The
TOP TEN reasons why people enquire about our comedy workshops but haven't yet
come along…
(1)
I'm
far too nervous to perform, even at a workshop
Many people come along to our comedy workshops feeling quite scared of performing, even in front of a small group who all feel exactly the same, or are afraid of criticism of their material. In fact, it's often the most confident people we see that have the most to learn.
We do understand how nerve-wracking it is to perform comedy in public, and that's precisely why we have designed our comedy workshops to be challenging, fun, yet ultra-supportive. We believe that the best way to allow your natural comic talent to shine through is by positive encouragement of everything you do on stage that is working for you, while gently suggesting improvements to make it even more effective. In that way you will naturally develop your act to its full potential in a safe, nurturing atmosphere.
We have seen the most famous comedians on TV and on the circuit often extremely nervous off-stage before they start to feel the warmth of an appreciative audience and reap the rewards of having developed a finely honed act. So keep that nervous energy - it's an indication that you realise you still have something more to learn, which will keep you sharp and help you develop even more quickly, as well as providing you with a performance boost just when you need it most.
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(2)
I
don’t have any (funny) material
The pre-workshop mini-course provides a step-by-step explanation of how to generate material, using methods described by Greg Dean in his acclaimed book, "Step By Step to Standup Comedy". It's a simple fact that everyone, each and every day, has personal experiences that can be described in an amusing manner, and can provide a strong foundation for a professional stand-up act, when structured in the right way
Furthermore, the workshop includes improvisation games, which can also be used as a source of inspiration for characters, sketches or gags, at any time after the workshop. It's actually an advantage to understand the structures of comedy before you've written a great deal of original material, so that your comedic writing style naturally accords with the styles that get big laughs.
For our workshop, you need only have a maximum of three minutes of material, and you really only need just a few gags or comic observations to appreciate how best to create solid gags, now and in the future.
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(3)
I'm
very interested, but I'm not quite ready yet
It's great that you recognise you are still developing, bear in mind that our workshop is not a test (that will come when you are on a comedy club stage) but part of the educational process. Early education will get you on the right track much quicker, and will make your investment in yourself that much more efficient.
People often come along to our workshop on the spur of the moment, and have a great day. Remember that the more time you take before you come along to the workshop, the more it delays the start of your comedy adventure!
Delaying your inevitable entry into the comedy world does you no favours, and can even build up resistance to trying anything new.
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(4)
It's
too far to travel
Our location in Bristol is no further from most areas of England and Wales than most professional comedians travel every day to gigs up and down the country. Easily accessible by motorway, our atmospheric location at Backwell Playhouse Theatre is well worth the journey.
Our workshop time of 11am-7pm makes it possible to get there and back in the same day. Some of our students choose to stay overnight in a local B&B (sometimes with their partner), often going along to watch comedy in Bristol in the evening. You can easily find cheap deals for overnight stays.
If you book in advance, you can get huge savings on train tickets, bus tickets, flights and car hire.
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(5)
It's
too expensive
No-one who's ever been to one of our comedy workshops has ever said this! Looking at all we provide, it really is great value, and everyone who's ever been tells us so. If this is the sole reason you won't come along, you probably aren't taking your innate comic talents very seriously. Once you've got over that, you'll soon realise that the investment you'll make in time will far outweigh the investment you'll make in our comedy workshop.
And remember - if you book in advance, you can get huge savings on train tickets, bus tickets, flights and car hire.
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(6)
It's
too cheap - where's the catch!
Several workshop participants have questioned us about why we charge so little, considering our total package to be exceptionally good value. We don't feel it's right to charge more than most people can readily afford, even though the kind of knowledge and experience we share with you is quite rare and not usually divulged. We also aim to have a certain minimum number for each workshop, as the interaction between the participants is a significant aid to their progress.
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(7)
My
material is not quite ready yet
Your material will never be 100% ready - and anyway, the whole idea is to introduce you to the concepts of comedy BEFORE you've written all that material, to save you having to re-write it! Nobody comes along to our workshops with perfect material - if it was perfect, they would already be gigging in comedy clubs!
You will honestly learn far more from finding out early how your material could be "tuned" than taking months or years to create the perfect set which you later realise could have been so much better with a few crucial insights.
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(8)
I'm
not funny enough to be a comic
We could provide you with a long list of top comics who were not credited with an ounce of laughter-inducing ability when they started. In the end, comedy is about creating a fusion of some original ideas (which everyone possesses, it's a function of being a human being) within a comic context, presented with confidence and structured for laughs.
While it's certainly true that not everyone will become a top comic, it's equally true that many, many people will never develop their latent comic skills because they allow negative self-talk to stifle their potential before it can bear fruit. Basically, you won’t know until you try. And, you WILL end up funnier than you were before. Guaranteed.
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(9) I
don't believe I would ever perform in a comedy club
Coming along to our comedy workshop doesn't commit you to anything except having a terrific time with people just like you, whom you'll come to know as friends (fear is a powerful bonding mechanism!) by the end of the day.
The facts: about two thirds of the people who come along to our workshops go on to perform at least once in a comedy club, and about one third go on to perform regularly. But nobody feels pressured to do so, and everyone comes away from the workshop with a real sense of achievement.
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(10)
I'm afraid I'll be too successful
Some people feel deep down that if they were to discover a talent for comedy inside themselves, they would be forced to change their lives and that represents a frightening prospect.
Rest assured that no matter how funny you are, you can simply perform comedy when and where you choose, without committing to a professional career as a comedian. You can also exhibit your comic talent in many other ways, within your usual occupation, or to become more and more entertaining with your friends.
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(11) I'm just not convinced it's for me
Don't be convinced - be sceptical - and let us prove you wrong! Things don't always turn out as you expect - for example, this page was supposed to have 10 reasons, and here we are at number 11 !