RANJIT SOURI, MBA · Stand-up Comedy 101 (8-week course for adults) Teen Improv (13-14) Teen Improv (15-18) Teen Improv for Anxiety (15-18) (7-week course for teens dealing with anxiety

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RANJIT SOURI, MBA Chicago, IL 60614 | Cell 312.287.6390

[email protected]

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY:

● Award-winning instructor at the college level.

● Professional Development teacher: academic success, campus resources, career exploration, communication, job search processes, leadership, presentation skills, public speaking, and teamwork.

● Writing teacher: composition, cover letters, personal essays, research papers, and résumés.

● MBA from Columbia University. B.S. in Accounting from Case Western Reserve University.

● Public speaking experience in front of audiences up to 5,000+.

● Extensive record of service to the University of Illinois at Chicago.

● Performed as comedian throughout the USA over a 20-year period.

● 16 years experience as instructor of comedy writing, improvisational comedy, and stand-up comedy.

● Ability to master diverse subject areas including grammar, literature, logic, math, music, science, writing.

● Experienced free-lance magazine writer; was listed in the anthology The Best American Essays 2007.

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CURRENT POSITION: FULL-TIME LECTURER at the College of Business Administration at the UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO (UIC), 2014-present: I teach Business Communications, with my courses falling into two categories:

● Improv for Business: applying improvisational and communication skills to various oral communication situations including:

○ impromptu speaking,

○ job search strategies and processes,

○ leadership,

○ presentation skills,

○ public speaking, and

○ working effectively on a team.

● Business Writing: teaching students to write effectively in various forms including:

○ business letters,

○ cover letters,

○ essays,

○ memoranda,

○ research papers, and

○ resumes.

Courses taught at UIC include:

● BA 520 Improvisation & Leadership (graduate level course) (note: BA = “Business Administration”)

● BA 420 Professional Presence (note: BA = “Business Administration”)

● BA 220 Professional Development II

● BA 200 Managerial Communications (a business writing course)

● BA 100 Introduction to UIC and Professional Development

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Honors at UIC:

● Recipient of Dean’s Letter of Recognition for Outstanding Teaching, 2017, 2019

● Named UIC Teaching Scholar, 2017

● Named UIC Teaching Scholar, 2016

ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS:

● MBA, 1996, Columbia University (New York, NY), Concentrations in Accounting and Nonprofit Management.

○ Winner, Joann Martin Award for Excellence in Public and Not-for-profit Management

○ Winner, Beta Gamma Sigma Scholarship

○ Teaching Assistant, Accounting

○ Teaching Assistant, Mathematics

○ Member, Public and Nonprofit Management Association

○ Member, Students for Responsible Business

● B.S., Accounting, 1992, Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH)

○ Member of the Year, Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity

○ Directed Sigma Alpha Mu community service program awarded as best of all fraternities on campus as well as best of over 80 national chapters of SAM

○ Member, Case Men’s Glee Club and University Singers

○ Member, Indian Student Association

ADDITIONAL GRADUATE WORK:

● Doctoral Coursework in Accounting, 1996-1997, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

○ Successfully completed first year of full-time doctoral coursework

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○ Also served as Research Assistant

○ (Left at end of first year to pursue comedy career)

TESTS COMPLETED:

● CPA Exam: passed, Dayton, OH, 1993

● GMAT: 750 (99th percentile) out of 800, Quant 98th, Verbal 99th, Atlanta, GA, 1993

● GRE: 336 out of 340, Quant 168 (94th), Verbal 168 (98th), Chicago, IL, 2017

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SERVICE TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO (UIC) (Note: All of these are presentations and workshops I have done outside of my required teaching responsibilities; this is a representative listing.)

● UIC Business School Commencement Floor Marshal, December 14th, 2019.

● UIC Business School Commencement Marshal (Emcee), May 13th, 2019. Emceed commencement ceremony at UIC Pavilion with audience of 5,000+

● UIC Business School Commencement Banner Carrier, December 15th, 2018.

