Comedian Cassandra Simpson created Rolling Laughs an ingenious mobile comedy venue

Jeff Williams:
Welcome to Community Voices, a production of NPR Illinois. I'm your co-host, Jeff Williams. In the studio with me today is Cassandra Simpson. Cassandra, hi, how's it going?
Cassandra:
I'm good, how are you?
Jeff Williams:
Good, Comedian, producer, founder of Rolling Laughs. Correct. Yeah.
Cassandra:
Yes, so I'm a comedian in the Springfield area. I've been doing comedy for three years this month.
Jeff Williams:
Okay.
Cassandra:
Oh, wow.
Jeff Williams:
Happy anniversary.
Cassandra:
Well, thank you. It's been fun. Yeah, and I also like to do renovation projects in my home, so I've kind of combined both and decided to renovate a pop-up camper into a mobile stage. that's super cool.
Jeff Williams:
So first off, I have a friend who bought a camper who lives in the St. Louis area now, but before that lived out in Oregon. And she decided she wanted one. And then she started combing and it ended up taking her a minute. She was looking all over the country and finally found one. I can't remember what state it was, but it It was kind of an ordeal for her. Was it kind of an ordeal, like getting that?
Cassandra:
Acquiring the camper? Actually, no. Most of the time I spent trying to figure out what type of vehicle or camper I wanted. And then once I decided on one of the standard, crank up, pop-up campers, I looked on Marketplace. And someone was selling it. Actually, it's a very small world because They know some relatives of mine and then they also know they're good friends with comedians that I've done shows with before.
Jeff Williams:
So it was a comedian connection! That's what you're saying about it? Okay, all right. Well, that's good to have the comedian connection where you're able to get a camper out of it.
Cassandra:
Yeah, that's true.
Jeff Williams:
So, was it in the area? Did you have to go far to get it or anything like that?
Cassandra:
Oh yeah, I was in town just maybe like 5 minutes away.
Jeff Williams:
In Springfield land, my friend really went about it the hard way. Whatever she did, it was not the right way to do it because she was looking all over the stinking country and she was messaging me about it for like about a month before she finally anyhow, okay. It's been about three years that you've had that going.
Cassandra:
The comedy, I just started the camper venue this year. I'm still renovating it.
Jeff Williams:
In the process, still happening? Okay, And it seems like that might take a little bit of time to slowly get it the way you want it.
Cassandra:
Not when I do things.
Jeff Williams:
No, okay, nice.
Cassandra:
Some people would be like, wow, you're really getting in there. And I'm like, that's just a weird way of telling me that you don't follow through with things. But I do.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, no, that's good. That's good.
Cassandra:
But yeah, I think I acquired it in late January. And of course it was a bit too cold. And then now pretty much like finalizing things and then getting the lighting and audio equipment.
Jeff Williams:
That's January of 2026?
Cassandra:
Yeah, so hopefully. It might be done late April, but definitely by May it should be available for booking.
Jeff Williams:
Okay, right on. And that's a, so it's kind of like more of like an old school sort of a camper then.
Cassandra:
Well, I've gutted it, so there's not that canvas fabric that goes around it. So pretty much it's like, I say like it looks like an open gazebo, kind of.
Jeff Williams:
Oh yeah.
Cassandra:
So you're able to see in there. The comedian or talent would perform inside and then the audience would stand outside of the camper.
Jeff Williams:
Okay, so as far as how you're thinking about how this will be used, is it a thing where you, let's say there's an event that's going on, so you'd like contact the event and say, hey, I'd like to come and set up two to be part of it, or is it, you'd be like the standalone thing or you'd go either way?
Cassandra:
I'd say both. Part of it was to drive a local economy with local businesses. I want to collaborate with them. And I mean, if they have the space, then I could pop up a show in their lot. And then they could still, if it's a bar, then they could still provide their beverages and, still make revenue for themselves and bring foot traffic and for them.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, no, that's a super cool concept because a few years ago, with a lot of the visual art stuff that I do. I started looking into trying to get like a FedEx, an old FedEx box truck or something like that. They've got a semi-opaque lighting that comes in through the top, so it's like, oh, they'd be kind of cool because it'd save. anyhow, I haven't done it yet or anything where I'm one of the people who doesn't do things right away. It seems like where you are on it. How, as far as getting into comedy, was that something that, well, the process of getting into comedy, yeah, talk about that.
Cassandra:
Well, doing stand-up or an open mic was a bucket list item kind of of mine, and I decided Three years ago, I was going to try it. I had never gone to any local comedy shows or open mics in Springfield, so I had no idea where to start. So I started on Facebook and searched open mics. And I went to BuzzBomb. Oh, yeah, sure.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah.
