INFLUENCE 30 Skip the Script: How Karen Cassady Built an Improv Empire, One Wig at a Time
Karen Cassady had finally made it. She was working full time as a comedy performer and teacher, with weekly shows at Atlanta's top improv theater. Then March 2020 happened.
She and her comedy cohorts tried to translate their shows to Twitch live streams, but the "lulz" in the chat just didn't cut it. Unemployed and painfully bored, she put on some wigs and began riffing other people's videos on TikTok. But it wasn't until she began improvising an original Rom Com (and playing every character) that her life completely changed.
Today, Karen is beloved by millions for her over-the-top characters and extremely relatable social media sketches - most of which are improvised. The "strict teacher" and "cool mom" now reach a global audience, and brands want in.
Karen joins Matt to discuss the trial and error that got her to the top of the For You Page, why online improv is finally having its moment, the fan messages that kept her going during the pandemic, why her video creation process never includes a script, and her involvement in one of the weirdest and most viral comedy videos in YouTube history.
Follow Karen:
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