What are the best stand up comedy classes in LA?

Maybe someone else knows of a good one, but I think for the most part these classes are scams to get you to bring in paying customers for the comedy clubs at the end of the class.

In the class my son took the material was outdated (think 1980's) and tremendous obnoxious pressure was put on the students to bring 10 friends to the class showcase who were required to spend $25 each. That seemed to be overriding objective of the class--not to teach stand-up. They don't tell you this upfront.

By comparison in Improv your class tuition includes a class show with no additional audience requirement. In fact often the tickets are limited to 4 each.

Or why don't you study stand up comics and actually go up and screw up like the greats all did?

I've heard good things about these books:
http://www.amazon.com/Comedy-B...timate/dp/0743201256

http://www.amazon.com/Stand-Up...02438/ref=pd_sim_b_6

www.standupcomedyclinic.com

Jerry Corely is the coach and he's great. Absolutely great. He was a writer for the tonight show for several years and a working standup for 20 years (i think). He's the man.

You get a tape of your work (at the comedy store) on your last night

http://www.funnyordie.com/vide...store-on-sunset-blvd

That was a my first time doing standup ever. A very solid set.

Gerry Katzman, http://www.standupcomedyclass.com gets my vote for best stand-up comedy teacher. His is a 13-week, comprehensive class that meets once a week and ends with a performance (and there's no pressure to bring in paying customers to see you). A professional videographer videotapes your performance and you can purchase the video directly from the videographer. It's a very supportive environment for learning stand up. Go to YouTube and search for these terms: Gerry Katzman comedy. Among the results, you'll find videos that his students have posted of their final performance. They're worth checking out.

My buddy took one at the L.A. Improv and that seemed pretty solid. I had fun when I went to see them (even if definitely not all the acts were gold). He was definitely good, so they must have imparted some good wisdom on him.

I have noticed that stand up comics never seem to have a stand up comedy class on their resume. I want to take a class mostly so i dont feel like i am going in completely cold. But is it something you are not supposed to put on your resume?

quote:

Originally posted by bobat:
I have noticed that stand up comics never seem to have a stand up comedy class on their resume. I want to take a class mostly so i dont feel like i am going in completely cold. But is it something you are not supposed to put on your resume?

Maybe it's because they didn't take a class and went through the "school of hard knocks"

Look I do standup and in our world its not exactly something you want to brag about. I know guys who have done it, but they would never advertise that they have. Its kind of taboo. "You can't teach funny".

Perhaps you can't teach funny because funny is all about point of view but you CAN teach joke structure. I've seen hundreds of funny people fail at standup because they didn't have structured writing. A good standup class will help you with joke structure, help you punch up your punches, buttoning your jokes, and it will help you figure out what your point of view is if you don't already know it. Plus a lot of comics will get feedback from other comics on jokes. I would almost say its detrimental to get a comic partner who can help you find the funny in your own material to bounce off ideas off of. A stand up comedy class is super beneficial. Just not something people would want to admit to. Plus if you need a private coach once you book a 30 minute show to go over material with you'll have someone that you already know and trust to go over your material with.

I'm no comic, but having seen the results of the classes from my friend I'd say that there is definitely benefit there. His material was exactly the same as before the class but his presentation was way better.

Lucky that is precisely why I want to take a class. I have a lot of material but was never a good writer so I want help turning it into jokes people can understand and enjoy. Are there any classes you would particularly recommend?

Someone above me mentioned Jerry Corely. I know him and he's a very funny standup (who's been in the business for at least 20 years) who used to write for Leno. Also, I checked out his site and he has a really solid blog about writing standup. I'd give him a call and see if you can audit.

I am a stand-up comic.
My opinion is that if you want to do stand-up what you really need to do is, um, do stand-up.

No, I'm not kidding. Find out about all the open mics in town (lots), go to a few, write some material, get on the f@cking stage!

You will screw up, you will not get laughs, you will learn the meaning of dying on stage. If you stick with it and you are actually capable of being funny, you will get better.

You can not learn to do stand-up comedy safely in a classroom. You must get on a stage and fail.
It's ok. You'll be fine.

I can't speak to which classes are best, but one popular workshop that has yet to be mentioned here is Judy Carter's: http://comedyworkshops.com.

I only know one friend who took the workshop, and she seemed to do well. Then again, she was funny when she started.

quote:

Originally posted by JJS:
I am a stand-up comic.
My opinion is that if you want to do stand-up what you really need to do is, um, do stand-up.

No, I'm not kidding. Find out about all the open mics in town (lots), go to a few, write some material, get on the f@cking stage!

You will screw up, you will not get laughs, you will learn the meaning of dying on stage. If you stick with it and you are actually capable of being funny, you will get better.

You can not learn to do stand-up comedy safely in a classroom. You must get on a stage and fail.
It's ok. You'll be fine.

There is some faulty logic in this response. Joke writing is a skill...and yes getting up on stage is a way to build it but you can go out there time and time again and fail and fail and fail. Do you have to have a class? No. Can a class help? Uhh...yes. Tons of funny people fail at stand up all the time.

Take a look at Andrew Dice Clay...He started off with a niche type of joke. He was foul and he did his goofy nursery rhymes...then that schtick wore off and he did nothing but cuss on stage and he ended up falling off the face of the planet. It wasn't that he wasn't a funny guy but he didn't understand joke structure or comedy writing as a science. It took him years to figure that out.

I think taking a stand up class to get your feet under you and to build a little confidence is a-ok. Of course similarly to acting...you never know what kind of response you are going to get once you're on stage and that is something that you can only learn by performing. But turning your ideas into well written jokes is a different beast than performance.