four days of humor at the red skelton performing arts center
All events are FREE and open to the public.
- April 12 @ 2pm with Mike Cundall
- April 13 @ 6pm with Melissa Mork
- April 14 @ 6pm with Brenda Elsangher
- April 15 @ 2pm with Joyce Saltman
Read more about the comedians by clicking on their bio card.
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Everyone enjoys a good joke or sharing a meme with a friend. We all enjoy laughing and laughing together. But humor and laughter do more than give us a chance to enjoy life, to enjoy one another. Humor and laughter are basic ways we build community. They have the power to bring us together, enrich our lives, but also show us the humanity that lies in each of us. When we share laughs, when we share humor, we're sharing some of the most basic and important aspects of our selves.
Mike Cundall
I founded Mirth Management in 2017 to address the lack of information and training in humor for organizations, companies, and executives, in the professional world. Not only did I know from my experience as a classroom teacher how helpful humor is, there is a lot of research that shows us how humor can benefit our daily lives.
I received my Ph.D. in Philosophy and the Sciences from the University of Cincinnati. While I had always been known as a funny guy, my formal research into humor began in earnest while working on my dissertation on autism. Since then, I have published on the cognition of humor, racist, ethnic and offensive humor, and humor in business communications.
I've given talks and presented to members of the US Army's Raleigh Recruiting Battalion on humor and leadership, educators on humor in the classroom, humor and sales, humor and health, and humor and donor relations/advancement.
My students say that I use humor in the classroom to good effect, and my colleagues like that I use humor in our meetings. When I'm not working on humor or teaching philosophy, I'm hanging out with my wife and three sons, woodworking, dancing, or practicing Aikido. I also like to cook and bake.
Healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, staff, CNA, LPN, admin, cancer patients and survivors, families of people dealing with a serious illness, social workers, mental health professionals
Melissa Mork
I have my master’s and doctoral degrees in clinical and forensic psychology. I am a tenured professor, an international keynote speaker, a best-selling author, and a global consultant. I have served as a consultant on mental health to the Minister of Health in Norway; written the college curriculum for MN POST law enforcement certifications; spoken to survivors, families, and communities affected by mass shootings; and collaborated with national health care organizations on vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout. I am also a Certified Humor Professional and recently competed for Minnesota’s Funniest Person.
I grew up on a dairy farm in southwestern Minnesota. My high school guidance counselor suggested I attend meat-cutting school instead of college. I suppose he looked at me and thought, Butcher. To avoid learning how to operate a bone saw, I moved to Los Angeles to become an actress.
I was good at it—until a severe autoimmune disease pulled me off the stage and eventually left me homeless in LA. Only serendipity (read: getting rear-ended by a truck) gave me the resolve to return to the Midwest. Shortly after I came home, both of my parents died, leaving me feeling orphaned and untethered.
Loss continued to mark my adulthood, but the hardest was still ahead. Miscarriages. The suicides of loved ones. A nephew died of an aneurysm; a niece to Type I diabetes. Then my husband died after a swift, brutal battle with lung cancer, leaving me to raise our two children alone.
While my story is marked with sadness, it is also a story of joy, resilience and courage. Read more about me in this article on TODAY.com.
Healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, staff, CNA, LPN, admin, cancer patients and survivors, families of people dealing with a serious illness, social workers, mental health professionals
When therapists, cops, nurses, and funeral directors start cracking jokes about body bags or brain trauma, it’s not because they’re heartless—it’s because their jobs are. In this refreshingly unfiltered talk, clinical and forensic psychologist (and Certified Humor Professional) Dr. Melissa Mork unpacks why the people doing society’s heaviest lifting often lean on the darkest humor. It’s not just about comic relief—it’s a psychological life raft. Equal parts science, storytelling, and “I probably shouldn’t laugh at this,” this talk explores how gallows humor helps us survive the unimaginable—without losing our humanity (or our lunch).
Who knew a patient could teach healthcare professionals something they didn’t know they needed to learn? Exuding wit and energy, Brenda brings you into the moment of interaction with a patient in a way that makes them think differently. A rare look “behind the scenes,” with numerous and humorous insights for healthcare professionals, they will walk away assured they make a difference in the lives of their patients.
Brenda’s stories illustrate the need for humor with patients and their families to use as a coping tool through the laughter and the tears. The great side effect is that the healthcare professionals benefit too making the work place a healthier place to be.
Brenda Elsagher
We’re pleased to invite healthcare professionals in the Vincennes area to a meaningful and uplifting presentation with Brenda Elsagher.
In this engaging session, Brenda shares how humor can make a powerful difference in healthcare settings—supporting communication, reducing stress, and strengthening human connection between providers, teams, and patients.
More than 30 years ago, Brenda chose to use humor as a way to cope with a cancer diagnosis. She quickly noticed how laughter affected not only her own healing journey, but also the people around her. That experience led her to a new career as a comedian, national speaker, and author.
Brenda brings a unique patient’s perspective to healthcare audiences, offering insight into how appropriate humor can help professionals navigate stress, difficult conversations, and emotionally demanding moments.
A dynamic keynote speaker, award-winning author, and 30-year comedy veteran, Brenda encourages audiences to lighten up while balancing careers, family responsibilities, and community life.
As a Certified Humor Professional and colorectal cancer survivor, Brenda has shared her message across the United States and Canada, using humor to promote resilience and raise awareness about the importance of early screening.
Prepare to laugh, reflect, and reconnect with the human side of healing.
Healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, staff, CNA, LPN, admin, cancer patients and survivors, families of people dealing with a serious illness, social workers, mental health professionals
Joyce Saltman
Joyce is very old, but not so wise, and is a professor Emeritus at Southern CT State University in New Haven, Ct, where she taught Special Education for over 40 years. She has been studying and lecturing about Laughter since 1983, and her doctoral dissertation from Columbia University was entitled "Humor in Adult Learning". She was the proud recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH) as well as the Outstanding Faculty Award from the Academy of Continuing Education at the Mandel Center.
She really believes in this stuff, and gives close to 100 lectures each year on subjects relating to humor, aging, sex, chocolate, and positive attitude, donating all her fees to a variety of charities - having contributed close to 2 million dollars thus far!
Educations, administrators parents, special educations, and parents of special needs students.
This seminar will deal with the physiological benefits of laughter, studies on the mind-body connection, and practical (plus some not-so-practical!) suggestions on ways to bring more laughter into your life. The lecture combines scientific data with comedy, in an effort to provide a mirth-provoking educational experience.
