Photo: Sabriaya Shipley @ubuntusab

BIO

Dr. Holly is a Philly-based award-winning screenwriter and actress. She trained extensively at Comedy Cellar, Peoples Improv Theater New York, Comedy Sports Philadelphia, Helium Comedy Academy, and Philadelphia Comedy College. 


During the day, she's a therapist. At night, she wears a cape saving lives through telling jokes on stage and performing improv. She has been performing stand-up in the US and Canada. Her comedy is smart, sassy, and always politically incorrect with material speaking to everything from hot-button social issues to her being a therapist, wife, and Black hockey mom. 


In the midst of all these worlds, you would not believe the shit she hears in and outside of sessions with just being a regular human being roaming earth. Don’t worry, she doesn’t compromise anyone’s confidentiality when she's being creative. 


She enjoys vodka, chicken wing flats, traveling and naps.

AWARDS 

Cambridge Script Festival                                         05/24

TV Pilot, Finalist                                                                                   

· Reality Is On To Something

· Widow's Wishes


Sofia World Film Festival                                         04/24

Best TV Pilot, Official Selection                                                                                   

· Reality Is On To Something


Oxford Script Awards                                         04/24

Best Television Screenplay & Best Comedy Screenplay, Official Selection                                                                                   

· Reality Is On To Something


Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival                                         02/24

Best Original Script, Finalist                                                                                   

· Reality Is On To Something

Best Original Script, Honorable Mention                                                                          

· Widow’s Wishes

 

Chicago Script Awards                                                                                       01/24

Best Female Screenwriter                                                                          

· Reality Is On To Something

Honorable Mention                                                                                      

· Widow’s Wishes

 

Prague Screenplay Awards                                                                               01/24

Best Television Script – Pilot                                                                                    

· Reality Is On To Something

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE 

SKETCH COMEDY

LAFF HOUR Variety Show                                                                                                              02/23 – Present

· Co-write, co-produce, and perform sketches, stand-up and improv on variety show at venues in New York (Brooklyn Comedy Collective and PIT-NYC) and Philadelphia (Plays & Players, The Lab and Philadelphia Improv Theater - PHIT)


STAND-UP COMEDY                                                                                                                     04/22 – Present

· Write jokes and perform (5 to 20 mins.)

· Atlanta (Monticello's); Austin (Rozco’s); Baltimore (Kissimos); Bethlehem, PA (ArtQuest at SteelStacks); DC (Cafe Saint Ex, DC Comedy Loft & Simple Bar); Detroit; (Planet Ant & Supernatural Brewing); Hollywood (Sunset Rooftop); Minneapolis (Don't Tell Comedy); New York (Comedy in Harlem & Blacklight Comedy); Philadelphia (Attic Brewery, Pentridge Station, Tattooed Mom, Kinme, Quigs, Strangeloves & Veganish); Portland (Funhouse Lounge, Curious Comedy Theater, Chill N Fill, Comedy Darlings, Laugh Basement & McMenamins Al’s Den); San Francisco (The Hearth & Blarney Stone); Tampa (Tampa Improv); Toronto (Nothing Fancy & The Lab); Vancouver (Underbar) and West Palm Beach (Prison Pals Brewery)


FESTIVALS
Detroit Women of Comedy Fest                                                                                                                                  5/24 

· Performed stand-up comedy in Detroit, MI.


Lysistrata Comedy Fest                                                                                                                                           4/24 

· Performed stand-up comedy in Austin, TX.

Instructor                                                                         

· Improv to Sketch, a single day 2-hour workshop for beginners in acting, sketch writing, improv and/or comedy to enhance current skills, learn how to use improv to create a sketch and perform it.


Black and Funny Improv Fest                                                                                                                                    3/24 

· Performed improv in Minneapolis, MN.

Co-Instructor                                                                         

· Turning Tropes Into Virtues, a single day 3-hour workshop for beginners in acting and improv to learn how to not fall into the pitfalls of tropes and use improv to turn a trope into a virtue.


8th Annual NW Black Comedy Fest                                                                                                                             02/24

· Performed stand-up comedy in Portland, Oregon.

 

New York Comedy Fest at BCC                                                                                                                                  11/23

· Performed in Hey Gyrl Hey sketch comedy show.