● UIC Business School Commencement Marshal (Emcee), May 12th, 2018. Emceed commencement ceremony at UIC Pavilion with audience of 5,000+

● “Dental Leadership”, UIC Dental School, 7-week seminar for Pediatric Dental Residents, Spring Semesters 2018 and 2019.

● “Improv for Networking,” UIC Liautaud Graduate School of Business, Incoming Students Onboarding, January 11th, 2018.

● “Improv Communication Skills,” UIC Business Scholarship Workshop for Students and their Parents, December 9th, 2017.

● “Improv Skills for Nursing Faculty and Staff,” UIC College of Nursing Retreat, August 23rd, 2017.

● “Team-building Workshop,” UIC Business Leadership Retreat, August 21st, 2017.

● “Professional Development Workshop in Communication,” Alpha Kappa Psi professional co-ed business fraternity meeting, March 16th, 2017.

● “Matt Alex: Principal at Deloitte,” I conducted an on-stage interview with Mr. Alex for an audience of 100+ Business Scholar students and faculty, March 15th, 2017.

● “Improv and Communication Skills,” UIC Transfer Student Onboarding, January 14th, 2017.

● ”Improv for International Students and Professionals,” UIC Tutorium in Intensive English, July 7th, 2016.

● ”Improv for Professional Networking,” Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Palooza, April 16th, 2016.

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● “Improv for Presentation Skills,” Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies Start-up Challenge, April 15th, 2016.

● ”Improv for Professional Networking,” College of Business Administration Admitted Student Reception, April 13th, 2016.

● ”Improv for Professional Networking,” UIC Graduate College, March 17th, 2016.

● “Improv for Professional Networking,” UIC Student-Athlete Mentorship Program, February 17th, 2016.

● “Giving and Receiving Feedback,” Institute for Leadership Excellence and Development, February 3rd, 2016.

● ”Improv for Professional Networking,” Transfer Student Onboarding, January 8th, 2016.

● “Personal Storytelling for Business,” Institute for Leadership Excellence and Development, October 21st, 2015.

● “Improv for Professional Networking,” UIC Liautaud Graduate Business School Orientation, August 14th, 2015.

● ”Improv for Professional Networking,” UIC Business School Summer College Prep, July 7th, 2015.

● “Personal Storytelling in Business,” Alpha Kappa Psi (Professional Co-ed Business Fraternity), April 30th, 2015

● ”Improv for Professional Networking,” College of Business Administration Admitted Student Reception, April 16th, 2015.

● “Personal Storytelling for Business,” Business Career Center Leadership Lab, April 9th, 2015.

● ”Improv for Professional Networking,” Leadership Lab, February 5th, 2015.

● “Medprov: Improvisational Skills for Doctors,” UIC Medical Center, January 28th, 2015; December 24th, 2014; and October 1st, 2014.

● ”Improv and Nonverbal Communication,” Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Co-ed Business Fraternity, January 22nd, 2015.

● ”Impromptu Speaking,” Graduate Marketing Association, November 14th, 2014.

● ”Improv for Tutors,” Business Learning Center, November 7th, 2014.

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TEST PREP TEACHING AND TUTORING EXPERIENCE:

● Aardvark Prep (Chicago, IL): Education Consultant (2008-2016): I tutored students from high-school age through adults, for the ACT, GMAT, GRE, ISAT, ISEE, LSAT, PSAT, and SAT. I taught all sections of all of these exams including English/Grammar, Logic Games, Math, Reading Comprehension, Science, and Writing.

