The 3 types of stand-up comedy course students

After 10 years, and well over 800 graduates, we are confident that there are three types of people who do the Hard Knock Knocks Comedy Course: keynote speakers, bucket list tickers, and comedians of the future.

So which one are you?

Keynote speakers

Fear drives one of the most common types of stand-up comedy student. Whether it’s an upcoming ‘best man’ speech, a career as a keynote speaker, or simply wanting to add more humour to a weekly business presentation, this group represents roughly a third of our comedy students, and they’re afraid of %$@#ing it up.

Take Louise, for example. An accomplished keynote speaker who regularly appears on morning TV discussing her expertise, Louise recognised that adding humour to her keynote speeches would help highlight her against her competition. After all, good information is useful, but good information delivered with laughs is memorable. In fact, some of the most popular TED Talks include a heavy dose of humour.

This group benefits from the structure of comedy, one-on-one coaching, and the many hours of practice scheduled into the five-night course.

WARNING! Many keynote speakers habitually start big noting themselves and their accomplishments, rather than focusing on the goal of stand-up comedy, which is to make the audience laugh.

Bucket list tickers

The second group learning stand-up comedy are the bucket list tickers. Many are in their 50s and above, but don’t assume this category of student are all pensioner card holders. Some are in their early 30s. A career in stand-up comedy might not be their ultimate goal, but they take the course just as seriously.

This group is often the most engaged because the seek that adrenaline rush. Many have already scaled Mount Kilimanjaro, gone skydiving over the Grampians, or signed up for something equally ridiculous before breakfast.

But that doesn’t make them fearless.

At the April comedy course in Melbourne, LeeRoy, a skydiver, completed the course. Ironically, despite having literally jumped out of a plane five times that same day, he was visibly shaking with nerves on night one. A few students found this hilarious. Apparently, falling through the sky is fine. Holding a microphone? Terrifying.

WARNING! Bucket list tickers often end up getting the comedy bug. Once the dare is complete the urge to metaphorically jump again is too much and a comedy career is born. Bucket list tickers therefore often evolve into the third type – the ‘Comedian of the Future’.

Comedians of the future

It’s not difficult to fill stand-up comedy classes with budding comedians. Melbourne, after all, is the stand-up comedy capital of Australia. Many of our students travel from interstate, and roughly a third enrol with plans to build a career in comedy. The youngest in this category was enrolled by her parents as an 18th birthday present. Young or old, regardless of age, what this group of students also learn from this course is the five most important qualities of a successful stand-up comedian. Hint, number one isn’t what you think.

WARNING! The graduation at the Hard Knock Knocks comedy course is one of the warmest rooms you’ll ever have as a stand-up comedian. And that’s a bad thing, because it means the next couple of years building your comedy chops is to disinterested audiences, and sometimes to almost empty room.

So, whether you’re preparing for a keynote speech, ticking stand-up comedy off your bucket list, or secretly planning to become Australia’s next comedy superstar, the Hard Knock Knocks Comedy Course has a place for you. Across five nights, you’ll learn joke structure, stagecraft, delivery, and most importantly, how to turn fear into laughter.