Choosing a Standup Comedy Class

Have you considered taking a stand-up comedy class? Stand-up comedy is more popular than ever and so are stand-up comedy classes. I learned a lot from spending over $ 1000 on stand-up comedy classes. I have read many books on the subject, acted for over a year, and have had the privilege of speaking extensively with some legends of comedy writing. I’m not here to weed out people who teach comedy classes, or to tell you that they are all equal in value. I’m here to give you a broad overview of stand-up comedy classes and what to expect, without spending money on something you don’t want. Instead, I want you to be happy learning this great art form. I think all the greats in comedy were funny at first, but they needed direction to become the best. The right class can help you with this. Comedians are not born, they are made.

Can’t I learn it from a book?

In other subjects, I would understand where you come from, but not in stand-up comedy, a performance art, and you need practical instruction. Writing a joke can be taught with a book, it’s true, if you don’t believe me, get a copy of Gene Perret’s Comedy Writing Step-by-Step or Jerry Corley’s Breaking Comedy DNA. Comedy writing is necessary for any real comedian, unless you pay a writer, but it is not the main reason you are taking a comedy class. Choosing to take a stand-up comedy class means you want to participate in an artistic performance, you want instant gratification from the laughter of the crowd, and you want to be the star. Things you can learn from a (good) stand-up comedy class: structure, etiquette on stage, and networking with other comics. Stand-up comedy can be taught, but you have to get the job done.

It’s all a theory

Some forms of comedy, such as sitcom writing and screenplay writing, are performed with almost the same structure each time, but stand-up comedy is not. Stand-up comedy is experimental, funny, and most of all, new (unless you’re a comedian who repeats jokes for several decades).

Before Steve Martin became a superstar, nobody did comedy like him. Comedy was a series of witty lines, and most comedians looked the same because nothing differentiated them. Steve Martin was one of the first comedians to do anticomedy, generating so much anticipation for a joke that it forces the audience to laugh. There are many other examples of comedians bucking the trend. To name a few are Andrew Dice Clay, George Carlin, Stephen Wright, Richard Pryor, and Zach Galifinakis. You know and I know that these comedians rise to the top because they are consistent and original. Not everything a comedy teacher tells you is a law. Teachers who have had little or no success will always tell you to follow their formula for producing material. Remember # 1, everything is a theory, even if it makes people laugh most of the time.

I love Steve Martin; He is one of my all time favorites and I can’t wait to meet him one day. Be a Steve Martin, try new things, even if you fail, you will learn what works and what doesn’t.

Learn proven methods

Even if you want to be one of these original comedians I mentioned earlier, you need to know what everyone is using to create material right now. # 2 learning what currently works may still work for you, or at least you know where to start. Many successful comedians are really just a combination of learned skills, mixed in a unique way. Successful comedians took classes, some even became stars, but they all knew what people were producing the moment they started. Learn all you can, read comedy books, and start writing NOW. I don’t care if it sucks, writing is a process, it makes you better the more you write. Hear any comedian talk about their early days, they all have one thing in common, their jokes sucked. Your jokes will.

Credentials

# 3 Comedy classes can be taught by anyone, so be careful. Many people, who have no idea what success in comedy is, are teaching comedy classes. I don’t know everything about comedy, but then again, you’re not paying me. When a teacher expects you to pay him $ 350 for a class, he must at least be an authority on the subject. Here are some research things to do to determine the credentials of a stand-up comedy class teacher:

· Look at the teacher’s website.

· Do you list the credits in your name?

· Do you have professional videos of your own standup? Are they even remotely funny? This is important. How can they teach you to be funny in your own way, if they are not funny?

· Not having online videos is not a good sign. Stay away from these teachers.

Do they teach at a big-name comedy club, like Improv or The Gotham? This is a sign that they have at least a moderate reputation. It’s okay.

Search the Internet for reviews of the teacher. Chances are, if it’s horrible, someone got mad enough for losing $ 350 and wrote something nasty and informative for you to read.

Ask several local comedians if they took the class. If they liked it, chances are good they will. It is important to ask several comics, the teacher’s friends will always say that it is good.

I found out about a good comedy teacher in Dallas, TX named Dean Lewis through word of mouth. This is a very powerful and yet effective form of customer review. I always rely on word of mouth rather than an online review, because word of mouth is usually genuine.

If he’s in Dallas, Dean Lewis is at deanlewiscomedy.com. It is a great option to start your career in comedy and has credits. Dean is fun, a great teacher and a very sincere person, which counts the most in my book. Take her monologue class today!

