sentiment_very_satisfied
Sharpen Your Humour
Hone your wit and humour - learn to craft clever jokes that keep audiences laughing.
Comedy ClassesRichmond Hill
Laughter really IS the best medicine!
Improv, sketch, stand-up, and full performance work for students who love making a room laugh and want to learn how to do it on purpose. Programmes run from primary through senior, plus a dedicated adult class.
Comedy Programmes
Master The Art Of Comedy
Do you love to make people laugh? Or do you want to learn how to make people laugh? Either way, this is the programme for you! We cover the basic fundamental skills, principles, and techniques of comedic acting and performance including: Improv (warm-ups or ‘ice-breakers’, tools & techniques, creative expanders like ‘yes/and…’, scenes & characters); Sketch Comedy (SNL, 30 Rock, SCTV, Monty Python…need we say more?); and Stand-Up (monologues, creative writing, presenting your material, finding your comic voice, establishing your style…). There are so many types and shades of comedy from farce to satire, parody to irony, and everything in between. Let your creative imagination fly in this live-performance programme geared to all things funny!
auto_awesome
Creativity
Comedy forces you to think outside the box, a useful practice to develop creative thinking and innovation.
campaign
Public Speaking
Nothing translates into confident public speaking skills like mastering the art of humour. Captivate audiences with your presence and charm.
Start Learning Comedy!
Register for your initial assessment
Join OVATION! Today!
Register Nowarrow_forward
theater_comedy
Comedy Classes
All Levels Program Overview
For students wishing to learn, develop and deliver an assured comedic stage acting performance. Laughter fuels the soul and this programme is packed with all kinds of creative activities that will bring out the inner comedian in every student! Looking at comedy from both the planned and incidental (unplanned/accidental) side, students may explore not just improvisational and sketch comedy but also Standup, Situational and Physical comedy for live performance.
At the youngest levels we explore comedy fundamentals, learning simple improv structures, the comedy commandments, joke construction, a character toolbox, comedy dynamics and also using some scripted works and student's own original materials to develop the performer. As the Levels progress, we take each of these elements a bit further/deeper, and the material provided by the instructor allows students to unlock their creativity and explore what sort of comic they are - develop hilarious characters for sketches and scenes ultimately leading towards the creation of original comic material and/or performance of found materials.
Students continue to develop their work with a variety of dynamic exercises designed to stimulate creativity and self-confidence in expression. Using prompts and suggestions, stories, improvisation, solo and group scripted and unscripted work, students continue to progress, ultimately creating stage performances in a variety of comedic ways.
Specialist Comedy Programmes
Taking Funny To The Next Level
group
Adult Comedy Classes
Adult programmes at OVATION! offer a unique educational and social experience. Adults come to classes like ours for a variety of reasons. You may be looking to try something new, or to get back into something you've always loved but have been away from for a while. Whatever your motivation, and regardless of your current ‘level’ of expertise (or not!), taking an acting class will always…
- Boost your confidence & self-esteem
- Improve your presentation skills (oral and dynamic)
- Exercise your body, mind, and soul
- Provide joy and fulfilment
This programme introduces and enhances all the same tenets of comedy as outlined above but we'll dig a bit deeper with more advanced and more mature materials and themes. It's an amazing way to leave real life behind for a bit every week! Let your imagination and creative juices flow and just learn while you laugh!!! This programme culminates with an in-studio demonstration at the end of each semester.
Adult Classesarrow_forwardgroups
Performance Troupes
Over the years OVATION! has connected with several other professional dance, acting, and musical theatre performance companies, plus many independent film producers:
MOTUS O dance theatreMarky MondayChannukahPaloozaJudy & DavidEducation Arts CanadaShadowpath TheatrePanoply Theatre Collective
Our students have participated in many professional shows and events. As new projects arise, we reach out to current students with audition notices for these extra-special performance opportunities!
Learn About Our Troupesarrow_forward
All Levels & Specialist Programmes
Comedy Performances & Notes
All Levels perform a short play/scene in the Winter Showcase; and a separate short play/scene in the spring Get STAGEstruck! show. Additional rehearsal and production hours will be required when mounting the spring show. All details will be provided.
Season Overview & Student Feedback
More Information On Comedy Classes
- 01
Our Season runs from mid-September to the end of May with weekly classes for each programme.
- 02
The programme Levels progress from primary through senior, introducing or enhancing the various components of the discipline and programme. Each Level covers a 3 to 4 year age range. Depending on age, experience, and when they begin with us, a student could be in the same Level for 1 to 3 seasons. Students learn how to function as both leaders and followers, experiencing the range of responsibilities and learning opportunities associated with being in a class with a variety of ages, personalities, and types of learners.
- 03
As students progress each season and also through the Levels, they build their personal and performer’s toolkit with more in-depth advanced learning through various teaching tools, focused on skill acquisition, technical development, and practical performance application. As the Level increases, the in-studio class-time lengthens and the expectations increase with more or lengthier materials, more “mature” but still age-appropriate content, and more advanced learning tools requiring increasingly more at-home preparation time between classes. The Level 3, 4 and 5 programmes may also include more shows, performances, and filming opportunities.
- 04
Each class and student is provided with a detailed Course Curriculum Outline at the beginning of the season outlining all performance or filming requirements and specific curriculum goals, learning tools and teaching strategies: a roadmap of where and how we’ll take the class through the season! We discuss specific goals with each student, at the start, at the mid-way point, and at the end of the season so we always know what we’re working towards! And each student receives a personalised Progress Report at the end of each season celebrating their amazing achievements and growth, setting intentions for their continued development, and recommending next steps, all based on the student’s own goals and interests for their training and development.
Related Classes
Beyond Comedy Classes
Explore classes related to Stage Acting to build your skills and expand your knowledge with OVATION! Performing Arts Academy.
