Who takes SFCC workshops?
Anybody who wants to be funny or funnier attends our workshops. We
train public speakers who want to bring more humor to their
presentations, salespeople who want more effective and genuine interaction
with their
client base, housewives, Mr. Moms, engineers and
accountants who want to fulfill their dream of getting up on a stage
and making people laugh, professional comedians who want to explore
new techniques for writing, rehearsing and creating, and beginning
comedians who want to learn the basics of comedy and audience
rapport. We also are very popular with trainers and corporate
clients that need media training for their lifeless executives.
Can a person learn how to be funny
or funnier?
Absolutely, if they want to be!
In fact, becoming a competent stand up comedian is something ANYONE
with desire and patience can do. We can't give someone a sense of humor but the process of
learning to be funny in front of strangers is a combination of
immersion and good direction. The fact that all of us possess the
ability to get laughs from strangers is a welcome truth as we begin this
journey.
Some (comedy coaches with no technique or comedians attempting to
protect the illusion they have a unique talent not attainable by
others) think funny is a "gift" one is born with and cannot be taught.
We understand comedians would need to perpetuate the myth to
sell tickets but it doesn't change the facts; arguing that a
skill can be learned but not taught makes little to no sense and is
proven false on a daily basis here.
We speed up your learning process
and cut years off the learning curve and you won't have
to spend years performing in low end, poorly lit bars attempting to
sort through misleading input from drunken sub standard audiences as to what might be funny
from you. The current
stand up scene in America creates saloon/bar/club comedians with
little to no chance of making the transition to large pay checks
from high end television and theatre audiences.
The BBC Show
"Find me the Funny" was our stage to prove that ANYONE could be
taught to be competent, unique and entertaining comedians. We've
heard the wives tale that funny can't be taught so we set out to
provide evidence that it could. The journey for those Northern Irish
comedians was a great success and we will continue to wait for any
evidence to support the claim that funny is a trait bestowed upon a
chosen few!?
What is different about SFCC comedy workshops?
We encourage you to value your own voice and your own instincts when
bringing life experiences to the stage. Your
opinion of what is funny is as valid as ours. If you get laughs, you
are correct and there are no other rules. A great
teacher will not edit your act, your jokes or critique you. A great
teacher will lay all available tools for accessing laughs at your
feet and allow you to use the ones that suit you. In this
environment, you will learn to make your own distinctions and find
your version of what is funny from an audience. Our process helps
you develop your own unique comedic voice, which
is why no two students from the SFCC ever sound the same.
What is the benefit of group versus
one-on-one training?
Group workshops have the
benefit of offering networking opportunities. The ability to succeed
in stand up is based upon a number of variables, the most important
being your ability to network with people. The larger
the network, the more you will work. The more work, the longer the career. It's no mistake that 70% of the working comedians in
the Bay Area have attended SFCC workshops and that our
reputation among working (paid) comedians is excellent.
Groups of comedians offer multiple points of view on your act.
Your job is to make many people laugh and this training begins the
process of you learning to get laughs from all walks of life. To
work with one instructor with no group feedback means that you will
possibly learn to make one person laugh who will also be the same
person cashing your check. One on one teachers laugh at their
students because the student is doing the jokes that the teacher
thought were funny to begin with. But who else is laughing?
The risk of working with only one
comedy coach with no technique puts you at risk that you may become
a cookie cutter comic that sounds like
the teacher. If you let the teacher make decisions about your act
or write jokes for you then you will adopt her or his sense of humor
and writing techniques. This
effectively takes away your ability to develop your own style by
making your own distinctions about what gets laughs. And if any
comedy coach tells you that being a stand up is just about writing a lot
of material and memorizing it, that person is setting you back years
in a business that is dominated by great performers more so than
just great
joke writers. Our beginner classes focus on your natural sense of
humor and bringing audiences closer rather than wasting your time
and sending you in the wrong direction by transforming you into an actor
reciting memorized lines written for you by a comedy coach.
Coaches who offer
one-on-one "opinion-based" or self described "experience
based" instruction attempt to perpetuate the illusion that they have
a special knowledge about what is funny. They do not. It
is just
one more comedic opinion that is as valid as your own! We'd suggest that if you are going to get an opinion on
your act, get as many as possible. That is why our advanced classes
with our many paid working comedians combined with our multiple
weekly open mics for students is the best comedy
think tank in all of stand up comedy.
The biggest key to great
comedy teaching is to take away all the internal blocks in a
performer that keeps them from being themselves on stage. The first
big journey as a performer is being comfortable in front of
strangers and acting and reacting in a natural conversational style.
Once there, you alone decide what you want to talk about and how to
get laughs with YOUR sense of humor. Your first steps as a comedian
should be taken alone without the interference of comedy coaches or
comedy writers who simply take your money and hinder you from
discovering how to get laughs on your own.
Remember, good stand up is
specific to and from the creativity of each performer. Each comedian must decide for
themselves which techniques create the most laughter for them. In a group environment, you are able to begin the journey of
finding your own point of view without interference from any
outside source. If the mantra is stage time, stage time, stage
time then you will find that the SFCC Clubhouse provides more stage time
per week (three performances guaranteed and three other possible
spots) for our
new comedians than any other club in the Bay Area, including Roosters, Punchline, Cobbs,
Improv and Tommy Ts.
