Stand-up Comedy in Academia

Stand-up comedy is a conversational form of professional humorous talk that occurs on a stage in front of and directed toward a responsive audience. It is a modern art which has strong roots in entertainment. Though it literally involves “comedy”, it is a mistake to assume that it is a kind of comedy as understood in the dramatic arts. Indeed, stand-up comedy has its own rules, techniques and atmosphere which differentiates it from the (dramatic) Comedy as a genre. Stand-up comedy relies on joke which is one of the most complicated forms of human mental activities.

This course which will combine theory and practice, and mostly has the form of a workshop, helps students to be more familiar with comedy, write original jokes, prepare and present their own material in comic form, and finally perform as a stand-up comedian.

For this aim, this course includes these parts which are explained in following:

1. Short history of comedy and stand-up comedy

In this class students will learn about the standard concepts of humor, comedy, stand-up comedy, satire… in a simple but academic way. Furthermore, it includes an introduction to theoretical and practical elements of stand-up comedy.

2. Joke, structure of joke, and techniques of writing joke

The joke is the core concept of stand-up comedy, but, while it seems that everyone knows what a joke is, one can rarely describe it from a theoretical and technical perspective. Students will learn what a joke is through its linguistic structure. Then, after enough practice in joke analysis, they will learn how to write jokes themselves. They will be asked to make jokes about certain ideas and themes, and read them for the rest of the class. The lecturer will guide the class in analyzing and improving it.

3. Theories of humor (brief overview)

There are many theories of humor among which some will be helpful for the students, on this level, to be familiar with and apply. Those theories will be described, briefly, by the lecturer who shows how each theory can help a comic to improve his or her humor. Furthermore, this step would be useful for those who potentially want to continue humor studies and write a thesis within the field.

4. Analysis of stand-up comedies according to what has been taught so far

In this stage a compilation of stand-up comedy performances by professionals will be screened and discussed, in group activities. As such, students are remined about what they have learnt and will be able to apply, for instance, the structure of joke. From this point the class moves on to a more practical stage.

5. Group activity for writing, preparing and rehearsing a full (6 mins) stand-up comedy-set.

Students will be divided into groups with each one working on a certain topic to prepare a standard performance. Here they will learn, in practice, how to write jokes, relate them, work together to improve material, rehearse and self-directing, as well as overcoming stress and anxiety. The lecturer will supervise the group activity, and provide the participants with individual feedback.

6. Ethics of stand-up comedy

The course will address positive and negative ethics of humor in which the former includes what humor should to do while the latter includes what it should not do. Through negative ethics of humor some sensitive objects like sexism and racism will be discussed in the context of stand-up comedy and students learn how to avoid them. Through positive ethics of humor the students are encouraged to see this performing art as a very unique platform to express their own social, political, and cultural concerns in more intellectual ways. Indeed, this is what differentiates this course from most workshops that follow a mainstream approach to train amateur stand-up comedians first and foremost as entertainers.

7. Practical techniques of performing stand-up comedy including what to do & what NOT to do

Before ending the course, at this stage, the course will provide the students with some additional and specific tips for real stages. For instance, reaction to hacklers, tackling the stress of “bombing”, presenting oneself at an open mic, and more.

8. Written OR practical project/seminar

This course does not aim to force every student to be stand-up comedian. Indeed, understanding stand-up comedy and applying its techniques in ordinary career contexts, as simple as presenting an academic seminar with a few related jokes, funny intimacy, and a “good sense of humor”, is a big purpose of this course. It is up to each student to decide, at the end of the course, how she/he wants to apply this course. Hence, there will be two choices: A) writing and performing an individual standard stand-up comedy or B) do an assignment on stand-up comedy which needs to be approved by the lecturer.

Knowledge

The student…

• is familiar with stand-up comedy by studying its origin, history, traditions, etc.
• knows the core concepts and techniques of stand-up comedy like joke, self-mockery, intimacy
• can analyze various types of stand-up comedies
• has the necessary knowledge about the ethics of humor

Skills

The student…

• can write stand-up comedy according his/her ideas
• can rehearse and perform standard stand-up comedy at an actual stage
• apply stand-up comedy techniques for ordinary activities to have better skills and deeper influence

General competence

The student…

• knows about the standard concepts of humor, comedy, stand-up comedy, satire, etc., in a simple but academic way.

Elective course for selected study programs.

The course combines theory and practice. In the theoretical part theories of humor and comedy will be described, briefly, by the lecturer who shows how each theory can help a comedian to improve his or her humor. As well, the structure of joke, and then how to write jokes will be taught.

Practical parts, including group discussions about recordings of selected stand-up comedy performances by professionals, will be added. Here, students are reminded about what they have learnt and will be able to apply, for instance, the structure of joke. From this point the class moves on to more practical stage.

Students will be divided into groups with each one working on a certain topic to prepare a standard performance. Here they will learn, in practice, how to write jokes, relate them, work together to improve material, rehearse and self-directing, as well as overcoming stress and anxiety. The lecturer will supervise the group activity, and provide the participants with individual feedback.

Participation in teaching and supervision – 10 hours

Self-studies – 5 hours

Independent preparation for presentation / discussion in class – 5 hours

Student work with projects, productions, assignments, etc. – 140 hours

Completion and preparation for the exam – 40 hours

200 hours

Exam type 1: Individual written home examination

Duration: 1 week

Grading scale: Norwegian grading system using the graded scale A – F where A is the best grade, E is the lowest pass grade and F is fail

Weighting: 40 % of the overall grade

Aids: All aids are permitted

Exam type 2: Individual practical exam

Duration: Duration of the course

Grading scale: Norwegian grading system using the graded scale A – F where A is the best grade, E is the lowest pass grade and F is fail

Weighting: 60 % of the overall grade

Aids: All aids are permitted

Resit of exam type 1: New individual written home examination with a duration of seven days.

Resit of exam type 2: Same exam type as ordinary exam with a duration of seven days and a new assignment.