Laura Ainsworth has appeared on many stages in dramatic, comedy and musical roles, from Emily Dickinson in the acclaimed Wingspan Theater production of Susan Sontag’s “Alice in Bed” to Mrs. Anna in “The King & I,”  to lending her rich mezzo-soprano voice to Gershwin's "Someone To Watch Over Me" in “Swingin’ With The Big Band.”

Laura is a second-generation musical prodigy.  Her late father, Bill Ainsworth, was a renowned big band musician who played with Freddy Martin and other top bandleaders and was reportedly the youngest member ever of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.  As a young girl, Laura watched enraptured as her dad accompanied such idols as Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme and Marilyn McCoo, playing lead sax and clarinet for Dallas' famed Fairmont Hotel Venetian Room Orchestra.

Laura grew up worshiping comedienne/singers Madeline Kahn, Carol Burnett and Mary Tyler Moore and studied acting at SMU and UT Austin, but while performing was her love, writing became her bread-and-butter.  Her dad was the group leader and arranger on countless classic commercial jingles, and in between stage roles, she followed him into that business, creating hundreds of jingles and comedy radio spots for famed commercial music factory TM Productions.  She even “went corporate,” winning the ITVA Golden Reel Award for her video training programs, including a classified interactive training program in secure battlefield communications for U.S. soldiers during the Persian Gulf War.  Amazing, considering she was only six at the time.

For 18 years, she and husband Pat Reeder have co-written The Comedy Wire, a daily internationally-syndicated topical humor service for radio DJs, making her one of the most-quoted, least-credited funny women on Earth .  She has also written and recorded various topical songs for morning shows, such as her parody of Julie Andrews' "My Favorite Things" ("Try to play chess and we'll cut off your hand/These are the things that the Taliban banned...")

Laura and Pat co-authored Nine Hallmarks Of Highly Incompetent Losers, a book inspired by all the stories of incredible idiocy they’ve mocked over the years.  They live with 13 rescued parrots in an award-winning 1913 Dallas home, which they restored themselves.  Laura is also a columnist for Companion Parrot Quarterly.  She has been a guest on Fox 4’s “Good Day,” countless radio shows from Arizona to Ireland, and on the "Jack E. Jett Show" on the Q TV network.  Her satirical musical show, "My Ship Has Sailed," has garnered rave reviews and played many venues, public and private, including the Dallas and Las Vegas Comedy Festivals and the Out-Of-The-Loop Theater Festival.  Her Cole Porter revue with singer/pianist Michael Gott has also received raves from critics and played to sold-out theaters and enthusiastic audiences such as Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and his staff and cabinet at the Arkansas Governor's Mansion.

Laura has just finished recording her first album, produced and arranged by Brian Piper.  It should be out in spring/summer of 2010. It features some of the greatest jazz musicians in Texas, in a surprising genre and era-skipping collection of songs from the 1920s to today.  

Brian Piper is no late bloomer.  Although he focused on accounting, law and football in college, he quickly changed direction and has been a vital part of Dallas’ music scene for...well, a long time.  His resume requires a lot of slashes, as in "Composer/Arranger/Conductor/Performer/Recording Artist.”

A frequent presence in the Dallas Summer Musicals orchestra pit, he has accompanied the national touring companies of such hit Broadway shows as "Wicked" and "The Producers."  He has backed legendary stars ranging from Cab Calloway to Mabel Mercer to Jerry Jeff Walker (you can hear him on a number of JJW albums as a member of the Gonzo Compadres Band) and can be seen tickling the ivories with the ‘Nawlins Gumbo Kings.  His modern jazz group, the Brian Piper Trio, was chosen as one of the spotlight new artists for the 2008 Newport Beach Jazz Party.  They have recently released two fantastic CDs, "Piperville" and "TerrrRIFFic," on 90th Floor Records.  As owner of Brian Piper Music, he’s created numerous radio IDs and spots for such clients as NBC Sports.

An avid pilot and self-described “ski bum,” Brian shares his life with wife Carlene and daughters Haley and Caroline.

Return to home page