Philosophy
Stand-up Comedy
Our philosophy on stand-up comedy incorporates a structured understanding of the art form with the practical experience of actually doing it. It grew out of a combination of considerable onstage experience over decades and the synthesised wisdom from the largest collection of books and articles on humour, comedy and laughter in the southern hemisphere.
As you will learn if you study with us, there is way more to comedy than most people realise. It can be understood and constructed from many different perspectives. Our approach is largely experiential yet considers the psychological, philosophical, and cultural aspects also. All of which are important to be aware of, and together they start to reveal that comedy is not just part of life, comedy is life. Being funny is a sign of life. It's a sign of humanness and emotional intelligence that is understood across cultures and time. From the court jester in medieval times, to a funny kitten on Instagram, or a modern comedian on stage, by making us smile or laugh we are reminded of our own humanness and ability to relax and enjoy life, despite its difficulties and serious aspects.
Obviously, for the majority of people, humour and comedy are largely natural and spontaneous. You don't need a Humourversity qualification to be funny. However, like anything interesting, there are levels of understanding and the devil, and the delight, is in the detail.
Being funny on stage takes practice. No-one is successful straight away. Anyone can be funny when they're hanging out with friends, but making strangers laugh on cue is a challenging art and a sophisticated science. It's both harder and easier than you think. Easier to do, but harder to do well.
Getting over the Fear
Many people secretly want to try stand-up, but are either too fearful or just don't know how to go about it. We've created one of the most comprehensive programs in the world that teaches you virtually everything you need to know to get started on the right foot. Most comedians are just winging it and there is nothing wrong with that. Some are successful that way. But if you want to actually make this a career, or save yourself a lot of time and possibly a lot of bombing, then it helps to know what you're doing from early on.
The only way to truly get over fear is to do the thing. However, it doesn't need to just be a terrifying leap of faith. You can learn the basics of the art, such as the science of joke writing. You can practice in an encouraging and supportive learning environment, and take the baby steps necessary to build the confidence to take the stage and NOT completely bomb on your first gig. In fact, if you do our stand-up program and prepare in the way we teach, we guarantee you won’t.
The easiest way to manage fear is to be prepared and actually understand the art form. We teach the art of prepared spontaneity. Doing the focused preparation so you can be, or at least appear to be, spontaneous on stage. We teach you how to prepare lines so you can respond in a funny way if a joke doesn’t work or something unexpected happens like a glass smashing or a heckler pipping up.
If you’ve ever come up with the perfect line to say to someone, after you stumbled in the moment, you were practicing prepared spontaneity. Stand-up comedy is the art form where you get to deliver that perfect line, to a room full of people, so they can enjoy your creative genius. And if it doesn’t work, you can have another line ready to get you out of trouble.
Humour
Our philosophy on humour is different to our philosophy on comedy. Comedy is about making other people laugh, while humour is about smiling and laughing at yourself and at life. Our approach to humour is focused on identifying, appreciating and expressing your unique sense of humour primarily for your own reasons and purposes, rather than for the approval of others. Most people have never really thought about deliberately cultivating their sense of humour in this way, which is what makes this subject so interesting.
You will learn more about the multifaceted role that humour plays in modern life and about how you can use humour as a weapon for good. A way to be more creative. A way to stand out in business. A way to communicate more effectively and with more confidence and charisma. Or even as a way to improve your health and wellness or connect to your higher nature.
A sense of humour is not a fixed trait. It's something you already have, but like any capacity, it can be developed, sharpened, and deepened. Most people assume their sense of humour is just the way it is, but we know from experience it can always grow in multiple ways. In fact, part of what we teach is that you actually have six senses of humour, not just one. And that each sense offers a different level of awareness, focus and skill. The sum of your six senses is your overall sense of humour, so we break down each one and give you understandings and activities to develop all six.
The humour program is not about performance. There is no stage, no audience, no pressure to be funny. It’s about exploring what humour means to you, why it matters, why you are funny with some people and not others. We explore how a richer relationship with humour can functionally improve your life in multiple ways. Your confidence, your creativity, your relationships, your mental health and ability to handle pressure. Even your attitude and the way you think.
Part of the exploration is teaching you some of the forms, techniques and formulas comedians use to write and speak with humour. You’ll have the opportunity to come up with your own humorous material and the option to share it if you want to. However, unlike in stand-up, the goal isn't just laughter. If you share your humour here, it's not so much about how it affected others, but what we learn from the experience. We obviously still notice how other people respond, but we pay attention to the full effect it has. Did it make them smile? Did it spark a memory? Did it make them think? Humour communicates on multiple levels. Laughter is just one of them.
The humour program is designed so that we can learn from others' constructive feedback without making that the arbiter of truth. We can share humour in a collaborative way where what we share can spark interest and conversation, as well as smiles, laughter, gasps or silence. It’s all interesting and can be funny at the end of the day.
