I originally attended the Funny Women Workshop Weekend last year to learn more about how to use humour in my presentations and public speaking. I was truly terrified about attending and couldn’t imagine anything worse than potentially being made to perform any sort of stand-up in front of other people. In fact, to this day I can’t explain what on earth made me attend the course.
Like lots of people, when I think of comedy I think of stand-up, so it was fascinating during the weekend to learn more about other comedy disciplines like improvisation, and (gulp…) burlesque. I’ve always loved writing, so the sessions that focused on this were especially enjoyable, and the exercises we did made it straightforward to create comedy material.
As for the people, it was truly a treat to spend the weekend with some fabulously funny females. Some were comedians and others, like me, were just there to learn a bit more. There is no bonding experience quite like a weekend of nerves and non-stop laughter, and I formed friendships which lasted long after the end of the course. There were times for all of us where we were outside our comfort zone, but never in a way which was too uncomfortable, and people could, and did, sit out on occasions. Most of all, it was a delight to see people discovering that they really enjoyed and had an aptitude for aspects of comedy which they’d been utterly terrified of beforehand.
So, what did I learn? I attended the weekend convinced that the most terrifying thing that could ever happen to me was someone making me do stand-up! Genuinely, this had been an recurring anxiety dream for a number of years! Instead I learned that stand up was by far the least terrifying part of comedy, and even the bits that scared me most weren’t that bad when faced with a willing and supportive group of new friends. More importantly I learned that I could write stand-up, and that there were things I wanted to say.
Despite my best intentions, I went on after the weekend to do a gig, and then another, and then another… Seven months, 70 odd gigs, one hour long one woman show and getting into this year's prestigious final of the Funny Women Awards at the Leicester Square Theatre in London just seven months after that first weekend foray into stand-up, and I am more hooked than ever!
I still can’t tell you what made me do it in the first place, but it turns out, that hasn’t really mattered.
Dotty Winters – nascent stand up and lover of fancy words. You can follow Dotty on Twitter @DottyWinters and on Facebook.
Feeling inspired? Our next Workshop Weekend takes place on 8th and 9th of February at the Union Club, Soho. There are still a few places available – for more information on who's leading workshops throughout the weekend and to book, click HERE.
Pictured: Dotty Winters performs at the Funny Women Awards final on 23rd September 2013.