 

Peoples Improv Theater (PIT-NYC) Sketch Fest                                                                                                   10/23

· Performed in Hey Gyrl Hey sketch comedy show.


PIT-NYC INDIEfest                                                                                                                                     07/23

Co-Instructor                                                                         

· Improv to Sketch, a single day 2-hour workshop for beginners in acting, sketch writing, improv and/or comedy to enhance current skills, learn how to use improv to create a sketch and perform it.


TV

Lincoln Drive Inc.                                                                                                                                                       06/23

Juror

· Divorce Court, Season 25

 

Showtime                                                                                                                                                                               04/23

· Billions, Season 7: Female Lawyer

 

FILM

Naj Danz Productions                                                                                                                    03/23 – 04/23

· Workbae 2: Restaurant Patron and Club Extra

· Royal Bloodline: Police Officer

 

Black Lens Cinema                                                                                                                                            01/23

· The Mark of Love: Goddess Esme

TRAINING

       Walnut Street Theatre                                                                                                                              06/24 - 08/24

        Intro to Acting

       · 8-week class with acting exercises, scene work and techniques.   

          

        Gold Comedy Collective (BCC)                         04/24 – 05/24

         Comedy About Trauma                                                        

·  Learned how to turn dark moments into comedy.

 

      Brooklyn Comedy Collective (BCC)                                                                                                          04/24 – 05/24

      Writing Your Comedy Pilot                                                                          

 · 7-week fundamental 3-Act comedy writing pilot class with a heavy emphasis on structure and craft (act breaks, scene  transitions, plot lines) via a roundtable workshop structure.

 · Developed ideas from conception to a fully-fledged, presentable pilot.


Drexel University                                                                                           

Screenwriting I                                                                                                               01/24 – 03/24

· 10-week writing intensive course on the fundamentals of writing scripts for film and television.

Creative Non-Fiction Writing                                                                         09/23 – 12/23

· 10-week writing intensive course on experimenting with writing different creative non-fiction (memoir, flash memoir, personal essay, hermit crab essay, braided essay, lyric essay and immersion journalism).

 

Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB)                                                                            10/23 – 12/23

Pilot Writing                                                                               

· 8-week TV pilot writing class on the process on half hour pilots, elements of a strong pilot concept, character creation, outline structure, and how to write dialogue.


Camp Improv Utopia East                                                                               09/23

Improv

· 2-day improv workshop intensive (Peas in a Pod, The Mime, Chasing the Game and Character Creation).

 

Peoples Improv Theater (PIT-NYC)                                                                    08/23 – 09/23

Sketch Writing Level 1                                                                       

· 6-week sketch writing course on classic sketch structure, how to create memorable characters and clearly communicate ideas to an audience.

· Wrote multiple original comedy sketches.


CSz Philadelphia                                                                                                

Characters and Relationships 301                                                                                                                          06/23 – 07/23

· A 6-week scene work course on building scene work ability through establishing characters and a strong understanding of relationships.

Scene work 201                                                                                                                                                           02/23 – 04/23

· An 8-week scene work course on the building blocks of scene work.

Intro to Improv 101                                                                                                      10/22 – 12/22

· An 8-week intro improv course, focused on agreement (“yes and-ing”), active listening, commitment, and being present in the moment.

 

Comedy Cellar                                                                                                            05/23

· 5-week stand-up comedy course.

· Practiced comedy set weekly during class.

· Wrote jokes to prepare a tight 5-minute graduation set.

· Worked on comedy writing structure, performance technique, stage persona, character, delivery, timing, and point of view.

 

Philadelphia Comedy College                                                                 10/22 – 01/23

· 10-week stand-up comedy course on the art, business, and science of stand-up comedy.

· Practiced comedy set weekly at open-mics and during class.

· Wrote jokes to prepare a tight 5-to-7-minute graduation set.

· Worked on increasing the effectiveness of joke material, professionalism, execution, and technique.

 

Helium Comedy Club Philadelphia                                                           02/22 – 04/22

· 6-week stand-up comedy course; weekly on-stage performance workshop to enhance joke structure and joke-crafting skills with a focus on writing content. 

Photo: Sabriaya Shipley @ubuntusab

Photo: Sabriaya Shipley @ubuntusab

Film - Mark of Love: Goddess Essme