● Kaplan Test Prep (Chicago, IL): Teacher (1996-1999 and 2003-2005): I taught GMAT courses, and I was part of a small percentage of Kaplan teachers who contributed to the writing of Kaplan’s national curriculum.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND IN COMEDY:

● The Second City Training Center (Chicago, IL): Courses completed:

○ Stand-up Comedy 101 and 201 (2010-2011)

○ Conservatory (Advanced Improvisation) Levels 1-5 (2005-2006)

○ Sketch Comedy Writing Levels 1-5 (2001-2002)

○ Beginning Improvisation Levels A-E (1998-1999)

TEACHING EXPERIENCE IN COMEDY EDUCATION: Courses taught at The Second City Training Center (Chicago, IL), 2003-present:

● Comedy Writing 1, 2, 3, and 4 (each level is an 8-week course for adults)

● Humor Doesn’t Retire: A series of 8-week Improvisation classes for Senior Citizens

● ImaginAction (4-5): theater games for students ages 4 and 5

● ImaginAction (6-8): theater games for students ages 6 to 8

● Improv for Anxiety: A series of 8-week Improvisation classes for adults dealing with anxiety issues

● Improv-X (9-10): theater games for students ages 9 and 10

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● Improv-X (11-12): theater games for students ages 11 and 12

● Improvisation Levels A, B, C, D, E (each level is an 8-week course for adults)

● Stand Up to Anxiety (8-week course for adults who want to use the study of stand-up to deal with anxiety issues)

● Stand-up Comedy 101 (8-week course for adults)

● Teen Improv (13-14)

● Teen Improv (15-18)

● Teen Improv for Anxiety (15-18) (7-week course for teens dealing with anxiety issues; I co-teach this course with a Licensed Social Worker)

● Teen Improv Boot Camp: a 10-weekday intensive

● Teen Stand-up Comedy Boot Camp (10-day intensive)

● Various additional intensives, workshops, etc.

ADDITIONAL TEACHING EXPERIENCE:

● The University of Chicago Booth School of Business Public Speaking & Communications Group (Chicago, Illinois) (2019-present): Instructor of 7-week extracurricular workshops in Stand-up Comedy and Storytelling.

● The Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois) (Summers 2015, 2007): Faculty member. I taught a 90-hour course at the CTD called “Order in the Courtroom”. Students are gifted 4th- through 6th-graders from around the world who live on campus for several weeks. The course teaches about law and the American legal system using improv, storytelling, discussion, and writing. We conduct mock trials based on familiar fairy tales. (For example, we study “Hansel and Gretel” as a case of child abandonment.) The students portray the characters from the fairy tales, defense and prosecuting attorneys, the judge, and jurors.

● The Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago, Illinois) and the National Science Foundation (NSF): Arts of Science Learning Program (2014): Teaching Artist. I taught in this NSF-funded program that combined the arts and the sciences to work on solving social problems such as hunger, pollution, etc.

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● Miami Valley Child Development Centers (Dayton, Ohio): Assistant Teacher, Head Start Programs (1997-1998). I taught all aspects of this free pre-school program for children of low-income families.

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ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE (selected experience):

● The Second City Training Center (Chicago, Illinois): General Manager (2003-2007): Managed the largest independent theatre school in the world (1,500 students).

● The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel, North Carolina): Research Assistant (1996-1997): Wrote SAS programs to perform statistical data analysis on tens of thousands of stock-market transactions, to support research on the “efficient markets” hypothesis.

● Citizens Budget Commission (New York, NY): Research Assistant (1995-1996): Used Lotus 1-2-3 to perform statistical analysis on the finances and operations of New York City and State governments. These analyses and tables appeared in research papers published by the CBC. These research papers were read, referenced, and cited by government officials, politicians, journalists, academicians, political commentators, and others.

● Freestore Foodbank (Cincinnati, Ohio): Social Services Caseworker (1993-1994): Worked with people below the poverty line, to help with their short-term (food, clothing, shelter) and long-term (job training, education, counseling) needs.

● Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) (Americus, Georgia): Assistant to Chief Financial Officer (1992-1993): Assisted the CFO with various projects, especially with Financial Analysis and Internal Audit functions. Served as an Accounting consultant to hundreds of local affiliates of HFHI throughout the USA.

