. I mean, you've been doing
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  Speaker 1: it for since ninety seven. I did it for about
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  Speaker 1: ninety seven seconds in front of you giving me some advice.
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  Speaker 1: But you're absolutely right. You are terrified almost going up there.
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  Speaker 1: But as soon as it starts, it melts away in
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  Speaker 1: the high that you get and the rush cannot be matched.
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  Speaker 1: And I mean that's in ninety seven seconds. Folks, Imagine
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  Speaker 1: how you're gonna feel after Daran's helped you get through
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  Speaker 1: your first set.
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  Speaker 2: It's gonna be thirteen classes, and I promise I won't
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  Speaker 2: let you fail. If you come to at least ten
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  Speaker 2: of the classes. You will be in the guaranteed show
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  Speaker 2: on May twenty second, which is a Friday night. If
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  Speaker 2: we sell out, we're going to do a Saturday night
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  Speaker 2: show as well. All new comedians will get five to
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  Speaker 2: seven minutes on stage. We will in ten classes. We
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  Speaker 2: will have a solid five minute set for you. Everybody
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  Speaker 2: will get on stage from day one. I think our
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  Speaker 2: first class, because I've talked the class before, now very
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  Speaker 2: first class. You take your favorite joke, you go up
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  Speaker 2: on stage, you just say it, whether it's a one liner,
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  Speaker 2: whether it's a story, whatever it is. We're going to
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  Speaker 2: find your style. We're going to find where your strongest at.
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  Speaker 2: We're going to help you write it. I've been. I've
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  Speaker 2: written for TV shows, commercials, independent movies. So we're gonna
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  Speaker 2: help you with your music if you will, saying doing
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  Speaker 2: stand up is almost music to your ears. It's lyrical,
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  Speaker 2: it's not choppy. If you watch any great comedian on
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  Speaker 2: one of the high profile HBO specials or Netflix specials,
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  Speaker 2: you'll see it's almost like music. And we'll help you
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  Speaker 2: find your style. And not only that, it's invaluable for
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  Speaker 2: anyone who wants to bulk up your skills on public speaking.
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  Speaker 2: We all have jobs. This doesn't matter what you do.
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  Speaker 2: We all have jobs where we have to talk to
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  Speaker 2: a team or talk in front of a group. Even
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  Speaker 2: if it's two or three people, you still need a
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  Speaker 2: lot of courage to you know, public speak. This will
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  Speaker 2: also help out with any of those skills.
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  Speaker 1: If you can get on stage and do stand up
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  Speaker 1: for a few minutes, I don't think you'll ever fear
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  Speaker 1: public speaking again.
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  Speaker 2: Ever again, Because you also have to know that unless
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  Speaker 2: you're in let's say, let's say you're in New York
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  Speaker 2: or Los Angeles, where there's a little bit of competition,
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  Speaker 2: you know, and people might you know, judge a little bit,
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  Speaker 2: it's a little bit harder to do stand up here.
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  Speaker 2: Everybody wants you to win. Everybody wants to laugh. No
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  Speaker 2: one's here to heckle, no one's here to tear you down.
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  Speaker 2: Everyone here is to support and laugh. And this is
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  Speaker 2: going to be one of those great classes where you
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  Speaker 2: are going to bond with your classmates and you will
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  Speaker 2: be so nervous before that show, but then after it's over,
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  Speaker 2: you're going to want to celebrate the rest of your
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  Speaker 2: life because you've done it at least once in your life.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely right, And that's a really great point about the
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  Speaker 1: atmosphere around here versus you know, if you were in
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  Speaker 1: a large city and it's that like dog eat dog competition.
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  Speaker 1: You know, comedians given each other the stang face. They
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  Speaker 1: don't want you to be funny. I seen it firsthand
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  Speaker 1: at your show, even with some of you know, you
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  Speaker 1: had everywhere from experience comedians to some newer ones and
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  Speaker 1: you could tell they were a little nervous but did
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  Speaker 1: their thing and the crowd loved them. They were there
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  Speaker 1: supporting them. There was no negativity. People want to laugh,
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  Speaker 1: they want to root for you, they want you to
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  Speaker 1: make them laugh. And once you find that and you
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  Speaker 1: feel that from the audience, it just further melts that nervousness,
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  Speaker 1: the synergy goes up and you're having a good time.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, stand up is a very unique, heartfelt experience. And
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  Speaker 2: that's what we want to do at the Spark Center
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  Speaker 2: for Performing Arts is we want to be a place
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  Speaker 2: where you get to explore your arts. You'll be able
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  Speaker 2: to rent our facility if you'd like, you'd be able
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  Speaker 2: to hold your own classes there for a very minimal price.
