Improver's stand up comedy course

This course is for newer comedians who moved past the basics and want to dig further into what makes them funny. Maybe you’ve done 100 gigs and have hit a plateau. Or you’ve built a great five minutes on a beginners course and want to know where to go from there.

The focus is on voice and persona, and addresses questions such as: What’s funny about you? Who are you to the audience? How do you stand apart from other acts?

You’ll be given practical tasks to complete over the duration and prompted to create new material that works with who you are. By the end of the course you will have a clearer sense of who you are as a comedian and how to move forward with your comedy.

This is week 1 of the course.

The course will run for 5 weeks on Saturdays, starting July 4th.

About the tutor:

Nick Elleray is an award-winning stand-up comic, who performs regularly at Angel Comedy and other clubs in London and the South-East.

Shortlisted three times for the BBC New Comedy Award, he has been a finalist in such major competitions as The NATYs; Up The Creek One To Watch; Leicester Square New Act of the Year; and Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year.

Nick has been taking stand-up comedy shows to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival since 2012, garnering great reviews - particularly for 2019's Big Nick Energy, with praise focusing on his 'savvy writing' (Chortle) and 'cracking good jokes' (Three Weeks). He also works privately on show development and joke-writing with other acts.

Testimonials

“Nick was great. Incredibly knowledgeable, personable and of course funny. I thought his feedback was incredibly useful and constructive and his teaching technique inclusive and practical. A great guy.”

“Nick was amazing! He helped me with writing, mic work, stage presence, and was super supportive and fkn funny throughout the class. Nick knew exactly how to punch up my jokes to make them shine and working with him I put together a really nice 5-minute set!! Nick pushed me to reach out to a bunch of gigs and now I have 15 gigs lined up for the next month!”

“Absolute legend, great feedback, support and guidance - like our very own comedy dad”

“Informed, informative, encouraging, calm and funny. Also tolerant of all our different personalities and styles.”

"Nick was funny, helpful, chill and brought a calm and friendly vibe to class. He was able to support everyone in their own style and was a pleasure to have in class."

"Nick is a lovely guy, very friendly and really helps to nurture a great environment during the course. He also has a real knack at understanding joke structure and offering incredibly helpful feedback on how to make your own writing stronger and funnier"

"Nick was a great teacher; it's obvious he's technically brilliant in all things comedy and gives off a really good, calm energy. He's honest, direct but always kind about it which is what you need if you're trying to learn comedy."

"Nick was excellent at putting everyone at ease. He creates a safe and relaxed environment where everyone felt free to be themselves and to try things out."

"Nick was such a great tutor, I believe he was key in fostering a nice, fun and engaging atmosphere in class. This bonded us even more and resulted in genuine long laughs, with everyone being invested and providing feedback to others, engaging even beyond and outside class. His practical examples in how something can be a joke were a great inspiration for writing and elaborating material. His tips were great and super effective, from how to handle the stage and stage fright, to holding the microphone! Somehow everything made sense when he was saying them."

"Nick's course was so much fun and so insightful. Joining the course is honestly one of the best things I've ever done. Whether you want to get in to stand up comedy and need a good place to start, or just want to challenge yourself, Nick's course is 100% the best place to do this. He's an amazing teacher and he made the classes such a lovely, fun and supportive space for us all. I cannot recommend this course enough."

Dates

Saturday 4th July, Saturday 11th July, Saturday 18th July, Saturday 25th July and Saturday 1st August.

Time – 10am-1:30pm

Location

The Bill Murray, 39 Queen's Head Street, N1 8NQ

Tickets

£294.99 or £224.99 (NHS, student and unemployment discounts available - just ask)

Up to 16 places available total

9:45 AM - Doors open

Presented by Angel Comedy.

This is an 18+ event