Angela Boshoff Hundal is a Dubai-based writer who used to laugh at her own jokes. (Alone. In the kitchen.) But now – thanks to Dubomedy Arts’ Comedy 101 classes – she can make other people laugh too! She tells us how….
The Tom and Jerry experience
My first intense and conscious appreciation of something making me laugh out loud was when I was four-years old. I was sitting on the dirty cream carpet of my mother's bedroom wearing a worn out Superman outfit, eating Rice Krispies from a giant ceramic bowl balanced precariously on my knees and watching Tom and Jerry. And then I laughed out loud and thought, "Tom and Jerry is funny! I want to make people laugh like that!"
Of course this animated realisation didn't result in me transforming into a line illustration that runs really fast and escapes death by a cat’s hair. What it did do, however, was inspire me to bring all the garden furniture into the house, set it up around the lounge table and charge my family – who is dangerously hilarious – two Rand each (the Rand is South Africa’s currency and is equal to about one Dirham) to come and watch "my show". (Think me in a Minnie Mouse dress, bows clipped in hair and cheesy 80s Kylie Minogue beats as background music.)
After that, real life set in. You know; being kicked out of kindergarten (don't ask), learning to read, first crushes, school books, making friends, high school, making more friends, all-girl squabbles on the school field and all other manner of good things.
Twenty three years later and with no lounge tables that might support my weight in sight, I decided to find a real stage and subject people other than my family to my performances.
Find the funny!
Enter Dubomedy Arts’ Comedy 101 classes and my first foray onto a real stage. The classes run for 9 weeks and this is how they work: You laugh. You learn amazing brain-boosting improvisation games (like the games they play on Whose Line Is It Anyway?). You laugh some more. You learn super effective writing and listing techniques. You laugh some more. You write and rehearse for a stand up piece. You laugh some more. You do a final show. You laugh a lot. And then you want to do it all again!
Mina Liccione (professional comedian and stomp veteran) and Ali Al Sayed (professional comedian and producer) run and teach the classes and are really amazing at bringing the funny out of you and into the open. And before you say something silly like, “Oh, I’m not that funny. I think I’d better sign up for palaeontology lessons”, listen up! Mina believes it’s not about learning how to be funny; it’s learning how to see the funny in life and then share that with your audience. Or your gran. Or your weird neighbour. The next thing you know you’ll be rocking on stage with Mr. Rock! True story! The classes are good. You should sign up now!
What’s my flavour?
So, I’ve finished the Comedy 101 classes (which I plan to do again) and done my first five minutes of stand up (which the crowd actually laughed at!). Now that I’m famous and everything (ahem), people have started asking me whether I prefer stand up or improv. That’s kind of like asking me to choose between lemon meringue pie and double chocolate cheesecake.
To be honest, the ideal thing would be to have a slice of both but because I’m new to the comedy game I’d like to feed on stand up for a while. I’m a writer by profession, so I really enjoyed compiling and writing the stand up monologue during the Comedy 101 classes. You see, I thought that stand up was just about standing up and winging it in front of an audience. While some of the more famous comedians might be able to pull that off sometimes, stand up is actually really well planned and rehearsed. Of course performing my monologue and getting laughs was the icing on the cake! (Oh by the way, if writing makes you cringe, don’t be put off! Mina will help you whip up some chair-wetting stand up material before you can say alakazam!)
The best thing about stand up is the laughs! Hearing people you don’t know laugh at your jokes is addictive. In fact, hearing people you know laugh at your jokes is addictive too. (Even if the latter is laughing because you paid them to!) The worst thing about stand up is thinking you’re going to forget your monologue or blank on stage although I hear that’s normal, especially for your first show. To be honest, during the last two weeks leading up to the performance, I felt ill (literally) at the thought of having to perform on stage in front of 150 people. But when I got up there it was absolutely fine. It’s sort of like my brain and body took over. I had so much fun on stage, which is really the point of getting up there in the first place.
Join me!
If you’re contemplating taking the Comedy 101 classes but are procrastinating - don’t. The fact that you’re even thinking about it probably means you’ve already got a sense of humour. So just sign up! Whether your humour leans more towards the on-the-fly or the pre-meditated, Mina will help you find a comedy slant that suits you. Fo’ shizzle! And if it’s nerves that are holding you back, just remember that Jim Carrey still pukes before every live performance – and the whole world knows about it! Now that’s always going to be much more embarrassing than anything you’re ever going to do! So, see you on stage!
For a list of Dubomedy Arts’ classes (and they have many!) log onto Facebook and search for ‘Dubomedy Arts’ or go to www.dubomedyarts.wordpress.com. Or call Ali on 050 44 00 99 4.
* No animals were harmed during the writing of this piece.
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