With over a million followers, Laura Ramoso (MBA 2020) has become a comedy sensation. It’s hard to believe that it was only four years ago, while she was still an MBA student, that Laura wrote and performed her first solo comedy show, Diane at the The Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival. Her rise since then has been nothing less that meteoric.
As a theatre student at U. Vic. Laura had dreamed of becoming a classical actor but she knew that she had found her calling when she first saw Chicago’s Second City perform.
Now, only four years later, having built a devoted fan base on TikTok and Instagram, particularly during the pandemic (her German mother at the beach sketch has over 23 million views on TikTok), and having performed nationally and internationally, Laura is on the road again. Her successful international run of 27 shows throughout Australia, New Zealand, and Europe ended in late April in Berlin.
Her 20-city North American leg of Sit Up Straight (produced by Live Nation) kicked off on May 7 at Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles as part of the Netflix Is A Joke Festival.
The tour, which criss-crosses the continent began in Ottawa and then Toronto and will make stops in Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, etc. before wrapping up in Montreal at Théâtre Beanfield on November 8.
I had the privilege of seeing Laura’s Sept 7th Toronto performance at the Danforth Music Hall. To say that the sold-out crowd was enthusiastic is a total understatement. The line to enter the theatre reached a very long block along the Danforth and the excitement, was palpable.
Inside the theatre, the audience went wild. The majority knew her only from the Internet and they loved the in-person performance. The audience cheered each sketch and participated fully in the artifice of the artist inviting her audience to join her in a social gathering.
I’ll close with a quote from Laura about the value of the MBA in her career.
“Since I now run my own business and manage my own career, there's not a day that goes by where I don't use my MBA. I have to make both macro and micro strategic decisions constantly, and I feel so much more at ease having my rock-solid Schulich foundation to support me. ”
P.S. If you have the opportunity, and you’re up for a unique evening of entertainment, I recommend the show. Here’s the itinerary: https://www.livenationentertainment.com/2024/03/laura-ramoso-announces-north-american-leg-of-her-2024-sit-up-straight-tour/
Comments