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TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE (Public Speaking & Leadership Organization), 2017 - present

● Offices & Positions:

○ President (club), 2018 - present

○ Secretary (club), 2018 - present

○ Treasurer (club), 2018 - present

○ Vice President of Education (club), 2018 - present

○ Vice President of Public Relations (club), 2018 - present

○ Sergeant-at-Arms (club), 2018 - present

○ Pathways Ambassador (district), 2017 - present

○ Speechcraft Coordinator, 2017 - present

○ Vice President of Membership (club), 2017 - present

● Education Awards

○ ACS (Advanced Communicator Silver), 2018

○ ACB (Advanced Communicator Bronze), 2018

○ CL (Competent Leader), 2018

○ CC (Competent Communicator), 2017

● Contest Awards:

○ 1st Place, International Speech Contest: Club, Area, & Division Levels, 2018

○ 1st Place, Humorous Speech Contest: Club Level, 2017

● Club Memberships:

○ Extreme Toastmasters, 2017 - present

○ Lakeview Toastmasters, 2017 - present

○ Lightly Toasted Toastmasters, 2017 - present

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○ Northside Toastmasters, 2017 - present

○ PESO Toastmasters, 2017 - present

○ UIC College of Engineering Toastmasters, 2017 - present

YOUTUBE CHANNEL

My YouTube Channel, entitled “Ranjit Souri”, has 1,700+ subscribers and 325,000+ views. It consists of my Pink Floyd piano covers (including a 38-minute cover of the entire “Dark Side of the Moon” album) plus several videos of my comedy performances.

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COMEDY PERFORMANCE HISTORY

I have performed improvisation, musical comedy, sketch comedy, stand-up comedy, and storytelling hundreds of times on stages throughout Chicago and across the United States (and in Toronto, Canada) from 1997 to 2016. I will list some highlights here:

Performances at Comedy Festivals and Theatre Festivals:

● Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Comedy Festival 2002

● Charleston, South Carolina: Piccolo Spoleto Festival 2009

● Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Improv Festival 2013, 2009, 2006, 2005, 2003, 2002

● Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Music Comedy Festival (Laughingstock) 2013

● Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002

● Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Women’s Funny Festival 2014, 2013, 2012

● Chicago, Illinois: Martin de Maat New Works Festival 2006

● Chicago, Illinois: Striding Lion InterArts Festival 2006

● Miami, Florida: Miami Improv Festival 2003

● New Buffalo, Indiana: Michiana Arts Festival 2003

● New Orleans, Louisiana: New Orleans Comedy Arts Festival 2014

● New York, New York: SketchFest NYC 2006, 2005

● Portland, Oregon: Portland Sketch Comedy Festival 2004

● San Francisco, California: San Francisco Comedy Festival 2008

● Seattle, Washington: Seattle Sketch Comedy Festival 2002

● Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival 2014

Comedy Performances at Colleges and Universities (partial listing):

● Bradley University (Peoria, Illinois)

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● DePaul University (Chicago, Illinois)

● Illinois State University (Bloomington, Illinois)

● Indiana University (Bloomington, Indiana)

● Kenyon College (Gambier, Ohio)

● Lehigh University (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)

● Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois)

● Princeton University (Princeton, New Jersey)

● University of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois)

● University of Illinois at Chicago (Chicago, Illinois)

● University of Northern Iowa (Cedar Falls, Iowa)

● University of Notre Dame (South Bend, Indiana)

● University of Saint Thomas (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

● University of Wisconsin -- Parkside (Kenosha, Wisconsin)

● University of Wisconsin -- Whitewater (Whitewater, Wisconsin)

● Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri)

Comedy and/or Musical Performances at Additional Notable Venues (partial listing):

● Acorn Theater (Three Oaks, Michigan)

