Mary Thompson Hunt – Analog Artist Digital World

We Bring the Funny hosted a Funny Launch Party at Theatre South Playhouse (The Marketplace at Dr. Phillips, 7601 Della Dr. Suite 15, Orlando, FL 32819). The event was a way to introduce people to their new company which brings comedy solutions to corporate meeting and events. The idea is that they would apply the tenants of improvisation to the workplace by training staff and executives. As they put it, “Even Eric from purchasing can do it.” They also offer customized written materials like sketches, jokes, commercials, and top 10 lists.

Pam offered ideas for one one the improv sketches, having the comedians work with her home town of Maquoketa, Iowa. I was impressed. The comedian must have been in the hallway researching the small Iowa town, because little known facts about the region were brought up in the comedy sketch, though he couldn’t quite pronounce the name itself. The bottom line is that this was a fun and inspired evening of comedy.

The three players in We Bring the Funny were: Steve Purnick, writer, actor, improviser, and corporate entertainer; Mary Thompson Hunt, actress, improviser comedian, teacher, corporate facilitator trainer, and host; and Jake Lockwood, a freelance writer, director, educator, and actor. With a combined 12,000 years of
experience in corporate entertainment, the team is, smart, clean,
professional, and (on most occasions), funny. They are dedicated to bringing laughter, fun, and
energy to live meetings and events. I can vouch for the fact that I laughed all night.

I was asked by Mary Thompson Hunt to be a guest on Real Radio’s “From The HeArt” on Magic 107.7 FM. Mary’s husband Jason Hunt does highly detailed pencil renderings. Jason and I had both had our work projected on the side of the Suntrust Building in downtown Orlando during the Creative City Project. It was amazing to see my sketches projected 3 stories high on a skyscraper. The point of the projections was to spark conversation.

Joshua Vickery and Mary hosted the radio interview. The show is about the arts of Central Florida. We’d wanted to hear about both of our work, how we create and why. In particular they were curious about my take on the creative arts and
visual arts scene of Orlando. Of course sketching at an art opening is one of the most challenging and frustrating experiences because people only pause to look at any work of art for a moment and then they move on. Instead I focus on musicians and actors who must remain on stage for the duration of a show. My work needs to be finished before any show is over. I then close the sketchbook and consider the sketch complete.

As Jason described his work I felt a universal connection to him and his process. “My graphite pencil drawings are called ‘Moments in Time’. For 58
years I’ve drawn from life’s experiences of innocence, loss,
inspiration, love, and the many beliefs we embrace throughout life.
Seems memories often become a tapestry of our many bits of pleasure and
scraps of pain.”

“My graphite pencil drawings are in black and white because I’ve come
to believe that most truths are found in the many shades of gray. I draw
what I love about this world and what is possible for us in
relationship to one another. I’m passionate about depicting the
beautiful everyday moments and also our inevitable bouts with madness
and pain.”

My work is a bit less about scraps of pain. I tend to focus on people who gather together for entertainment, fun and pleasure. In part because of the difficulty and challenges of drawing on location, my sketches seldom depict a stolen smile or laugh. Even in public I tend to find people bowing their heads in reverence to technology. In our efforts to become part of the hive, we are becoming more isolated.

The radio interview was only an hour, so I had to work fast to catch the chaos of microphones and digital screens. The host was in the opposite room behind a glass screen so and interpersonal eye contact or expressions to be found in a person’s face were lost. Regardless it was a fun experience.