Week 4: Stand-Up Beginner's Course and Showcase (SOLD OUT)

This course is for people who have never done stand up comedy or new comedians looking to sharpen their act. We will look at the very basics of stand up comedy, from learning how to write a simple “pull back and reveal” joke to how to apply for gigs on the London circuit.

The course will not only cover detailed joke writing, but also performance  – and will culminate in your own gig at Angel comedy!

This is a 5 week course, running on Saturdays from the 5th of June to the 3rd of July. The course includes a final showcase at The Bill Murray - additional to the five class dates.

Previous alumni have gone on to place 2nd in the Amused Moose and 3rd in So You Think You're Funny, and have been finalists in the Leicester Square New Comedian competition and in Prides Got Talent. 4 alumni have got to the semi-finals of So You Think You're Funny and 2 Beat the Gong at the Comedy Store. This could also be you in the year after you take this course!

Who is teaching?

Dec Munro is a co-founder of the Bill Murray pub (Chortle’s Best London venue 2020). He’s directed shows that have won awards at the Edinburgh Festival and been seen around the world. He’s worked on stand-up sets that have been on Live at the Apollo, Conan, Netflix specials, Mock the Week and Radio 4.

More importantly, he loves comedy and he is excited to work with comedians at all stages of their career.

http://www.decmunro.com/testimonials/

“I cannot recommend Dec Munro highly enough. His feedback is measured, insightful, never superfluous and ALWAYS useful.” Angela Barnes

“He will make you into the best version of yourself. I am never funnier or more productive than when I am in the company of Dec.” Sofie Hagen

Cost

£200 or £165 (NHS, student and unemployment discounts available - just ask).

Up to 10 places available total

Dates

Saturday 5th June – 3rd July (inclusive) plus showcase.

Time – 10:30-12:30pm.

To Enquire/ Pay for this course please contact them directly at this email: dec@angelcomedyclub.com

Dec’s class is the best way to get started doing stand up. Working with a director who regularly has shows at international comedy festivals is helpful because he can provide a 3rd party perspective that’s incredibly professional. Very generous person and wise teacher. If you’re serious about stand up, take the class. Hopefully you can get a spot! Nina Kramer

“Dec is an outstanding comedy teacher and mentor. He brought out the best in my work, encouraging me to take risks, play to my strengths, and create comedy content that gave me the opportunity to have fun. I would highly recommend working with him if you have the opportunity. I’d absolutely recommend the course, for those who want to do stand up, for anyone who wants to sharpen their comedy writing skills, for people who want to improve their public speaking, or build confidence.” Maria Gregg

“This course was fantastic. Dec Munro is a great teacher – engaging, personable, supportive and very funny; he helped me to build something that I am proud of, and I really loved working with the other group members. He’s very good at what he does. It was like learning to drive in a Rolls Royce.” – William Arnall-Culliford

“I loved this course! Given that it’s pretty much everyone’s worst nightmare to stand up in front of strangers and try to make them laugh, Dec does a fantastic job from the very beginning of fostering an encouraging, friendly atmosphere where we all help each other to find what makes us individually funny. I had no creative – let alone comedic – experience going into this course, and I was still able to perform a 5 minute set at the end of it. I had put off trying stand-up for ten years out of nerves, but after seven weeks I really enjoyed performing in front of an audience and want to do more.” Annabelle Edmonds

“Phenomenal course with the right balance between structured learning, practise and feedback, and open discussion. Would 100% recommend to anyone wanting to start out in comedy or just enjoys stand up. Dec is incredibly open and insightful as a teacher and his feedback helps you grow so much more as a performer.” - Morag Deans
“Dec has an incredible instinct for crafting all different types of comedy. Dec is a gifted, generous teacher. He is insightful and comprehensive in his teaching. He is humble and kind. His love for comedy shines through and will increase your heart and stamina for it.” Rosemary Gomes

“Dec’s Introduction to Stand Up course has been a fantastic experience. His ability to instil confidence and draw out the funniest side of people is remarkable. His insight and advice is invaluable, and he ensured the atmosphere was nothing but supportive and welcoming for the duration of the course, meaning everyone achieved tangible progress week on week. I would leap at the chance to work with Dec again in any capacity.” Sam Coade

“As a beginner to comedy, Dec helped me to feel welcomed into this strange world right from the start. If you have been wanting to finally make the leap into performing comedy, this course is a great first step! I highly recommend the course to all those out there who have been waiting for a sign to finally start their stand-up career. This is it, this is that sign.” Anna George

“Dec’s got a real knack of finding what’s funny about you, drawing it out and helping you hone in on it, sometimes even before you’ve realised what that even is. He created a relaxed atmosphere in the class which gave space for people to grow into their comedy.” Jamie Cutteridge

