The Robot Johnson Show facts for kids
The Robot Johnson Show is a fun sketch comedy show created by a group of performers from Charlotte, North Carolina. Each show is about an hour and ten minutes long and features funny skits, fake commercials, and original comedy songs. Sean Keenan and A. Blaine Miller, who were part of another comedy group called The Perch, started Robot Johnson. The group includes former members of The Perch, plus other actors and comedians from the area. Robot Johnson is known for its local humor and for tackling big topics like social and political issues in a funny way. They like to say they provide "good humor by bad people."
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The Start of Robot Johnson Comedy
The idea for The Robot Johnson Show came from talks between Sean Keenan and Douglas Young. Mr. Young works at the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, which includes Spirit Square. Sean Keenan was well-known for his work with The Perch comedy group and as the voice of The Talking Baby character on MTV2. Mr. Young thought it was a great time to start a new comedy group in Charlotte. Sean Keenan wasn't sure at first, but he eventually agreed and called A. Blaine Miller to see if he was interested. The Robot Johnson Show had its very first performance on December 7, 2007, at the Charlotte Comedy Theatre.
Where Robot Johnson Performs Now
Today, Robot Johnson performs at Wine Up in Charlotte, North Carolina. They also travel and perform their shows in different cities across both North and South Carolina.
Meet the Robot Johnson Team
Here are the people who perform and write for The Robot Johnson Show:
- Sean Keenan, who is the producer and helped start the group
- Candice Cortinas, the associate producer
- Tiffany Apple, a performer
- David Golden, a writer and performer
- Graham Odom, a writer and performer
- Noah Lemmons, a writer and performer
- Zaq Rogers, a performer
- Meghan Lowther, a writer and performer
- Brandon Ballard, a writer and performer
- Luci Wilson, a performer
- Drew Aronica, a performer and writer
- Field Canty, a performer
- Ryan Stamey, a performer
- Tania Kelly, a writer and performer
- Josh Lanier, a writer
- Andy Rogers, a writer
Funny Characters You'll See Again and Again
Robot Johnson shows often feature these recurring characters:
- Gordon, the Marginalized Redneck (played by Sean Keenan)
- Becca Norwood, a Channel 5 reporter (played by Tiffany Apple)
- Paula and Skalene, the "Double Wide" girls (played by Tiffany Apple and Luci Wilson)
- Gene Shalit (played by Brandon Ballard)
- The Talking Baby (played by Sean Keenan)
- Disembodied Voice (played by Graham Odom)
- Gene and Monty, two movie executives from the 1940s (played by David Golden and Zaq Rogers)
- The Guardian Pancake (played by Sean Keenan)
- Kelly Hornsby (played by Luci Wilson)
- Dr. A**hole (played by Zaq Rogers)
- Drs. Howell, Utley, Cornwallis, and Patricks, the redneck NASA rocket scientists (played by Luci Wilson, David Golden, Tiffany Apple, and Graham Odom)
- Shelby Gerkin (played by Meghan Lowther)
The Talking Baby Character
The Talking Baby is a very popular character created by Sean Keenan. It's a baby doll that Sean Keenan operates with his hand, making it move its head and hands. The Talking Baby is supposed to review movies, but it often gets sidetracked and talks about other funny things related to the movie, or sometimes even movies it hasn't seen! This character was so popular that it became a spokesperson for MTV2 in the early 2000s. The segment usually starts with the Disembodied Voice singing a part of a pop song to introduce the baby.
Robot Johnson's Cool Partnerships and Media Fun
Robot Johnson has done many exciting things, including filming a 30-minute TV pilot in July 2008. They planned to show this pilot to major TV networks and smaller cable stations. Robot Johnson also launched its own YouTube channel and has plans for a national tour and a comedy music album.
In September 2008, the group worked with Collaborative Arts Theatre to create SITCOMS LIVE. This show featured three weeks of live performances of classic sitcom episodes like "Three's Company," "The Facts of Life," and "Married...With Children." Robot Johnson performed funny commercial breaks for each sitcom and also put on a new hour-long sketch comedy show after each performance. The next year, The Robot Johnson Show won a Metrolina Theatre Award for "Other Exemplary Performance/Element - Comedy" because of their great work on SITCOMS LIVE.
On September 21, 2008, Robot Johnson announced they would return to The Charlotte Comedy Theatre in October to prepare new shows for 2009.
In February 2009, Robot Johnson teamed up with The Light Factory, a photography museum in Charlotte, to promote "American Zombie." This was a city-wide festival celebrating the work of director George A. Romero. Cast members Sean Keenan, Zaq Rogers, and Tiffany Apple even appeared on a local news show called "Fox News Rising" to promote the event, humorously debating the idea of zombie-rights.
September 2009 was when Robot Johnson released its first music! They gave out free promotional CDs at their shows at the Carolina Actors Studio Theatre in Charlotte, NC, and at The Gathering Spot in Greenville, SC. These CDs featured the group performing funny versions of famous songs by bands like The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, and The Smashing Pumpkins. Also in September 2009, troupe member David Golden released his first album, "Here's What I Really Think of You," which included songs he had written for the group.
In January 2010, Robot Johnson started a year-long series of monthly shows at the CAST Theatre.
On February 4, 2010, Robot Johnson performed at the North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival.