Cassandra:
And they had an open mic. So, I started there and just Kept going to open mics and then Elizabeth Wake, who works here.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, you just saw her a minute ago, she whistled at you.
Cassandra:
I was like, okay. No, I love her. She had the Wakery, which is a sober bar. And I was getting sober at that time, when I started comedy. So I actually started an open mic there with another comedian. So yeah, kind of all just like meshed together. I had no expectations, so I'm just taking it one day at a time.
Jeff Williams:
In a way, it's kind of two different things because there can be the times where you are doing like the like rolling laughs and you're taking that to a venue, an area. Speaking of that, let me interrupt myself. So is that something that you see, like you take it to different parts of Springfield, different parts of the state, the Midwest, or?
Cassandra:
Yeah, for now, Springfield, and then hopefully branch out to other areas. I started it because once the wakery closed, there weren't really any open mics. They kept, you know, closing down with the businesses, and there's no real show. venue here. It was kind of like, well, I'll just create my own. So yeah, and now there are open mics that have started, but there's still no real show venue in Springfield. So now I'm building it for you guys.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, no, that's sometimes you got to see where stuff might go different than your original plan. It's like, “Oh, actually, even though I thought this was the way to go… I'm realizing this actually is taking off more, you know, and start to get out there in different ways, definitely. So that's cool for sure. Have you ever been up to…. OH! Do you know Justine Kuzniar? I just happened to see her and she, I said I was doing an interview with a Cassandra… and she goes, “Is she a comedian?” I mean… so she, you know… so you're a celebrity. I said the first name… and she just immediately somehow knew.
Cassandra:
Maybe it's a bad reference. Maybe she's like, oh yeah, there's Cassandra. (laughter)
Jeff Williams:
Yeah. No, it didn't really seem to be that way. So, and if it was, she masked it very well. Oh, okay, so… Mason City. Yeah. Mason City Limits!
Cassandra:
Yeah, with Chris Brier. I know him and I work with him a lot.
Jeff Williams:
Oh, do you? Okay, cool.
Cassandra:
Yeah, it's a nice venue. And hopefully we can collaborate on something in the future.
Jeff Williams:
Kind of cool. because it'd be something where maybe if you had it where you bounce back and forth between like inside and outside if you had your vehicle there or something like that where you'd be able to do. I think I've only been there once. I remember the first time I was up there was just rolling through. I think I was taking pictures of like the Arlee Theater. The marquee of the Arlee. Like around the corner from (Mason City Limits). And then I drove and there's a little art place… there's a little… oh wow…. it's a comedy club in Mason City! So, I thought that was a pretty cool little gem in a, smaller community, but that's really cool that they're able to do that and sustain that.
Cassandra:
And he gets some pretty well-known talent out there too.
Jeff Williams:
That's why I noticed that, yeah, that's some bigger names come through there, yeah.
Cassandra:
And then he also helps local comedians get stage time too and encourages them. So Yeah, it's a place I'd recommend checking out.
Jeff Williams:
So before that, you weren't really thinking about comedy before, like about three years ago?
Cassandra:
Correct, yeah.
Jeff Williams:
Okay. I haven't gone to a lot of comedy clubs, so I don't know a lot of it.
Cassandra:
Yeah, nothing really in Springfield. There's one in Mohamet, (Illinois). They do music and comedy.
Jeff Williams:
Okay, Mohamet has one. Okay, that's cool.
Cassandra:
That's a good venue. Doing comedy, I've just, I've taken things as they've come. I've done shows in Chicago at Zaney's and St. Louis. I've done shows. I just did a comedy festival in Salem, Massachusetts in January. That was super fun.
Jeff Williams:
Right on. Yeah, that's cool. I have a friend who, for a long time, was an art curator, actually, at a gallery, and then recently She's from the Springfield area, Shelley Lamantia. She lives in Chicago now, but she does, has been really the last, probably about around that same amount of time, about the last three years or so. She never had mentioned anything. I mean, I've known her forever, never anything with comedy. And then all of a sudden, she start to get into it. And she loves it now, you know, and it's, just kind of cool.
Cassandra:
Is she blonde?
Jeff Williams:
Blonde, yeah, Shelley!
Cassandra:
And oh yeah, she always, I always see her at my shows. I did one in Lincoln Lodge. She was there, and then I just did one at Bab's Comedy Club. And she was there, yeah. So it's really nice that comedians support each other.
Jeff Williams:
Support each other, yeah. She's been, she seems like she really likes to, even if she's not performing just about as often as she can, and some people might know her as Shelley Wright. She's, it's not like she just wants to do it for herself. She really likes supporting other, you know, other comedians and going out and seeing as many shows as she can, because I think she, you know, feels that she helps, it helps her, you know.
