Stand Up Comedy for the Actor
This workshop applies the key lessons of stand-up comedy to the business side and the creative side of being an actor. And the results are amazing! Even if you are an actor with absolutely zero interest in becoming a professional comedian, you will hugely benefit from this workshop.
Here’s just some of what the workshop focuses on and how it will benefit you: *
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By the end of the eight weeks, you’ll have written a six-minute stand-up set. Having a stand-up set expands your options for showcasing.
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You will study joke structure. This will improve your ability to nail the funny in sitcom scripts, movie comedies, humorous commercial copy.
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In class you’ll practice riffing – improvisational, unrehearsed, off-the-cuff conversing – with an audience. Knowing you can riff like a pro will give you increased confidence at auditions, on set, in industry related social situations, or anywhere nerves can sometimes get the best of you.
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By the end of the eight weeks, you’ll also have written a modified, conversational version of your stand-up set. Going forward, you can rely on this content in the networking side of your career, either when talking about yourself in an audition setting or in social settings.
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Most important! Comedians know that getting laughs requires clarifying what is referred to as their “persona.” Persona is equivalent to what actors refer to as their type/character/brand/essence. There are countless workshops around town that promise the actor “pay us big bucks and we will help you discover your type/character/brand/essence.” But the fact is, the most productive, easiest, and not to mention, most fun way to figure out your persona is by taking a stand-up class. And once you’ve figured out your persona, agents will be more likely to want to sign you. And casting directors, producers and show runners will be more likely to remember you.
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The eight weeks concludes with a graduation showcase. Invite your friends, your family, your fans, and most importantly, folks from the industry.
★ Bonus Feature! ★
The fun and freedom of writing stand-up comedy material empowers everyone who takes this class to do other writing. Going forward, maybe you’ll write a screenplay or a webisode series or an autobiographical story for performance at Moth-style story nights. By adding writing to your actor’s tool kit you’ll open up new opportunities for your career. That will transform how you feel about your career!
*The workshop contents listed above include features that are only a part of SUCFTA when offered as an eight week class or as a workshop through SAG-AFTRA. Currently, neither of those option are scheduled. But in July of 2020, at the SAG-AFTRA Summer Intensive at AFI, a condensed version of the class will be offered.