Creating new jokes from scratch is one of the hardest parts of stand-up comedy. Our brains are hardwired for repetition, patterns, and habits. If I ask you to think of a number, colour or city, it’s likely that your answers are related to past experiences – a limiter to comedy This is where random words can help. Using a random …
Starting out in stand-up comedy in Australia is tough. Open mic gigs are in the evenings, often on a weekday, and the audience is usually comprised of other comedians with zero interest in your gags. It’s therefore important to learn the ropes, and the mistakes, as soon as possible so you can move up the ranks quickly, and start getting …
Since January 2021, stand-up comedy students at the School of Hard Knock Knocks will each receive a photography package as part of the standard comedy course. Photographer and former graduate of the School of Hard Knock Knocks, Adam Sparnon, has been shooting headshots and body shot photos at each course which are vital for comedy posters, particularly with the comedy …
“YES, AND…” is the rule-of-thumb response in improv comedy. It’s also a great way to lead. The ‘yes’ immediately encourages the acceptance of the contributions added by others, rather than shutting down the views of others, and the ‘and’ opens the contribution for further positive refinement. The words ‘no’ and ‘but’ are the polar opposites. Listening to others is a valuable leadership skill. Comedy can …
A comedian could kill on one night, but bomb on another, with the only difference being the audience. Conducting an AUDIENCE analysis, ahead of your gig, is one way you can increase the chance that you will kill in stand-up comedy. Here’s the eight letters of the acronym explained: Attentiveness Comedians are not always the centre of attention. Sometimes it’s …
The Hard Knock Knocks comedy school is a stand-up comedy school. Of course it is! The Lord of the Fries makes great, well, fries. And Splashdown is in fact a real portable toilet rental service – made famous by actor Shane Jacobson’s movie, Kenny. These are some of Australia’s funniest business names. These names also stick in our minds. Humour …
The Hard Knock Knocks has some of the funniest Australian stand-up comedians who coach our comedy courses. Yet ironically these comedy legends are not experts in writing knock knock jokes. Not that we teach them – they are more suitable as ‘Dad Jokes’. That being said, the Hard Knock Knocks is often asked, “what IS the funniest knock knock joke?”, …
We’ve all been there. It’s new years eve, and armed with one too many chardonays we announce to complete strangers that this year we’re going follow our dreams! *hick* And this year, our new year’s resolution is going to be…perform stand-up comedy! There’s one of two scenarios at this point. ONE Your friends start laughing at you (notice: not with …
The “Cranky Yank”, a true seasoned professional with an impressive CV including performances on Saturday Night Live, is able to have the audience laughing by mocking the politically correct before he even comes on the stage. His prolific use of ‘F bombs’ fits in well with his sarcastic style and demeanour. The America/Australia theme is a fertile ground for his …
