While scrolling through Instagram recently, I came across a clip of Stephen Colbert speaking at the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Awards when accepting his honor. He said:
“…if there's any value to doing a late night show beyond the obvious virtues of selling cold medicine and car insurance, it is acting as a nightly counterpoint to the daily diet of fear that we are all fed... but you cannot laugh and be afraid at the same time. So we do our best to keep it light in light of the darkness.”
Those words instantly struck a chord. First of all, it’s very true. I’ve personally experienced the relief of the Late Show effect—laughing off anxiety about world events. And secondly, because "keeping it light in light of the darkness" is precisely what Creative Stage Collective is all about.
While CSC might not sell cough medicine or car insurance (making a mental note: future fundraising ideas?), we provide laughter, play, the transformative power of creative engagement, and something I’d go so far as to call…joy.
I often wonder: do children today have enough spaces to laugh?
School recess and lunch times are compressed; screens often dominate the commute to and from school; and unlike when I was growing up—gathering around the same TV screen and laughing together at The Carol Burnett Show—today’s children often experience humor with their earphones on, in isolation.
How often do we really laugh together with our children anymore?
In over a decade of designing and facilitating theater and creative arts programs for children and multigenerational ensembles, one guiding principle has never failed: imaginative play and laughter function as a kind of social and emotional “medicine.” Children process uncertainty, fear, and stress through creativity, improvisation, and joyful collaborative storytelling—and the effects ripple outward.
Laughter becomes a powerful tool for motivation, reinforcement, confidence-building, and self-reflection. After all, how much stronger are we when we have the courage—and the self-worth—to laugh both at ourselves and the things we are afraid of?
The CDC reports a jaw-dropping 40% of high school students report feelings of hopelessness. But kids who know how to laugh (and know how to make other people laugh) have a secret superpower: to find light in light of the darkness.
As Mr. Colbert says:
"Few can change history, but everyone has the opportunity — and the obligation — to push back on the temptation to despair."
And now—excuse me while I go pitch Robitussin and Geico on a very exciting sponsorship opportunity.