However, if you really need personal
attention and development of material, the San Francisco Comedy
College offers the best One on On comedy training in America. Choose
from Kurtis Matthews, Joe Klocek, Johnny Steele (All currently
working comedian with many National TV credits) and other competent
teachers on our staff. We will make sure we write an act that suits
your personality and your sense of humor. But if you start to sound
like the teacher we will force you to study with a different one
: )
Where is all the SFCC comedy action?
San Francisco Comedy College offers classes in San
Francisco.
However, we are available to do classes and seminars all over the
world. Call for out of town rates.
Should I take the free intro?
Absolutely! We believe that you are entitled to complete information
about what we teach and how you will benefit before you sign up. Call us ... what are you waiting for?????
(415) 921-2051
What should I look for in comedy instruction?
Should I take a class?
If you ever hear someone say that you should never take a comedy
class is ignorant of what we teach and offer here. 3000+ Alumni, We
are unlike any
place in the history of American Stand Up Comedy. You will learn
more from our staff that has been there and done that than anything
you might glean on your own in your first five years of comedy.
Articles on evaluating stand up comedy instructors from Greg Dean
- Author of Step by Step to Stand Up Comedy owner/operator of the
longest running Stand Up Comedy School in America and Grandpa of the
SFCC:
An Assessment of Stand-Up Comedy Instructors - Part One
An Assessment of Stand-Up Comedy Instructors - Part Two
1.
Free Intro
Always get a free consultation or a free introductory class.
Teachers who ask for money up front are do not offer a money back
guarantee seem a little unethical to us.
2.
Your instructor in front of a crowd
Watch
your potential instructor work a crowd as it will answer a lot more
questions than their press. Watch them teach and watch them perform;
these are two
different skill sets. However, there are many teachers that can
teach comedy but aren't very good onstage and their are some great
comedians that can't teach you one thing about becoming a great
comedian. We're excellent at both.
Ask potential instructors where you might see them
perform or teach before you
take a class. You can see Kurtis Matthews on BBC1 in the UK, at many gigs around the
Bay Area, a SFCC free intro, Saturday nights in the pro showcase at the SFCC
Clubhouse or
nationally touring with
Comedy Addiction Tour.
Joe Klocek performs
worldwide, has multiple TV credits and like fellow instructors Sal Calannii
and Johnny Steele, are fixtures on TV /Radio and at
The Clubhouse, Cobbs and
the Punchline in San Francisco.
3. Instructor
Performance Resume
There
are a number of want to be "comedy" teachers who are writers,
monologists, speakers, columnists, academics, friends of
famous comedians, students, failed real estate hacks, open mikers
and booking agents. If your teacher hasn't headlined clubs, worked
the road, and doesn't have an inner working knowledge of the current
stand up comedy scene in all of America, then you could be wasting
much time and money.
Demand the past and current performance resume of anyone who claims
to teach
comedy. It's
your guarantee that the instructor
might possess knowledge that you can use.
Kurtis Matthews, Johnny
Steele, Joe Klocek
and Sal Calanni are nationally touring comedians. Kurtis' teaching
resume spans ten years and his performance career twenty five .
Some say "Those who can't teach" but what can one say about
those who do both well? ALL OF OUR TEACHERS DO BOTH! Please refer to
the Instructors page or their websites for specific resumes.
3. Instructor
Teaching Resume
Being a great comedian doesn't guarantee that one is a good teacher.
Just as a great jockey might not be a good trainer or a great ball
player may be a terrible coach. It is two separate skill sets and a
minimum of five years teaching is a good indicator that this might
be a successful program and not a passing fad for a talent who
would rather be doing something else.
5. Comprehensive Career Support
Does your instructor offer direct access to stage time? Can they
help you with a problem that you may encounter years into the
business? If the teacher didn't have a lengthy stand up comedy career, they can't help you with unique problems that may crawl up
in year 5, year 10 and so on.
6. Network
Does the instructor provide you access to real comedy clubs and
positive working comedians who are progressing in their careers? The SFCC
comedy network will provide you with 5 to 10 times more stage time
than you would receive by working with teachers who work
independently or have some indefinable self proclaimed connection
with the comedy industry.
7. Emphasis on Performance
Will your instructor get you in front of people? Stand up comedy is an art form done in
front of people. Poor instruction will put emphasis on writing
material which may help you become a decent comedy writer but will
not help you in your quest to become a powerful performer. Killer
funny material is best created
on stage. The comedian makes
the material, not the other way around. Most of the time, "Comedy is
what happens between the punch lines". So, to focus on material only
early in a career will stagnate your growth as a comedian.
8.
Integrity
Does your instructor offer access to
people who will vouch for their talent?
Do they claim their events always sell out when they never have? Do they
offer a 'comedy system' and only want to separate you from your
money without hands on instruction? Do they sit in the back of
the room and spew out empty comments about how to hold the mic? Does your instructor have a business license in the
cities they are working in? Get referrals and ask working comedians for recommendations. We
welcome and encourage you to do your research before you attend
classes here.
