Crowd Work in Stand Up Comedy
This workshop explores the comic’s art of setting aside scripted bits and interacting with
a crowd. It’s about how to be fully “in the moment,” even on stage, in front of strangers,
to find what’s funny and bring an audience along for a laugh.
The workshop begins by moving through some exercises in improvisation and self-
presentation. Participants practice generating original points of view, and unfolding
them in ways that accentuate cognitive dissonance, the essence of funny. They learn to
work with comedic personae, and to work through the difficulties, the nerves and the
nay-sayers. Stories are built and broken down on the fly, with only what the audience
offers. Until, finally, the workshop culminates in a spontaneous unscripted performance.
Places limited to 12
