It's Tuesday night and I'm at a funeral. Whose funeral? I have no idea.
A woman I've never seen in my life is gripping me around the waist as she mimes hysterical crying. I attempt to comfort her while avoiding the flailing arms of someone else, who throws herself over the space we are assuming is the coffin. Welcome to acting class as taught by "ranney."
"ranney " is a stand-up comedian, actor, and slam poet native to Florida who is on hiatus from the glitzy life of gigs at venues like the Apollo and performing wildly successful comedy troupe acts like The Bomb-itty of Errors all over the world.
For now, he's decided to take some time to teach Tampa's up-and-coming comedic talents. The youngest of nine children (and the only boy not to become a minister), "ranney" knows how to create a familial atmosphere in his classroom that provides both the comfort and the brutal honesty needed for constructive advancement of the craft.
After gaining some perspective by becoming a student for one of his two hour sessions on improvisational acting at the Patel Conservatory, I sat down for a drink with the man himself to talk about his upcoming workshop for stand-up comedians, which meet on July 12 and July 19.
So, before we get started, I need to know. Why don't you capitalize your name? It really bothers me!
This article appears in Jul 1-7, 2010.