Superstars don’t teach

Let’s face it, Kevin Hart, Jerry Seinfeld, and Louis CK won’t be teaching comedy anytime soon. # 4 Comedy teachers rarely have enjoyed great success in stand-up comedy. Don’t let this bother you, you can learn something from anyone who has enjoyed at least some success in comedy. I’m not saying this to narrow down comedy teachers, I’m just stating a fact. A good comedy teacher should have enjoyed some degree of success, but if they were making a large sum of money from comedy, they wouldn’t need to teach it. They may have won a few pageants, made a few guest appearances on a sitcom, or opened for a national comedian. Somewhere between the open mic comedian and Louis CK is where you find a good teacher. Success at anything requires many factors working together to achieve massive success, not just the quality of the material. Many things can influence your success. A lot of funny people didn’t become mega-comedians, nor should you expect them to be, but they expect some success to show that they know what they’re doing. If someone has been successful in any area of ​​comedy, there is something to be learned from him or her.

What can you expect to learn

Terminology

There are some basic things you’ll learn in a comedy class that I don’t mind divulging here, one of which is terminology. The comedians describe the basics of the acting process through special language shown here.

Killing = When more than 80% of the crowd laughs more than 80% of the time.

Die = When none of the viewers laugh 100% of the time.

Segway = A logical transition between two pieces of comedy.

Set = Your time on stage.

Act = an impression or imitation of yourself or someone else.

Heckler = Someone stupid enough to interrupt a comedian with a microphone.

A “little”: part of the routine of a comedy, usually it is about a specific subject and in the form of a story. Between two bits is the Segway.

Class

Generally, there are two schools of thought when it comes to the formation of comedy material; we currently refer to it as a “bit”. The writing based on a single line and based on Act-out. I’ll clarify what I mean here by saying “based on a single line”. I am not referring to witty phrases in their traditional sense, or a monologue of witty phrases. I mean creating witty phrases and designing a conversational story with witty phrases intentionally placed in places to amplify laughter. Attitude-based performances require acting and don’t usually have a lot of “jokes.”

I will give here an example of the comedians you know. Robin Williams, Kevin Hart, and Joe Rogan rely primarily on acting rather than “writing jokes.” On the other hand, Jerry Seinfeld, Daniel Tosh and Dave Atell have “jokes.” Neither of these ways is bad, but you have to choose between them. Generally, stand-up comedy classes teach one way or another, not both. Remember one thing, when you become one or the other, it does not mean that you will not be doing something of the other style. If you do write jokes, occasionally do a few things to do. If you act predominantly, it will be to your advantage to play a few pranks from time to time. I don’t know of any comedian who doesn’t do something of the other kind.

What you should do is contact the teacher of the stand-up comedy course before taking the class. Ask him if he teaches an act-based comedy course or if he focuses on making jokes. Make your decision based on this.

They are not always right

If a teacher tells you not to use something that you find fun, try it for yourself to see if it works. Teachers can be wrong; especially in comedy. A fellow national comedian once told Larry the Cable Guy that he shouldn’t have taken on that character, that it was a bad idea. I was wrong about $ 50 million a year. Be sure to listen and learn, but it is never set in stone. A hunch is usually correct; don’t be afraid to act on it.

You are not the last class

Before you take your first comedy class, know that it shouldn’t be your last. If you decide that you will become a comedian and you want to be good, you must continually learn. This is reading, taking classes, and learning if your material works in front of an audience. If it doesn’t work, change, but keep producing.

Start writing now

Pick the best class you can, listen and learn. However, you can do something before this class starts. You should start writing now, don’t wait until you become a so-called professional to start writing. Your brain will be trained to consistently generate material, so that you can do better when you become a student of a class. You should also treat it as a class, seriously. When you start typing be sure to set a quota, otherwise it will start to slip away. A fee can be in the form of time or number of words or lines. Do not start with too high a fee, it is very discouraging. You can also use the method Jerry Seinfeld uses, “Don’t break the chain.” Take a calendar and put an X on it every day you write, do it constantly so that it creates a chain. Now don’t ever break it.

Get on stage now

Google open microphones in your city. You may have to drive a bit, but get on stage. You must overcome the fear of monologues, so start now. It’s not so scary once you’ve done it multiple times. No matter what happens that first time, keep going. Usually the first time is not going to go well, so get it out of the way. Start with one night a week and then expand to as many times a week as you can.