● Apollo Theater (Chicago, Illinois)

● Arcade Comedy Theater (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

● Arie Crown Theater (Chicago, Illinois)

● The Athenaeum (Chicago, Illinois)

● Auditorium Theater (Chicago, Illinois)

● Brave New Workshop (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

● Chicago Cultural Center (Chicago, Illinois)

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● Chicago Underground Comedy (Chicago, Illinois)

● Chicagoland Speedway (Joliet, Illinois) (sang national anthem with my musical comedy troupe before NASCAR race)

● Chopin Theatre (Chicago, Illinois)

● Cincinnati Playhouse (Cincinnati, Ohio)

● Congress Theater (Chicago, Illinois)

● Davenport’s Piano Bar (Chicago, Illinois)

● Genesee Theatre (Waukegan, Illinois)

● George R. Brown Convention Center (Houston, Texas)

● ImprovOlympic (Chicago, Illinois)

● The Lincoln Lodge (Chicago, Illinois)

● McCormick Place (Chicago, Illinois)

● The Second City (Los Angeles, California)

● The Second City Training Center (Chicago, Illinois)

● Wrigley Field (Chicago, Illinois) (sang national anthem with my musical comedy troupe before Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball game)

Radio and Television appearances as comedian and/or essayist:

● Chicago Public Radio (Chicago, Illinois)

● Cincinnati Public Radio (Cincinnati, Ohio)

● WCIU TV “The U” (Chicago, Illinois)

● WCKG Radio (Chicago, Illinois)

● WGN Radio (Chicago, Illinois)

● WGN TV (Chicago, Illinois)

● WMAQ TV “NBC Chicago” (Chicago, Illinois)

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● WTTW TV (Chicago, Illinois)

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PUBLICATIONS

I have written over 80 articles that have been published in various magazines, including ByLine; Case (the magazine of Case Western Reserve University); Hermes (the magazine of the Columbia University Graduate School of Business); India Abroad; India Currents; Khabar; and The South Loop Review.

One of my essays, “Fireworks and Beethoven”, was listed in the anthology The Best American Essays 2007. The essay was selected by that year’s TBAE editors, Robert Atwan and David Foster Wallace.

The following list is a listing of all of my publications.

85 “The Battle of the Artistic Bulge”

India Currents, August 2011

Essay: What type of comedian is afraid to perform comedy?

84 “The Other Way to Fight Terrorism: The Work of the LibForAll Foundation”

India Currents, May 2011

Interview with anti-terrorism expert Ravi Krishnamurthy

83 “Songs as Good as Gold”

India Currents, March 2011

Profile of musician Siddhartha Khosla of the band Goldspot

82 “A Big Idea”

India Currents, December 2010

Interview with Dr. Shree Nayar, inventor of the BigShot Camera

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81 “Speed: A Day at the Races with NASCAR Driver Narain Karthikeyan”

India Currents, October 2010

Part profile, part personal essay, part primer about auto racing [cover story]

80 “The Gulf Oil Spill and Its Ecological Impact”


Interview with Louisiana State University marine biologist Prosanta Chakrabarty

79 “Grooming Future Leaders”

India Currents, July 2010

Interview with political activist Satyam Khanna about the Washington Leadership Program

78 “A Path Less Traveled”


Interview with ESPN SportsCenter anchor Kevin Negandhi

77 “The Wedding Boogie: A Proposed Modification to the Electric Slide”


Essay

76 “Theater as Activism”

India Currents, February 2010

Interview with Chicago actor and comedian Neal Dandade

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75 “Winter Wonderlake: Images of Frozen Lake Michigan”

The South Loop Review, December 2009

Photo essay

74 “Escape from File Cabinet Siberia”

India Currents, November 2009

Essay about how I turned a failed writing project into something meaningful

73 “Desis on Cable”


Interviews with actors Reshma Shetty of Royal Pains and Danny Pudi of Community

72 “Community Leaders of Tomorrow”


