After nine years, and 700 graduates we can report our findings. There’s three types of people who want to learn stand-up comedy and enrol in our monthly courses. Each have very different goals, and levels of experience, but all share an interest in making others laugh. “So who are they?”, you ask. Those that want to be a stand-up comedian, …
Before they started digging the Metro Tunnel, there was a statue of Burke and Wills at the corner of Collins and Swanston Streets. It was right next to the Melbourne Town Hall, the centre of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and arguably the stand-up comedy centre of Australia. Aussie Schadenfreude Burke and Wills are famous for not only going where no …
How do you remember stand-up comedy? You know each joke by heart. You’ve practiced a hundred times. But still, there you are, staring at the sea of faces from the stage, with a metaphorical tumbleweed rolling through your head. Crap! You’ve got an acute case of stage fright. Stand-up comedian and Hard Knock Knocks co-founder, Ben Horowitz, knows the feeling. As …
Can you teach someone how to be funny? Theoretically, yes. The funny bone is not a womb. It’s not present in some people, but not in others. However, there is a definite pre-existing condition that gives a clear indication, like height for a jockey or basketballer, that a career in comedy is more likely. So what is that condition that …
One part comedy, one part drama, and one part documentary, the Hard Knock Knocks comedy school has launched episode one and two of ‘Is This Thing On?‘, a show about learning stand-up comedy. The brainchild of the Hard Knock Knocks Comedy School co-founder, Morry Morgan, and partly funded by the Hard Knock Knocks alumni, this six-part, 30-minute TV show transforms …
Lehmo is one of Australia’s favourite comedians, both on stage and on TV. Star of Utopia, That’s Not My Dog, and regular on The Project, Lehmo’s comedy naturally dabbles in satire, showmanship, and current affairs.
Engaging, well-read and witty – three words that perfectly sum up both comedian George Dimarelos and his latest hour long show at the Adelaide Fringe, A Bookish Comedy Show. Appropriately set, given his ethnic heritage, in the back room of a converted Greek Taverna, this show gives this Greek fantasy geek free rein to explore his, and his fellow comedians’ …
This special of article on public speaking was written by Michelle Bowden, presentation and persuasion coach. Speaking in public is something that’s becoming more and more difficult to avoid. Whether you’re a C-suite leader, a middle manager or a team member, at some stage you’re going to have to report on the progress of that project you’re working on, update …
Keynote speaker Sir Ken Robinson’s TED Talk titled ‘Do schools kill creativity?‘ has been watched over 63 million times. It’s the most watched keynote speech of all time, and it’s also hilarious. At the time of writing, the best Bill Gates had been able to achieve was 5.5 million, Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google, 1.8 million, and even …