9. Location, infrastructure and stage
time.
Does your instructor have a
legitimate safe public space in which to teach comedy or are they
running a flailing side business out of the back of their house?
Location, legitimacy within the city in which they operate and the
ability to excel as a business speaks to the success and quality of
the program being offered. Question the PT Barnum type comedy
seminars that blow through town and leave nothing for you in their
wake except your empty wallet, a few promises and an email address
that may or may not work.
Please, tour our workshop
space in downtown San Francisco.
10.
Verifiable references from alumni
If your instructor will not or can not provide verifiable
contact information for students who they claim to have coached in
the past or use ones' acting credits to somehow validate their
ability to teach stand up comedy, they are most likely frauds, morons or
both. Comedians who
value the instruction they received from a teacher provide links to
their instructors and/or put them on their resume. Ask us for
working professional comedian references at any time.
11. Bookings
When a comedian is ready, does the organization provide paying gigs
and job placement for their students? We can and we do! Rich Stimbra
at SFCC Entertainment
and Recovery Comedy is always looking for new talent and draws
first and foremost from the SFCC talent pool.
SFCC Entertainment has
a large network of private, club and corporate gigs. Feel free
contact him at (415) 921-2051.
Is the Bay Area a good place to start your comedy career?
Yes! SF much like Boston, Seattle and Chicago are
great "B" level comedy towns to hone comedic skills on your way to
LA or NYC. Of course, if your goal is to stay in the Bay Area, you
can do that and have a nice career. As of January 2009, there is a glut of weak comedians in
the Bay Area, many of whom have trouble finding work outside of Northern
California.
Don't I just
need stage time to become a comedian?
If you believe this old saw than
you need to be at the SFCC. The public in SF believe that this is the
best club in town and as an active student you will be able to
perform in front of paying audiences 2 - 4 times a week. New comedians aren't ready to work
Major comedy
club open mics for at least two years and the alternative to poor
stage time easily found in the Bay Area is the SFCC Clubhouse.
But remember this, you can stand in water forever
and never become a fish. Certainly, you can learn a lot being in
many different situations on stage. However, if you are not forcing
yourself to grow when you are out there, have no comedy support
system and are not taking advice from people who have been there, stage time alone will do little for
you. There are too many bad gigs all over America where you can learn
bad habits as a comedian. Sadly, these habits will not help you get
on TV or help to move you into the higher ranks of comedy. Bad stage time
is detrimental and abusive to many performers and many funny people
will quit comedy too early as they take the
wrong gig on the wrong night and have no mentor to bounce their
experience off.
It is hard to get good guidance on your own or from
bar personnel who believe they are actually in the comedy business, open mic
level comedians who have never been out of their own little comedy
markets or those that have achieved little more in comedy than
booking a local bar or
hotel gig. Even more destructive is killing in these rooms and then
finding you have no resources to escape to another level of this
industry.
I write material,
memorize it, then perform. What else is there?
Great! Now you are an actor with
a script. Material is the LEAST important aspect at the beginning of
your journey to becoming a competent comedian and a great live
performer. Your ability to write great material comes after your
learn to be natural in front of an audience. The tired advice of write, write, write will make you a great
writer but will do little to help you discover your natural sense of
humor or find your comedic point of view. Our training emphasizes
performance first and it is why we produce so many unique voices in
a short period of time.
Are we done yet?
Almost!
All active students receive:
(1) Stage time, Stage Time,
Stage Time
(2) Network, Network, Network
(3) Membership in SFCC online e-groups.
(4) Advance invitations and discounts to SFCC
events and field trips
(5) Make-up classes
(6) Free Writing
Sessions
{7} On call staff of working comedian - teachers with national TV
credits and answers to all your issues
Another great thing
about the SF Comedy College is that it's a great place to
experiment and be bad. Truthfully, the only way any comedian can become good is
by being terrible at first. We'll teach you how to have fun
while taking your baby steps and you will learn to suck in grand
fashion for a little while. The open mics are chock full of brand
new comedians and you are surrounded by many learning the craft. You
will have fun while you learn to take comedic risks.
In any given term, the Comedy College
in the Bay Area and our sister school in Hollywood have over 200 current students, and we're constantly adding to
the ranks of successful alumni who work movies, radio, television,
clubs and colleges across America.
We are the only comedy school in
Northern California that was chosen by the world famous Improv chain
and Rooster T Feathers to develop comedians for their clubs. The SFCC
Clubhouse was called "Best Comedy Club in San Francisco" by the
(6/19/05) San Francisco Chronicle, Best SF Comedy Choice by Yelp.com,
Best of 7x7 and San Francisco Magazine and
Best Comedy Club in SF
by the voters in the AOL City Guide and we are the only comedy school in
America that has auditioned a talent pool for the HBO Aspen festival
as well as hosted multiple audition shows for "The Late Show with David Letterman!"
and offers a money back guarantee
that you will be funnier!!!!