Interview with Chirayu Patel of the Asian American Institute

71 “Losing It”

India Currents, September 2009

Essay about trying to lose weight

70 “A Lonely Business”


Essay about death on the streets of New York City

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69 “In the Dugout and On the Air”


Interview with award-winning sports broadcast journalist, Raj Mathai {cover story]

68 “Five Things I Love about Ray Horton”

Hermes (the magazine of Columbia Business School), Summer 2009

Part of a tribute to a retiring professor

67 “Research and Reward”

India Currents, June 2009

A conversation with young geneticist and 2009 Merage Foundation American Dream Fellow, Tulsi Patel

66 “The Gift”


Essay about my mother and suicide

65 “The Man Who Engineers Comedy”

India Currents, April 2009

Interview with comedian Rajiv Satyal

64 “Confessions of a Crossword Puzzle Scavenger”


Essay about my crossword puzzle addiction

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63 “Comedy, Drama, and a Swordfish”


Interview with actor Vik Sahay

62 “One”


Essay about doing stand-up comedy

61 “Brother and Sister, Fair and Kind”


Interview with songwriting duo and siblings, Arthi Meera and Anand Subramanian of Fair and Kind

60 “A Doctor in the Making”


Interview with young physician and co-star of ABC’s Hopkins, Herman Bagga, M.D.

59 “Adventures in Urban Cycling”


Essay about bicycling in the city

58 “A Quintet that Rocks”


Interview with the members of Bamboo Shoots, MTVu / Epic Records 2007 College Artist of the Year

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57 “It’s a Good Life in Zimbabwe”


Essay about Zimbabwe’s government and The Twilight Zone

56 “Solar Power to the People”


Interview with engineering student Faizan Ahmad, about his project to bring clean water to the desert of Pakistan

55 “Reflections on a Comedy Gig”

India Abroad, July __, 2008

Essay about doing comedy, esp. About Siblings of Doctors

54 “Improvisation and the Winter Wonderlake”


Essay about an improvisational incident

53 “2400 Miles in an Auto-Rickshaw”


Interview with Sonny Sabhlok, after his completion of The Rickshaw Run

52 “Tasty Music, Hold the Instruments: About Penn Masala”

The Cultural Connect, May 18th, 2008

Profile of South Asian a cappella group from the University of Pennsylvania

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51 “More than Bhangra”


Interview with Bhangra pioneer D.J. Rekha {cover story]

50 “The Iceman Speaketh”


Interview with NHL hockey player Manny Malhotra {cover story]

49 “A Convergence with Two Bottlenecks”


Essay about a touring gig that Siblings of Doctors did

48 “How U.S. Food Aid Policies Perpetuate Poverty: An Interview with Anuradha Mittal”


Interview with hunger policy expert Anuradha Mittal

47 “Uncle! Zip!”


Essay about my teaching improv workshops to children in India

46 “The Shot Heard ‘round My World”


An essay about my highs and lows as a terrible high school basketball player

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45 “Empowerment Is a Two-Syllable Word”


Interview with community organizer Rupal Soni

44 “Rising Culinary Star”


Interview with young Executive Chef Radhika Desai

43 “For the Rush”


Essay about a Rush concert

42 “Crash”


Essay about losing a life’s goal

41 “A Cardinal Journalist”


Interview with Pulitzer-winning journalist Peter Bhatia

40 “Aziz Ansari Will Make You Laugh”

The Desi Connect, September 18th, 2007

Interview with comedian Aziz Ansari

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39 “The Working Improvisor”


Interview with Chicago-based improvisor, Sayjal Joshi [cover story]

38 “Friday Night Bridge”


A mystery from my high school years

37 “2007 NCAA Men’s Tennis Champ”

The Desi Connect, ~August 2007

Interview with 2007 NCAA Men’s Tennis Champion Somdev Devvarman

36 “Mission: Fair Trade”


