Stand up - advice needed

Has anyone attended any of the following stand up courses? -

Laughing Horse
Amused Moose
Electric mouse

Non animal related -

The comedy school
Jack Milner's courses

Was looking at the laughing Horse as it was nearest, however want the best so can anyone comment or recommend the best they have attended?
What was the best learning/experience from the course also?

Might buy the URL's for giggling Gazelle's and Sniggering Llama's comedy courses as will make a mint.

Your help will be very much appreciated...

Quote: Daddy Maz @ August 28 2008, 4:01 PM BST

Has anyone attended any of the following stand up courses? -

Laughing Horse
Amused Moose
Electric mouse

Non animal related -

The comedy school
Jack Milner's courses

Was looking at the laughing Horse as it was nearest, however want the best so can anyone comment or recommend the best they have attended?
What was the best learning/experience from the course also?

Might buy the URL's for giggling Gazelle's and Sniggering Llama's comedy courses as will make a mint.

Your help will be very much appreciated...

View original

I attended the LAughing Horse weekend course, I won a place after one of our good old GM's had to cancel, and for me (having done a previous course) it was all about the practical rather than the technique,

ie. How to impress with promoters, mic skills ect..

That being said everyone got to run through their routine and got advise on their material but for the most part they had already done gigs. And it almost seemed geared to that, for people at the early stage rather than people coming to it fresh.

Hope that's a help.

Danny

There's one at RACC also (evenings for 8 weeks) in Richmond, with Tony Kirwood, who taught me comedy-writing in general. I have no idea if the course itself's any good... hmmm... <serious considers going>

Tony's a good tutor though. (I think Winterlight did the sketch-writing course with him too.)

http://www.racc.ac.uk/rac/course/R0044309

Starts in October and it's £140-ish for the whole course.

Dan

Yes, I did Tony Kirwood's one day sketch course and found it very useful. Tony's a good tutor and gets my recommendation.

Hey, what do you know, I *can* remember stuff!

<starts planning stand-up routine>

Dan

Tony Allen is the dogs bollocks.

His is the only truly worthwhile course I did on standup.

Guys

Thanks for the great feedback, much appreciated and will keep you posted on what/how I do.

Thanking you

Daddy

You'll probably learn just as much, and probably a lot more by:

1. Going and watching as much live comedy as you can and speaking to the comics involved.

2. Booking a few open spots and just doing it!

Whatever you do, have fun!

Quote: mccloud @ August 29 2008, 12:05 AM BST

You'll probably learn just as much, and probably a lot more by:

1. Going and watching as much live comedy as you can and speaking to the comics involved.

2. Booking a few open spots and just doing it!

Whatever you do, have fun!

View original

what he/she said

I can heartily recommend the Abused Goose.

The Electric Louse? The Bemused Noose?

n.b. if you do standup with out doing a course expect to die on stage.

But frankly who cares?

I'm not saying stand-up courses are a waste of time, i'm sure there are many good ones out there which you can learn a lot from, but going on one will not mean you won't die on stage.

Every comic dies on stage at some point, even the very best at the top of their game, it's just the way it is. Good, experienced comics just tend to die less.

Quote: sootyj @ August 29 2008, 8:16 AM BST

n.b. if you do standup with out doing a course expect to die on stage

View original

That's grade A bullshit.

indeed it is.

Courses tend to provide quick fix to people wh think they want to do it. They do the course, perform at the showcase and then tell all their friends around the dinner table how they tried stand-up comedy.

Some of them do a few more gigs, most of them never, ever perform again. There are maybe a couple of exceptions. I can't think who they would be though.

If you want to do it, watch comedy, write material and practice it, then get yourself booked into an open mike night and perform it. Paying someone £50 or whatever so they can tell you to to move the mike stand when you get on isn't really VFM.

all the advice you need is out there on lots of friendly forums such as the manchestercomedyforum.co.uk they have a gold section where lots of advice is stored, on getting prepared, how to book gigs - promoters are a curious breed, most of them take themselves far too seriously. Others can appear a little peculiar I know one who will only take phonecalls for bookings during a two hour window every second Tuesday.

In essence though if you're polite, funny and stick to your time everyone will love you.

Quote: Winterlight @ August 28 2008, 4:17 PM BST

Yes, I did Tony Kirwood's one day sketch course and found it very useful. Tony's a good tutor and gets my recommendation.

View original

I went to one of his script writing courses in Richmond, lovely guy had a few pints with him and liked him a lot however on attending more courses I have to say his wasn't all that.