Cassandra:
Yeah, she's very funny, too.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, so it's cool. I remember seeing her for a little while. And you kind of mentioned, it kind of ebbs and flows as far as, an open mic night will happen, then maybe it goes away or the place goes away and then another one will come back and stuff. But I know I'd seen her at when Anvil and Forge was having one for like a little, like for a while. I'm not sure if they still are or not, but for a while they kind of, they, you know, they did kind of have one. That was around the time when they started transitioning into having pizza ovens and stuff. So, I know they kind of move, so things move sometimes with places they have to shift what they're thinking about doing and stuff. So you're originally from the Springfield area then?
Cassandra:
Yeah, from Pleasant Plains.
Jeff Williams:
From Pleasant Plains, okay. Yeah, right on. You have some upcoming shows going on?
Cassandra:
Do I have any upcoming shows? There's one in the works, but it hasn't been confirmed yet in Springfield. I know Deja Vu is trying to change their image and have comedy. So that might be a show that's coming up. But really, I've just been working on the camper.
Jeff Williams:
The camper, yeah. I can imagine it's got to be hard to, it'd be hard to do both, but I mean, trying to book shows AND get the camper done.
Cassandra:
Yeah.
Jeff Williams:
The way, you know, you're talking about. So when you did, you said Salem? Salem, Massachusetts. So how did that come about?
Cassandra:
There's a lot of Facebook groups about comedy festivals and competitions. And I think I saw it was posted and you just apply to it. You have a clip. I think I had one from a show, but you can use one from an open mic or whatever material you have recorded. And they selected me out of 13 like total comedians they had there. And it was a whole weekend. And of course, I did some sightseeing.
Jeff Williams:
Oh, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So was that, how was that feeling when you realized you were selected?
Cassandra:
It was awesome. Oh, yeah. Kind of a validation, like, okay. Well, that's what I figured.
Jeff Williams:
It'd be kind of cool. After that, it's like, oh, okay, now I got to get, I got to get the stuff I want to say. Or, you know what I mean? You got to get a routine ready. You got to then book a flight and all that.
Cassandra:
Yeah. that was a lot. I did have a friend who is familiar with the Boston area. He came with me. And so traveling with someone was a big help.
Jeff Williams:
Sure.
Cassandra:
Yeah, and I got an Airbnb there. And yeah, it is a big commitment, but if you're able to do it and you get into one, I suggest doing it.
Jeff Williams:
Oh yeah, it's always cool to be able to get out. First off, it kind of puts you out of your own comfort zone in a way, because you're taking this other step and it's all the other coordination, not just, okay, I'm going to do one in right with inside my area. You know, it's this other kind of commitment. And but it's cool because for me, at least it feels like then you kind of learn something about yourself too on what you stretch your limit somewhat. So.
Cassandra:
And you have no idea what their audience.
Jeff Williams:
Is going to be like, right?
Cassandra:
So, it's like, is my material going to work there? If it does, then it's like, okay, well, I've got some solid material or. that didn't work because I'm going based off of where I'm from. it was, it's definitely a learning experience.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, the band, sometimes certain things, we had a kind of a, not really a routine, but sometimes it didn't translate in certain parts of the country or North America. Like if we'd go up into Canada, some people were like, oh, you guys are cool. And other people were like, United States, so they weren't really feeling it. Afterwards, like, no, we're on your side. We feel, we got it. So, it was kind of a thing where you suddenly realize these parts that are nuances that are different than what you know already. So anyhow, once again, Cassandra Simpson, thanks a lot for coming in and talking about your rolling laughs, the new rolling venue that you have kind of going on. And is there anything as far as if people want to get a hold of you, contact you?
Cassandra:
Oh yeah. So it's at Rolling Laughs on Facebook and at Rolling Laughs Venue on Instagram. And I am posting renovation videos. Those are entertaining themselves.
Jeff Williams:
Oh yeah, that's cool.
Cassandra:
Where I'm figuring out, because I've never worked on a camper before, so it's interesting.
Jeff Williams:
It sounds like you're getting it done pretty fast for if you haven't done one before, so.
Cassandra:
Yeah.
Jeff Williams:
Cool. All right. Well, once again, Cassandra Simpson, thanks a lot for coming in.
Cassandra:
Yeah, thanks for having me.
Jeff Williams:
Community Voices is events you might have missed and conversations with neighbors, artists, and area businesspeople. Suggest a guest or comment at communityvoices@nprillinois.org. Get to know your neighbors with Community Voices at noon and 10 P.m. and on demand at nprillinois.org.