Interview with entrepreneur and fair trade activist, Benita Singh

35 “Duel”


Essay about sleeping with a cockroach

34 “This Just In”


Interview with co-anchor of ABC7 News in Chicago, Ravi Baichwal

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33 “Cowboys and a Kidney”


Essay about the Dallas Cowboys and organ donation

32 “A New Voice”


Interview with singer-songwriter Arthi Meera

31 “Flying Circus as Time Warp”


Essay about my father and Monty Python’s Flying Circus

30 “Nightfall”


Essay about my mother’s death

29 “The Cosmopolitan Filmmaker”

Khabar, May 2007

Interview with Paris-based filmmaker Kartik Singh

28 “The Cosmopolitan Filmmaker”


Interview with Paris-based filmmaker Kartik Singh

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27 “Uniting Desi Writers and Readers”


Interview with writer and founder of DesiLit, Mary Anne Mohanraj

26 “Comedian’s Nightmare”


Essay. Performing comedy for an audience of five people

25 “An Interest in Interest”


Interview with personal finance entrepreneur and activist, Ami Desai

24 “A Few Good Cats”


Essay about my childhood cats

23 “Prokofiev’s Crossing”

Khabar, February 2007

Essay about an encounter I had in the Deep South

22 “Another Man’s Shoes”

Khabar, February 2007

Account of a night spent at a homeless shelter

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21 “A Different Drum” Khabar, February 2007

Interview with drummer and social activist, Nisha Purushotham

20 “A Different Drum”


Interview with drummer and social activist, Nisha Purushotham

19 “Another Man’s Shoes”


Account of a night spent at a homeless shelter

18 “An Opera Singer’s Journey”


Interview with opera singer Priti Gandhi

17 “Cold”


Essay about my experience being assaulted on the street

16 “On Knowing and Not Knowing”


Essay about how the study of improvisation changed me

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15 “Thank You, Mr. Agassi”


Essay about my relationship with tennis. Inspired by the retirement of Andre Agassi

14 “Prokofiev’s Crossing” (double)



13 “Notes on Accounting, Swimming, and Comedy”


Essay about, you guessed it, accounting, swimming, and comedy

12 “Fireworks and Beethoven”


Essay that draws connections between July 4th fireworks displays and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. I also performed this essay on WBEZ Chicago Public Radio. This essay was listed in the anthology “The Best American Essays 2007”, edited by Robert Atwan and David Foster Wallace.

11 “A Musician’s Sacrifice”


Essay about my father and a great sacrifice he made for me

10 “Funny Brown Female”


Interview with MTV’s Rasika Mathur

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09 “Tribute to a Gardener”


Essay about what my late mother taught me about gardening and writing and living. I also performed this essay on WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, and have performed it at storytelling shows all over Chicago.

08 “Rhapsody in Spring”

Khabar, April 2006

Essay about an incident in downtown Chicago involving George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”

07 “Rhapsody in Spring”


Essay about an incident in downtown Chicago involving George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”

06 “The Indian Wants The Indian Wants the Bronx”


Essay about theatre and race

05 “Through a Child’s Eyes”


Essay about two incidents in an early childhood education setting, 25 years apart

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04 “When It Rains”

ByLine, December 2005

Essay about my first time selling an essay

03 “The Man Who Is Not Tiger Woods”

Khabar, December 2005

Short story about a stranger encounter at a gas station3333

02 “The Man Who Is Not Tiger Woods”


Short story about a strange encounter at a gas station.

01 “Prokofiev’s Crossing” (double)

Case Magazine (the magazine of Case Western Reserve University), Summer 2005


Documents

RANJIT SOURI, MBA · Stand-up Comedy 101 (8-week course for adults) Teen Improv (13-14) Teen Improv (15-18) Teen Improv for Anxiety (15-18) (7-week course for teens dealing with anxiety