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Use our text books, run classes yourself, bring us in for one off workshops to help launch a program or engage one of our residencies, with one of our teach artists for 4 or more sessions.

This syllabus directly lines up with the workbook.

The Stand Up Comedy Workshop Series at Your School

At our Times Square NYC school each “WEEK” is a single 2-hour. Usually at a school it can be three to five 40-minute class sessions. Depending on your students, “Writing Prompt” could be given as homework.

WEEK ONE

• 15-Minute Introduction: Review together the three steps to maximize your stage time experience. 1) Prepare. 2) Get on stage 3) Analyze the work.
• 15 Minute Writing Prompt: Brainstorming Ideas. Class opens up their workbooks or printed worksheets. Direct class to write down any idea that pops into their head as teacher reads the writing prompts. Some students will read the prompts themselves and work ahead. Some respond better to hearing the prompts.
• 75-minutes Open Mic: Direct students they have 2-5 minutes depending on class size. Keep feed back short. Instruct students to continue to “prepare” as they wait for their turn. After getting on stage objectively analzye the work. While on stage simply have fun and talk. Either read their list of ideas OR pick one and share thay story. As discussed in the workbook, this is NOT a show. It’s a writers workshop. The goal is not to be funny or good. The goal is for the writer to hear THEIR words aloud.
• 15-minutes Wrap Up: Reflect on the day’s work and introduce Step Two: Brainstorm Details.

WEEK TWO

• 30-Minute Writing Prompt: Brainstorming Details. Direct students to pick one story idea from last week/class to further develop. Take some time to flesh out characters and setting of their personal stories the way they might analazye a book or play. What happened. Consider all five senses as they remained the memory or the experiences and observations.
• 90-minute Open Mic: Again, share stories. While others are on stage, be a great audience and support, but they can continue to brainstorm and plan their time on stage, and then again, reflect on the work after their time. Leave 5 minutes at the end to reflect on the week!

WEEK THREE

• 30- Minute Writing Prompt: FIND THE FUNNY. Finally, for the first time, we consider ways to make the stories look more like a comedy routines. The workbook has half a dozen ways to economize words, punch up and more.
• 90-minute Open Mic

WEEK FOUR

• 30-minute Writing Prompt: Outline Your Routine. Let’s organize our thoughts further. This section includes lessons on MAGIC THREE and PRESENTATION SKILLS and other ways to further shape our work. Put some thought into the first and last lines of the routine.
• 90-minute Dress Rehearsal. This time, run the open mic like a mock show. Add an element of pacing. I would skip notes and feed back between routines. Instead, as the teacher, takes notes and give only the most necessary comments at the end. Like a theater director, at some point we need to step back and let the performer find their comfort zone and feedback takes tham out of that headspace.

WEEK FIVE

NOTE: If additional time allows, we repeat steps three and four. On some level we should repeat steps three and four EVERY TIME we share this routine in the future, every day improving 1%, everyday finding new angles, and a freshness. This keeps the routines alive, avoiding stale performances.

• Optional Writing Prompt not in the book: Writer’s the Script of Your Routine.
• SHOWCASE: Perform a show for the school, friend and family.

Bonus:

Create opportunities in the community. Libraries, feeder schools, YMCAs, JCCs, etc all love a free show. Back in school our bands and choirs would tour retirement homes, feeder schools and even perform in the mall at holiday times. These opportunities take the discipline beyond the classroom. It’s not just a grade a nd a school showcase, stand-up comedy is a vocational.

While I don’t recommend this business to anyone (unless you have that I HAVE IT DO IT passion and you love the process and business side as much as the laughs and applause) these skills translate to management, leadership, sales and more.

We are not teaching kids to be comic. We are teaching kids to have agency, to have confidence, to realize they CAN do just about anything if they apply themselves.