Amber J. Lawson

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Amber J. Lawson
Born
Kansas City, Missouri
Alma materThe Second City
University of Missouri
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, Online Content and Development Executive, Producer
Organization(s)IAWTV Awards
Chairman, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Interactive Media Peer Group
Board member ofOpenSlate Studios, Social Media Week LA, Picture Healing, Attention Span Media

Amber J. Lawson (born August 24, 1972) is an American producer, entrepreneur, and online content and development executive.[1][2] She is best known as the founder and CEO of Comedy Gives Back, a global multi-platform live streamed stand-up comedy event and benefit.[3][4][5]

Early life[edit]

Lawson was born in Kansas City, Missouri into an Italian family.[2] She went to Raytown South High School and earned a theatrical performance degree from University of Missouri.[6]

Career[edit]

After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Theatrical Performance from the University of Missouri, Lawson began her acting career at The Second City, a comedy troupe based in Chicago.[7] Lawson's first job as an actress was in a Chicago production of Tony n' Tina's Wedding; she was fired by the show's director, Jay Leggett, who then rehired her to appear in Tony n Tony's Wedding, which Leggett also directed.[8] Shortly thereafter, Lawson moved to Los Angeles, where she briefly pursued her career as an actor, winning a GLAAD Award nomination for her portrayal of Bette Midler in A Gay Christmas Carol.[9]

In 1999, Lawson founded internetworksstudios.com, developing online content. The firm produced Pop Girl, a talent competition. In 2000, internetworksstudios.com was renamed Stage 3 Studios,[10] a media company focused on creating programming for film and television. Under the banner of Stage 3 Studios, Lawson converted Pop Girl into a one-hour dramedy, Alyx, and partnered with Madonna, among others, to sell the script.[11] Additionally, Lawson served as a development consultant, working with Fox Entertainment Group, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. and others.[4] In 2006, Lawson and Leggett partnered to create Comedy Cocktail, a live sketch comedy show performed in Los Angeles,[12] which launched the careers of Ask A Ninja and Frangela, among others. Additionally, Comedy Cocktail conceived, developed and produced Super Seniors, an early incarnation of Comedy Central's Workaholics.[13] Also in 2006, they were hired by the National Lampoon to relaunch the National Lampoon Lemmings live tour and cast and create the Lampoon's comedy albums.[14][15] Based on the Lemmings success, Lawson and Leggett were recruited to serve as senior development executives at the company.[16]

In 2008, Lawson joined the staff of ManiaTV.[17] In 2009, she moved to Babelgum, serving as comedy publisher for the company, a curated free-to-view internet, mobile and fixed television platform.[18] While at Babelgum, Lawson created several viral hit series, including Kids Reenact, In 60 Seconds, and Kevin Pollak's Vamped Out.[19] In 2010, Lawson was recruited by AOL to fill the newly created position of Vice President/Head of Video Programming;[20][21][22] additionally, she was appointed Chairman of Interactive Media Peer Membership Working Group for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and IAWTV Awards Chairman by the International Academy of Web Television.[23][24][25]

Lawson is a founding partner of StoryTech, a Los Angeles-based brand and technology consultancy developed in partnership with the Opportunity Management Company (TOMC) in 2011.[5][26] Also in 2011, she founded Comedy Gives Back, formerly known as Transforming the World Through Comedy. [27] The organization produces their tentpole event, Comedy Gives Back, a global streaming multi-platform 24-hour stand-up comedy event benefiting various charities annually. Comedy Gives Back premiered on November 16, 2011,[28] and included performances from Gotham Comedy Club in New York, Zanies Comedy Club in Chicago and The Improv in Los Angeles. Comics involved in Comedy Gives Back include Dane Cook, Kevin Nealon, Adam Carolla, Reggie Watts, Marc Maron, Rove McManus, Greg Behrendt, Russell Peters, Skyler Stone, Adam Devine, Finesse Mitchell, and Garfunkel and Oates.[29] 2013's Comedy Gives Back took place on November 6, to coincide with the New York Comedy Festival, and featured performances from comedians in Sydney, London, New York and Los Angeles. The event benefited Malaria No More.[30][31] The 2014 event was held on May 9, and was live streamed from the SXSW Festival. It benefited Feeding America.[32]

