The regular Funny Women Stand Up To Stand Out workshops are designed for complete beginners. It’s a supportive, short introduction to developing funny ideas and having the confidence to present them.
Now, you’d expect me to say something positive like that as someone who writes for www.funnywomen.com quite often. But this week I took myself along to one of the workshops and actually gave it a go. I made some new friends and had a really great time, and I’ve got the basics of another five minutes of stand up to add to my own routines.
The St. James Theatre is a new venue for the workshop, and the Studio downstairs is a nice, intimate and welcoming place to hold it.
We sat in a close, friendly circle and did some speaking exercises – everyone had to speak, nobody was spared! Lynne Parker, founder of Funny Women, was facilitating this session and certainly didn’t cut me any slack… After a while it turned out to be sort of an icebreaker. Once the first round of talks was done, we all knew and empathised with each other a bit more.
The workshop covers a lot of ground very quickly. I won’t spoil exactly what you get up to, but you do go on stage and speak to your captive, incredibly encouraging audience. Everyone is encouraged to chip in and comment on what they thought of each other. The feedback on my own presentation was honest but fair, and I’ll definitely take it on board.
We took one other thing away from a very productive morning: a stronger bond. All of us stayed after Lynne had gone and had drinks together, and we’re still in contact by email. Ladies, if any of you are reading this then don’t forget to drop me a line!
If you want to combat stage fright, improve your presentation skills, try stand up comedy or just make a new friend, please give the introductory Stand Up To Stand Out workshop a go. The next one’s in February 2015, so there’s plenty of time to get your name on the list.
Pictured: Kady Potter
