Once upon a time, in a pandemic-free world, I took an in-person class on standup comedy in Chicago. Their focus was almost entirely on performance. Sure, I enjoyed my two months there. I even put up two shows. But I felt that the laughs I was getting were mostly hit-and-miss. I didn’t understand the inner mechanics of the humor. I thought I was just a nerd who wasn’t as funny as the ‘naturals’ in my cohort. So when live shows closed, I wasn’t sure if I could keep pushing my luck in the virtual realm.
That was until I chanced upon Jared’s course ‘Faster and Funnier- Standup Comedy Writing Program’ several months later. Immediately, I knew I’d found what was missing. Jared provides a rare analytical lens into types of humor and what makes them work. He grounds the theory with constant references to the greatest comedians in history and dissects specific jokes to illustrate his points.
That alone would have been enough to invest in the course. But Jared adds multiple servings of practical tips. He not only addresses the psychological challenges to writing and performing comedy, but provides personal examples of how he overcame them. He extends his analytical approach (with graphs) to the stages of producing content and a comedian’s career. All of these insights are highly motivating and will keep you in the game even when jokes bomb and things don’t go your way. Which is a certainty for anyone.
Jared rounds up all this wonderful content with an emphasis on authenticity. I thought that as a nerd, I had to pretend to be something I wasn’t so as to get laughs. Turns out the key to memorability is being able to full embrace your own story. Jared even highlights the differences between telling jokes and telling stores, and how to can play beautifully together. His book ‘Playfully Inappropriate’ did a great job of extending these ideas.
Jared’s comprehensive, personal, analytical and yet practical course laid so many of my doubts to rest. If you consider yourself ‘intellectual’ or ‘intense’, or just not the most natural laugh-machine, you’re going to realize that humor and comic timing aren’t divinely ordained for just some people. Like any other skill, they can be learnt. With practice, introspection and the kinds of effective analyses and habits. All of that’s in Jared’s course, and I can’t recommend him enough.