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With over 15 years of experience performing and teaching worldwide, Mike will guide you through creative exercises and prompts designed to help you generate and develop fresh material, refine your ideas, and tap into your authentic comedic voice.
Whether you’re curious comedy fan or budding comedian, this workshop will give you the tools to understand the tools of stand up, and develop and build your own routine.
This workshop is for anyone interested in exploring the art of stand-up comedy writing. Whether you're a beginner, an experienced comedian, or just curious, this workshop is designed to help you refine your comedic voice and develop original material. Ideal for:
- Aspiring stand-up comics looking to sharpen their writing skills
- Creatives from all backgrounds interested in learning how to write comedy
- Professionals who want to incorporate humour into their work and communication
- Anyone with a passion for comedy who wants to understand the principles behind joke writing
- ESOL learners with a reasonable level of English who are keen to experiment in a supportive environment
Course content:
- Core principles of comedy writing, including Mike's 4 Comedy Pillars: Contrast, Context, Authenticity, and Drama.
- Generating Material: Different techniques for finding comedic inspiration, including observational writing, finding the comic detail in news or other media, and using your personal experiences and outlook.
- Developing Material: Turning your ideas into structured comedic bits, applying technique, and learning how to simplify and refine your process.
- Comedy Philosophies and Techniques: Key comedy mindset philosophies and approaches, focusing on what makes jokes work and how to effectively communicate your sense of humour.
- Workshopping Ideas: Bring your material to the group for feedback, offering a collaborative space to refine your jokes and bits.
- Developing Persona: Learn the importance of being yourself in your work.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify and apply the 4 Key Pillars of comedy writing (Contrast, Context, Authenticity, Drama)
- Generate original material from observations and experiences
- Learn structures to create a joke from an idea
- Understand how to look for your authentic comic lens
- Collaborate with their peers
- Timed creative writing exercises based on prompts designed to get the ideas flowing with purpose.
- Breaking down of ingredients and philosophies behind creating stand up comedy through chat
- Constructive and guided feedback from other learners in a supportive, inclusive setting.
- Analysis of some examples from renowned comedians to understand how they apply comedy writing techniques in their routines.
- A notebook and pen for writing exercises (or laptop/tablet for those who prefer to type).
- Analyze comedy scripts, videos, or books (recommended but not required) for additional inspiration and study.
- Reflect on and be aware of their own sense of humour and perspective
- Further development of your stand-up act or writing portfolio
- Performances at comedy open mics or clubs
- Storytelling and creative skills applicable to other writing formats like scripts or public speaking
- Greater confidence in using humour to communicate and engage others in professional or social settings
- A clearer understanding of how jokes work, and how to access your unique comedic voice
See how long it will take you to get to college. Please select the campus of the course you wish to study.