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  Speaker 2: We're going to offer classes for children and adults, all
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  Speaker 2: in dance, in writing, in auditions. And I'm not I
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  Speaker 2: don't want to be conceded to the old horn or
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  Speaker 2: anything like that, but this is a rare opportunity where
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  Speaker 2: a national touring comic is living in Sterling right now
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  Speaker 2: because I'm helping Rocky McGowan and Darcy build this brand
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  Speaker 2: new center for performing Arts in this amazing Souk Valley area.
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  Speaker 2: And I've opened for joe Rogan, Jamie Kennedy, Joey Diaz.
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  Speaker 2: I've been in the biggest stages in Las Vegas, Los
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  Speaker 2: Angeles and toured the nation doing comedy. And not only
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  Speaker 2: you're gonna get to learn how if you will not
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  Speaker 2: fail on stage and have a great time on stage,
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  Speaker 2: but if anybody wants to pursue it later on in life,
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  Speaker 2: I have that life experience where I can show you
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  Speaker 2: how to monetize your stand up abilities and how to
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  Speaker 2: use those abilities in other venues, like being a master
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  Speaker 2: of ceremonies for large corporate events, or you know, getting
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  Speaker 2: ordained and doing weddings. If you have a little bit
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  Speaker 2: of public speaking under your belt, it's going to be
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  Speaker 2: so easy, and there are different ways to monetize this
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  Speaker 2: kind of skill.
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  Speaker 1: There, you have it. I mean, if you've ever wanted to,
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  Speaker 1: and I told you when I first met you, I've
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  Speaker 1: certainly been waiting for this opportunity to come through, because
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  Speaker 1: you don't expect it to come through our little corner
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  Speaker 1: of the world. Again, it's like what you think closest
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  Speaker 1: maybe Chicago from here, yea. And even then you're like,
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  Speaker 1: where do I go? Where do I start? You don't
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  Speaker 1: got to worry about it anymore. Come to the Spark
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  Speaker 1: meet Darren. I guarantee you guys, you're gonna love it.
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  Speaker 1: And it's just not lip service, man, you know me,
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  Speaker 1: Me and you have known each other for a little while. Now,
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  Speaker 1: what I think about comedy. If you've ever considered it.
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  Speaker 1: This is the best way to go about it. You said,
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  Speaker 1: those shows or excuse me, those classes are going to
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  Speaker 1: be every Wednesday. What are the times and how can
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  Speaker 1: they sign up?
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  Speaker 2: It'll be every Wednesday starting in two weeks at six fifteen,
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  Speaker 2: so you have time for dinner eight fifteen, so you
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  Speaker 2: can be in bed by nine every Wednesday night for
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  Speaker 2: thirteen weeks until what was that May twentieth? Then the
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  Speaker 2: show's May twenty second. It's one hundred dollars. And if
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  Speaker 2: you you don't have to pre sign up, you can
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  Speaker 2: wait until the last second then and then walk in
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  Speaker 2: on in two weeks Wednesday night and go, I can't
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  Speaker 2: believe I'm here. I'm gonna throw up, but I want
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  Speaker 2: to try it. Come meet me, let's talk about it. Also,
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  Speaker 2: you can go to and I encourage everybody to go
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  Speaker 2: to the Spark Center for Performing Arts Facebook page. I
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  Speaker 2: am a gen xer. Yes, go to Facebook, follow us,
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  Speaker 2: become part of our family, and then you will see
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  Speaker 2: the invite there on Facebook. And even if you are
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  Speaker 2: as VP there and say, hey, I'm really interested about coming,
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  Speaker 2: I'll be there Wednesday. That'll help me prepare to how
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  Speaker 2: many class members are gonna be there and we start
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  Speaker 2: right off the bat having a great time, and you
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  Speaker 2: will also have the option not to do the show.
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  Speaker 2: You can take the class and go, Darren, I am
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  Speaker 2: not ready. I'm gonna throw up, I get it. But
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  Speaker 2: you will still have the opportunity to see your classmates
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  Speaker 2: go up and maybe that'll encourage you the next time
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  Speaker 2: we do the class.
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  Speaker 1: There you go. If you were on the fence at
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  Speaker 1: any point during this conversation, now you know you can
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  Speaker 1: have all of the reward with none of the risk
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  Speaker 1: if that's what you want. Darren. We're out of time, man,
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  Speaker 1: but I want to thank you so much for dropping
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: by the We appreciate you. Always a blast when you
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: come by. This won't be the last time you better
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  Speaker 1: be in here the first week Spark opens, dude.
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  Speaker 2: Can't worry.
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  Speaker 1: I'm gonna hunt you down.
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  Speaker 2: It's gonna be like a nuclear bomb. Man. I can't
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: wait for that place to open and everyone to see it.
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  Speaker 1: Awesome. Thank you again, Darren,