Acting Funny

Book Now

• Spaces are limited so early booking is encouraged.
• Bookings will close at 5pm on Friday 19 January 2024 or when the course reaches full capacity.

Ages 18+

Course Dates & Times

Tuesday evenings on 23, 30 January, 06, 13, 20 and 27 February 2023
7pm-9pm, weekly

About Acting Funny

This new six-week evening course will explore comedy and humour for performers.

Throughout the six-weeks you will learn practical techniques to successfully draw out the comedic elements of your performance.

Through a series of games, exercises and scenes, you will engage in the techniques of  actors and theatre practitioners Keith Johnstone, John Wright, Augusto Boal, Phillipe Gaulier and others. You’ll try a variety of comic performances from slapstick to stand up, scripted to unscripted and sketch to solo.

By working together as a group, and individually, you will explore the art of laughter in a joyful, supportive environment and you will finish the course feeling more confident and comfortable incorporating humour into your performances.

Expect to laugh with others, take risks and have lots of fun!

Who is the course for?

• Anyone aged 18 and over interested in exploring comedy performance, including actors wanting to find the comedy within their performance, comedians who want to improve their stage presence and everyone in between!
• The course is suitable for beginners. 
• There is no upper age limit on this course. We encourage and welcome participants from all ages 18 and over.

What can I expect?

The course will cover key skills including:

• Comic timing
• Joke structure and delivery
• Making yourself and others laugh
• Spontaneity in scripted and unscripted comedy
• Honing your comic instincts and developing your comic voice
• Working and connecting to others on stage and the audience
• Verbal and non-verbal comic storytelling
• Knowing and understanding the building blocks of improvisation
• Finding fun in failure through clowning 
• Creating comic characters
• Drawing out the comedic elements within text
• Trusting yourself and your ideas
• Writing and sharing new work in a creative and nurturing ensemble

Do I need anything for the course?

• Comfortable clothing and a notebook.

Course Fee

£275

Book Now

• Spaces are limited so early booking is encouraged.
• Bookings will close at 5pm on Friday 19 January 2024 or when the course reaches full capacity.

Eligibility

• For everyone aged 18+. There is no upper age limit on this course. We encourage and welcome participants from all ages 18 and over.
• Participants must have sufficient English language skills to cope with course demands.

About the Course Tutor

The course is taught by Jonathan Oldfield.

Jonathan is a trilingual performer, director and comedian. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, with Antonio Fava in Commedia dell’Arte and with John Yorke in storytelling. He is one half of PillowTalk Theatre, which makes playful and anarchic work for stage and screen in the UK. As an actor, credits include: The Power (Amazon Prime), Romeo and Juliet (USA Tour), Nicholas Nickleby (Bristol Old Vic).

He recently directed the multi-award nominated character comedy show Lorna Rose Treen: Skin Pigeon. It had a sell out run at Edinburgh Fringe and Soho Theatre in London, received five star reviews from Telegraph, Evening Standard, Observer and Independent and was winner of the Dave Best Joke of the Fringe.

Jonathan has taught in the UK and internationally at places such as the BBC, Scottish Storytelling Centre, Stanley Arts, New Diorama Theatre Broadgate, Q Factory Amsterdam, and as a visiting professor across the USA (Notre Dame University, John Carroll University and Rice University and others).