Knock knock.
(Now you say, “Who’s there?”)
A new stand-up comedy class, that’s who.
See how we skipped the setup to the punchline there? If you take this class, you’ll never find yourself in the same terrible, tomato-throwing-inducing predicament.
That’s because New Hampshire comedian Greg Boggis and ConcordTV Executive Director Doris Ballard have teamed up to bring laughter to the masses at a fairly tense point in time in America.
“We need to laugh,” Ballard said. “We don’t laugh enough – we need to look at life a little lighter in these really stressful times.”
We agree.
Ballard had the idea to run some kind of a stand-up comedy program for years – she took a class in Maine with her daughter some time ago and really loved the experience. She just never got around to putting the wheels in motion.
Until a couple weeks ago, when she was at the memorial service for Concord legend Van McLeod. McLeod would never shy away from anything he wanted to do, Ballard said, and that spirit inspired her to throw caution to the wind and go forward with this idea.
The format will be six weeks of classes at the ConcordTV studio at Concord High – taught by Boggis, who has been performing comedy for 17 years – and a live performance at Hatbox Theatre to cap it off.
The class will top out at 10 people, but in order for it to happen at all, at least five or six people need to sign up.
Once enough applicants have signed up (for $150 each), the fun begins. Participants will learn all the intricacies of stand-up comedy, from writing to timing to delivery to presentation, all things that are not easy to master.
“Comedy is really hard,” Ballard said.
And it’s something that everybody likes. For that reason, the class is open to all – no age restrictions or requirements. In light of that, the content of the comedy should be pretty family oriented, Ballard said.
Another bonus is that the final performance, which will be Sept. 30 at Hatbox, will be taped, edited and aired on ConcordTV. That way you can tell all your friends to catch your show on TV and walk around like a superstar – which you actually will be after finishing this class.
The session is scheduled to start Aug. 24 and classes will meet every Wednesday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. (Aug. 24, Aug. 31, Sept. 7, Sept. 14, Sept. 21 and Sept. 28, with the final show Sept. 30). Sign-ups are limited but needed, so email Dorisballard@comcast.net to get on board.
