I did art of comedy and it is very good.
chris head's courses are very good and he's an intersting fella again very cheap
as for comedy school its their conference in a month or so which is cheap and a good way to get a feel for them
Stand up comedy courses - are they worth it? Page 2
I started stand up in 2002. I didn't do any courses. I did however read loads on the subject, listened to loads of recordings* and went to a load of gigs before I got up on stage at the Comedy Store's Gong show for the first time.
I'm not saying courses are bad but I think my way was better value for money. Ultimately you can only learn stand up by doing it. The courses might give you the confidence but this idea of doing a first gig in "friendly circumstances" robs you of the greatest fear known to man wondering into a room full of strangers the first time and trying to make them laugh. I've never experienced anything like it and still get palpitations thinking about it now.
These books helped me:-
Comedy Writing Secrets: How to Think Funny, Write Funny, Act Funny and Get Paid for it [Paperback]
Mel Helitzer (Author)
Stand up Comedy: The Book [Paperback]
J. Carter
Successful Stand-up Comedy: Advice from a Comedy Writer [Paperback]
Gene Perret
*I prefer CDs of stand up to DVDs. You can concentrate on the material better if you're just listening. Incidentally Spotify has loads of stand up on it for free.
At the beginning you're going to be a better writer than you are performer. So my advice is write as many jokes as possible. Don't ever throw any of them away because later on down the line when you become a better performer you might actually find out "it's the way you tell them".
Get yourself a small pocket sized notepad - none of this i-phone business - and carry it around with you at all times to write down any funny ideas you have.
That'll be £80.
Quote: Ian Fox @ November 2 2010, 8:21 PM GMTI I didn't do any courses.
My way was better value for money.
Ok.
stand-up is like a lot of things in that you get out of it what you put in.
The only way to get anywhere with it is to work your arse off at it.
Do a course, do a load of courses, do different ones and cherry-pick what works for you from each of them.
Or don't do any courses.
To be fair the teachers on most of these courses are rarely successful stand-ups. Though some have made a bit of a living at it for a while.
That's not to say you can't get anything from them though. They may have a method which helps you.
You can't really take people's recommendations either. Very few people are going to say a course was rubbish. They've spent money on it and don't want to look like an idiot.
Plus many people do them for many different reasons.
There's no big answer, all you can do is what feels right to you.
The best thing you can ever do though, I would suggest, is stop asking questions on the internet.
edited
Quote: Austin Allegro @ November 29 2010, 1:37 PM GMTTo be fair the teachers on these courses are never successful stand-ups.
No people like Logan Murray (who takes the Amused Moose courses) haven't done an successful stand up... apart from all the TV and radio appearances, the TV and radio shows he's written for, the West End theatre run he did with Jerry Sadowitz, the gigs he does up and down the country and all the voiceover work...
http://www.comedycv.co.uk/loganmurray/index.htm
Just because you're not a household name doesn't, necessarily, mean that you're not a "successful stand-up".
Well that's where we enter the realms of subjectivity isn't it.
Fair enough though. I've worked with Logan. He's a good act.
He's also, I would imagine, the exception.
Quote: Austin Allegro @ November 30 2010, 12:40 PM GMTWell that's where we enter the realms of subjectivity isn't it.
You've said something and Tony's laid down some facts to refute it. What's subjective about it?
The only people who sould teach science are Nobel prize winners.
Quote: Austin Allegro @ November 30 2010, 12:40 PM GMTWell that's where we enter the realms of subjectivity isn't it.
Fair enough though. I've worked with Logan. He's a good act.
He's also, I would imagine, the exception.
Harry Denford, Oliver Double, Dave Cohen, Marc Blake, Susan Murray, all successful (in that they've all, at one time or another, made a living from performing comedy) stand ups who are involved or have been involved in comedy courses.
Also for anyone wondering, acts who've done comedy courses and gone onto better things include Rhod Gilbert and Marek and Greg from "We Are Klang", Josh Widdecombe (who's just won the FHM comedy competition on ITV4 and was Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year at last year's Leicester Comedy Festival), and I'm sure many more that I can't remember or don't know of.
You don't need to do a comedy course to be a successful comedian but, like all things in life, some good training from people who've gained a huge amount of experience, is a big help, but ultimately, it's up to the individual to make up their mind whether it's worth the investment.
Quote: David Bussell @ November 30 2010, 1:21 PM GMTYou've said something and Tony's laid down some facts to refute it. What's subjective about it?
How we define the word "successful"
Keep up Bussell.
Tony, thanks for the info.
Quote: Austin Allegro @ November 30 2010, 2:29 PM GMTHow we define the word "successful"
Keep up Bussell.
Tony, thanks for the info.
No worries, Tony already took the liberty of explaining it for you.
don't be silly.
I have a feeling that, if you asked every successful stand-up in the world "What's the best advice you ever received?", it would in the vast majority of cases be something they were told free of charge.
Do a course, do a load of courses, do different ones and cherry-pick what works for you from each of them.
A few guys who teach comedy classes have also written books on the subject. And they're the books to hunt out.
You're better off buying one of those for £7, than spending £99 to go on a course, IMO.
I signed up for a course in the end, got two weeks left. It's going ok but far different from what I expected it to be.
So far for me the most interesting and, possibly, valuable things that it has offered is the opportunity to talk to some established comedians about comedy, audiences, and the industry. Apparently it turns out that I'm not going to do my first gig, get spotted, and then launched on to TV, film and DVD turning me into a millionaire in the process. Some of them said you may have to do at least 5 gigs before this happens - no wonder the drop out rate is so high!
I'm enjoying it, but will reserve judgement on whether or not I'd recommend this particular course until I've finished it.
I have been reading lots of books on the subject too, and found some very useful stuff - Logan Murray's book was very good IMO, am in the middle of Oliver Double's book which I'm finding a bit harder going.
First gig, a week on Friday (10th). Wish me luck (please).