The Water Coolers’ parodies help audiences understand that they are not alone

At the intersection of performance and meeting, comedy and musical, is recognition and meaning. Attendees at Smart Women in Meetings Awards Gala were treated to an opening medley by The Water Coolers crafted to remind them that they are not alone. From the debut of a number that harkened back to the days when meeting planning wasn’t thought of as an actual profession (sung to the tune of “I Will Survive”) to the joys of learning Zoom while fighting the glass ceiling (sung to the tune of “About Damn Time”), a trio of Broadway performers brought the energy of the stage to the issues the audience of meetings industry leaders has been living every day in a way they could recognize and chuckle about together.

To better understand how this musical magic works, we talked to Sally Allen, The Water Coolers co-creator with her husband Thomas Michael Allen (an actor and writer from the Tony award-winning Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding).

A Creative Response

Some 20 years ago, on the cusp of a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) strike, in order to keep Thomas Michael from going crazy over the summer, the two came up with the idea of going back to her roots working for ASAE to put together a workplace parody version of performances being presented by a group called, The Capitol Steps. “Work is a shared experience and it’s not divisive—it’s unifying. There is a feeling of, we’re all in this together and it’s an inside joke,” Allen said of the reason for the office focus. “Plus, happily enough, the world of work is a never-ending source of irony and outrage. It can be very, very funny,” she observed.

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That Plan B pivot was the start of something bigger than either of them could have imagined. By mixing professional comedy writers with people working in the “real world” to deliver an authentic and funny take on work and recruiting a performing cast from Broadway productions, music and comedy clubs, they hit on a formula that resonated with audiences across the country. “Our mantra was: Stay creative,” Allen said, and it worked.

That summer of 2000, they had their first public performance just as the SAG strike was ending. The next summer, they performed a few more times because it was well-received. The producers of “The Producers” saw the show and turned it into a Broadway production. “That was an incredible experience,” she said. “And it built from there.”

A Tool for Meeting Professionals

Allen understood that the feeling of connection generated by the shared laugh around workday frustrations is a powerful tool for meeting professionals. “The comedy act isn’t going to be the thing that accomplishes the business goal, but every single thing—from the centerpiece to the entertainment—should align with that business goal,” she said. “It takes the meeting to the next level.”

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By customizing some of the program’s universal content and laughing at the things that are specific to an individual group, they help event organizers earn the right to move on to more serious topics, including the privilege of thanking and rewarding people for overcoming the challenges they were just laughing about together. “You have to earn the right to be celebratory with the audience by showing them you get it,” Allen said.

She finds that the message is resonating even more in a post-Covid, remote work world where any shared understanding is welcome. “All art is about minimizing isolation, showing people that they’re not alone and highlighting the universality of the human experience,” she said. So, even though it is comedy, people sometimes weep in relief at performances. “Elevating the importance of what they do is powerful,” Allen said.

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Women Rock

Performing for Smart Women in Meetings Awards Gala 2023 was a chance to use that behavioral force to elevate an audience that is already overcoming enormous obstacles to operate at the highest levels. “There are many women who constantly need to be reminded that it’s okay to step into this with their full power and say, ‘I’m good at this,’” Allen said. “We were happy to share that message.”