Laughterzone 101: An Academic Approach to Comedy
[Matt, Becca, Kelsey, Mau, Joey, Jeff, David, Sean and Eli pose with their mentor in the green room of their very first show.] So one day, this lady added me on Facebook. No clue on who she was, until I saw who our common friends were. Still didn't have a clue. As clueless as I was, here was a lady with all the answers. She then introduced me to herself during a pro-am show at Lafflines and told me a little bit about her work. From there, it got interesting. A few meetings later, she pulled me aside and goes, "Ray (that's me), do I have an oppurtunity for you." Somewhere in this conversation, she said the word 'free' so I agreed. On June 14, Janice Bannister, owner and operator of 'Laughterzone101' invited to me to be one of her guests for a showcase night. This night showcased a brand new breed of comics who just finished a course which was an introduction to stand-up comedy. Janice was able to enlighten me some more with a couple of questions that I had.
[The other half of the class in the adjacent lounge, Marylee, Lisa, Margarita, Zack Suzanne, Marilyn, Brandon and Adam.]
So. Tell me a little bit about Laughterzone 101. Laughter Zone 101, is owned by Janice Bannister. We have been teaching stand-up comedy classes for the past 5 years. Classes have been held at Douglas Collage, Capilano University (has a summer comedy boot camp for kids), local Continuing Ed. programs, private studios and now also at Lafflines Comedy Club. Students ages are 10-83 years old. Is there a 'Science' behind stand-up comedy? I guess you can say there is a "science" behind stand-up comedy. For the beginners I try to get people to start with a basic formula to get them used to writing in a short concise format. The quicker they can get to the laugh the better they will feel their jokes are working. They are encouraged to write about subjects that they have some passion and connection with-something that they have an attitude about. I encourage everyone to be authentic with their material. If you “own” your material-you can make it work. Then they are encouraged to add act outs, movements, and other techniques to enhance their written words.
What is the biggest misperception behind stand-up comedy before they take your class? The biggest misperception is that stand-up comedy is really easy and they think most comics just get up there and wing it. They don’t realize how much work goes into a 5 minute set.
[Backstage told a numerous amount of stories, from nervousness, excitedness, and just plain awkwardness]
I was behind scenes for a little bit before your last showcase. What was the atmosphere backstage for a lot of those that were performing for the first time? Before the showcase they are all nervous, they are going over their sets in their own heads. So there is pacing, a few tried to get out of doing it at the last minute. In the past I have had to go into washrooms to encourage people on to the stage, I have received texts all day saying they are not sure if they can do it. But to date if they made it to the end of the classes they made it on the stage for the showcase. And because they are all first timers they are very encouraging to each other too. What seems to be the popular reaction to the comics after they've performed for the first time...and top of that, in front of 300 people? The reaction after the showcase show is very exhilarating for them all. They post the next day that they can’t believe they did it, that that was the best night of their lives; they want to do more, now that they have the bug. Many say the showcase is the best part of the program, to be on the stage and get the audience reaction is so powerful. Fore more information of Laughterzone101, please visit: http://laughterzone101.com/