“I would thoroughly recommend this course. As someone who aspires towards stand up but suffers from a lack of confidence/nerves, I have found Dec’s help to be invaluable in these early stages. His knowledge, credentials and clear passion for the subject are a clear indication to me that if you require help with stand-up comedy, Dec is the person to ask.” Dan Powell

“I guess my situation was maybe a bit unique and I really had no idea what I was signing up for, looking at a schedule that included booking gigs and a live performance at the end I thought I was well out of my depth! But the course was well paced, engaging, supportive and with a great bunch of people (and Dec) and it took me to a place where I actually felt confident to perform and would even do it again, most importantly it was fun!” Tom Naish

I took Dec Munro’s ‘Getting started…’ class and was very impressed with the course. Beyond my expectations, the course took me from complete zero to a working 5 min set and gave me the tools and confidence to deploy it on an unsuspecting stand-up world. Dec really knows his stuff and it shows.” Tom McManus

“I’m really appreciative of Dec’s guidance as well as generosity with his time. His style of nurturing everyone’s individual style (rather than a prescriptive “in order to be funny do A, B and C”) is really great - which lets each person’s personality come through to create their own authentic brand and style of humour.” Varun Kumta

A fantastic course that I would recommend to anyone with a passion for stand-up. Dec really encourages you to harness on what already lies within. Plus a great opportunity to meet amazing people. Nikki Goffe

“I would 100% recommend this course to anyone who wants to get an insight into comedy from someone who really knows what they’re talking about and really pushes you to work harder to do your best.” Naif Mohamed

I would highly recommend this course. Even though I had already completed a beginners course in the past. It was great to go back to basics, re-focus and come away with a greater understanding and tight set plus. I am very happy. Elaine Blackmore

“Dec was incredibly supportive and knowledgeable while remaining constructively critical. My writing and editing ability has drastically improved since starting the course and I would recommend to anyone thinking about taking part in the future to do it! End-to-end, a fantastic experience.” Laurence Kite

“Dec perfectly balances encouragement and honesty to create a free and expressive atmosphere enabling interesting material and personas. Working with Dec for just a few months has really accelerated the development of my persona, material generating skills and trust in my individual comic voice” Annie Sheppard

“Dec has rekindled my love for stand up comedy. Previously I had given up on writing and performing stand-up, now I’m picking it back up again with even more determination. It’s terrible. It’s basically all Dec’s fault that I now have a solid 5-minutes, that I’m really pleased with and I think is genuinely funny. Damn You Dec Munro! Damn you!” Harry McIlroy

“Dec is excellent at packaging comedy in a fun, accessible way to all, communicating with ease how to understand the importance of persona and how a comedian is seen by the audience. Allowing us to "find our funny" and understand that everyone has something to say, everyone can find and communicate what we find funny and deliver with economy of words and with creative performance techniques, I am so so glad I took Dec’s course, comedy is terrifying but horrendously rewarding and I would recommend it to anyone looking to take comedy seriously.” Grace Viccary

“I found this course incredibly insightful and made me think about stand up differently and actually open my eyes to some of the realities and real practicalities of it. Dec’s take on how much character and persona play into the delivery and writing process is unique and has not only deeply informed my understanding of the creative process around standup, but also allowed me to better appreciate comics out on the circuit today.” Lewis Craig

“Comedy has been a long term passion for me and although I’d never given it a go myself, I pushed myself to try something new and joined Dec’s Get started in Comedy Course on Zoom. Dec was a brilliant teacher who harboured a very supportive atmosphere amongst the group, which let us know that we could always try out material amongst a very encouraging audience. He was great at explaining techniques and showing examples from a wide variety of big names in comedy. The best thing about the course was that Dec spent time with us in 1on1 sessions to help us create and refine our first 5 minute set, before performing it in front of the rest of the class. This meant that we finished the course with our very own first set, the experience of performing it in front of people and clear next steps about what to do in the world of comedy.” Dominic Burrell

“Dec provided us with a rounded and well-formed intro to the world of doing the stand-up that came from a place of experience and knowledge. If you need a nudge in the right direction cos you have the itch this is a great route to get you going.” Andrew Garnet

"Dec was an outstanding teacher for a number of reasons - his technical knowledge covering everything from an opening gambit to persona and delivery. Since the course, I have been able to analyse and critically assess the positives and the pitfalls of both good and bad sets and tailor mine to be more effective and snappy. What I enjoyed perhaps the most was Dec gave us the freedom to explore comedy in our unique styles and guided us based on those styles. I have found other teachers or courses may sometimes be relatively generic in delivery and advice, and material generated there would be boxed in by the conformity, whereas Dec let the participants present their own work and helped each of us craft it using his perspective. I also found the one to one session very useful & a unique part of the course. Dec has a pleasant and warm nature and vast experience, knowledge and passion. Recommended!" Alf E Jones

"I really enjoyed the zoom course with Dec and I learned so much. His feedback was very precise and detailed." Andrea Koikai

Presented by Angel Comedy