Shelley Smartly

 Introducing Shelley Smartly, the powerhouse behind Smartly Entertainment! As the Showrunner, Creator, Writer, and Actor of The Smartlys, Shelley recently sat down for an insightful interview with Susan J. Farese of SJF Communications. 

SJF: When and how did you get into comedy? 

SS:  At 64, two weeks after becoming a widow, I found myself craving laughter like never before. I turned to live comedy shows, seeking that magical, healing force only a good laugh can bring.

San Diego, with its vibrant comedy scene, became my playground. This city boasts world-class comedy shows almost every night, and many of the best ones are free! I embraced my new role as a "Professional Audience Member," attending shows almost every evening for five years before finally stepping into the spotlight myself.

The comedians left me starstruck. I still am in awe of them! Dat Phan, the very first winner of Last Comic Standing, even joked that I was the head of the SWAT team of audience members.

To hone my own comedic chops, I enrolled in comedy courses. I studied under Zach Miller, trained at San Diego's Comedy Palace (my home club), and learned from Tony Calabrese at the National Comedy Theater. I also received private coaching from Greg Dean, affectionately known as 'The Professor of Stand-Up Comedy,' and the talented Bettina Devin.

Laughter truly transformed my life, leading me on a journey from devoted audience member to aspiring comedian.

SJF: Tell us your vision, inspiration, concept and world of The Smartlys and how (and why) you developed it. 

SS:  I was gobsmacked by the idea of reviving classic comedy from the 50s and 60s, à la George Burns and Gracie Allen, but with a modern twist! 

I imagined it would take ten years to find the perfect comedy partner and perfect our act, but to my surprise, I found a partner within days, and we filmed our first sizzle clip within a month.

Our journey hit a snag with poor audio during our pilot filming in front of a live audience. Undeterred, we staged and filmed another sizzle clip. Floyd Strayer and Susan Farese kept The Smartlys flame alive as we entered contests and pitched the show. Our latest sizzle clip was accepted into several film contests, just in time for COVID-19 to shut everything down.

During isolation, I convinced Eric to try acting. Although he had no interest in being an actor or comedian, he agreed—on the condition that he could play a Scottish a**hole (his words, not mine).

When Floyd's grandson, Dominic Strayer, visited, I wrote some bits for them, and The Smartlys evolved into yet another exciting version. Our incredible ensemble cast of 14 actors self-filmed in their own homes or in Smartly Studios, which is a grand name for the storage room off our garage.

With three comedy pairs performing together in isolation and the rest of our cast performing solo, Floyd and our editors combined their performances digitally. Despite the lockdown, we produced the entire Season 1 of The Smartlys and we quickly began streaming worldwide on several platforms.

We are blessed to have the brilliant Director, Producer and Actor Floyd Strayer, and our entire cast and crew is simply out of this world!

SJF: Thanks so much Shelley, looking forward to hearing more!