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Sheila Rivera doing her comedy routine at the Rumba Room —Los Angeles, Calif.
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Park Ranger, Standup Comic (205)For Tom Hennessy, being outdoors is in the blood — his great uncle was a park ranger, as was his father. After a successful run in the restaurant business he sold his shares, spent eight weeks in ranger school and never looked back. Today he is a full-time park ranger who spends his days riding horses, hiking, helping tourists, protecting the environment and occasionally rescuing people.
Then meet a woman who risked everything — her career as an aerospace engineer, her husband, custody of her children — to take a stab at standup comedy. The odds were long, but Shayla Rivera's new career is taking off. She's appeared on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Telemundo and in numerous commercials and short films.
Park Ranger Facts:
- Tom is in the law enforcement division of the Park Rangers. His wife Sandy is in the fee collector division.
- Becoming a ranger requires an eight-week course at a certified academy.
- A ranger's mission is to protect both nature and nature lovers.
Resources:
The Making of a Ranger: Forty Years with the National Parks
by Lemuel A. Garrison
Association of National Park Rangers
www.anpr.org
Standup Comic Facts:
- Rivera spent seven years working for NASA.
- Beginning stand-up comics use "open-mic nights" to get noticed. They almost always have day jobs, as Rivera did.
- Rivera is represented by Lapides Entertainment in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Contact:
Lapides Entertainment
345 N. Maple Drive, #200
Beverly Hills, Calif., 90210
310-276-9620
Resources:
The Comedy Bible: From Standup to Sitcom
by Judy Carter
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