Lawson serves on the boards of OpenSlate Studios, Social Media Week LA, Picture Healing, and Attention Span Media. She has been a featured speaker at NAB,[33] CES,[34] LATV Fest,[35] Montreal Comedy Festival, Digital Hollywood,[36] Comedy Content Summit, SXSW,[37] ITVfest and NATPE,[38] focusing on interactive and immersive content, branded entertainment, multiplatform strategies, monetization, social media, entertainment consumption, and advertising and business strategy in traditional, online and mobile media. She became a judge for the Adweek Watch Awards in 2014,[39] and was selected to host the first-ever International Digital upfront at MIPTV Media Market in 2014.[40]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Berley, Samantha. "SMWLA Advisor Spotlight: Amber J Lawson". August 2, 2012. Social Media Week. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Amber J. Lawson". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  3. ^ Kehoe, Casey. "Transforming the World Through Comedy". November 16, 2011. Hollywood Today. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Amber J. Lawson Credits". 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  5. ^ a b Zimmerman, Jonathan. "Transforming The World Through Amber". November 27, 2012. All Voices. Archived from the original on 2013-08-05. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  6. ^ Stories, Local. "Meet Amber J Lawson of Goddess Process in Venice - Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide". Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  7. ^ "Amber J Lawson Founder | The Opportunity Management Company". 2013. Expert File. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  8. ^ Smith, Sid. "With A Twist 'Tony 'N' Tony' Recasts 'Tony 'n' Tina' As A Gay Wedding, With The Same Hilarity". April 10, 1996. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  9. ^ "GLAAD 1998 Award Nominations". January 14, 1998. GLAAD.
  10. ^ Grego, Melissa (4 December 2002). "ABC, Sokoloff harmonize music skein". December 3, 2002. Variety. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  11. ^ Grego, Melissa (December 3, 2002). "ABC, Sokoloff harmonize music skein". variety.com. Variety. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  12. ^ Gluvox. ""Big News" in Comedy Cocktail Friday, March 9th". March 6, 2007. Top Story Weekly. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  13. ^ "Mail Order Comedy: About". Mail Order Comedy (Workaholics). Archived from the original on 23 May 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  14. ^ "National Lampoon takes on Broadway". September 6, 2007. The Hollywood Reporter.
  15. ^ "National Lampoon at All Music". All Music Guide. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  16. ^ "National Lampoon and Dice.com Roll Out a Cast of Characters". Bloomberg.
  17. ^ "maniaTV.com has hired Amber J. Lawson". February 19, 2008. MediaLife. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  18. ^ Wayne, Teddy. "Interview With Producer Lauren Schnipper". May 28, 2010. Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 2013-10-15. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  19. ^ Ostrow, Adam (28 April 2010). "Little Kids Reenact The Hills". April 27, 2010. Mashable. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  20. ^ Hibberd, James. "Kevin Smith, Adam Carolla, Kevin Pollak launching late-night show on AOL". January 24, 2011. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2013-10-15. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  21. ^ Miller, Liz Shannon. "How AOL Video Climbed the comScore Charts". February 17, 2011. Gigaom. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  22. ^ Block, Alex Ben (24 January 2011). "AOL Launching Late-Night Block With Kevin Smith, Adam Carolla and Kevin Pollak". January 24, 2011. Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  23. ^ Marlowe, Chris. "Submissions now open for IAWTV Awards". August 9, 2012. Digital Media Wire. Archived from the original on 2013-10-15. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  24. ^ "'My Gimpy Life,' 'Booth at the End' also take multiple prizes in Vegas". January 8, 2013. Variety. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  25. ^ "Women In (Digital) Comedy". September 2012. Hollywood Content Summit. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  26. ^ "The New Media Show #9 with Amber J Lawson". June 11, 2013. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  27. ^ Rowley, Melissa Jun (May 15, 2014). "Comedy & Cause: Why Laughing Matters". Huffington Post. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  28. ^ Starr, Fred. "Transforming the World Through Comedy Live EVENT". October 18, 2011. Hollywood Today. Archived from the original on 20 October 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  29. ^ "Comedy Gives Back and JASH Unite for Comedy Week". May 27, 2013. Comedy 360 Daily. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  30. ^ "Transforming The World Through Comedy Teams With Malaria No More And YouTube For Its 2013 Global Live Streamed Comedy Event On www.youtube.com/twtcomedy". November 15, 2012. PR Newswire. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  31. ^ "Comedy Gives Back announces Nov 6th date". May 13, 2013. Comedy Gives Back. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  32. ^ Cohen, Joshua (March 6, 2014). "Yahoo Helps Feeding America With Comedy Gives Back At SXSW". tubefilter.com. TubeFilter. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  33. ^ "Mobile Entertainment At NAB 2010". April 23, 2010. Mobilized TV. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  34. ^ "Web video world heads to Vegas for CES awards show". June 9, 2011. Gigaom. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  35. ^ "NATPE Lineup for Fourth Annual LATV Fest July 12–15 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel to Include Broad Cross-section of Television and Digital Industries". 2010. NATPE. Archived from the original on 16 January 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  36. ^ "Moderator Amber J Lawson". Spring 2013. Digital Hollywood. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  37. ^ "Amber J Lawson". March 2013. SXSW (Sched). Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  38. ^ "NATPE Conference Speakers". January 2012. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  39. ^ Castillo, Michele (April 4, 2014). "Meet Watch Awards Talent Judge Amber J Lawson". adweek.com. Adweek. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  40. ^ "MIP Digital Upfronts". my-mip.com. MIP. Archived from the original on 2014-06-20. Retrieved 25 January 2015.

External links[edit]

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