Stand-Up Comedy Course in Sydney: Learn & Perform
Sydney’s Best Stand-Up Comedy Course
A four-week stand-up comedy course that includes a live graduation show.
This is our most interactive and in-depth stand-up comedy course, where you'll develop your joke-writing, stagecraft and performance skills.
Across four practical sessions, you'll write jokes, develop your material, practise your delivery and receive personalised feedback to make your set funnier and stronger.
Then you'll perform your own five-minute stand-up set in front of a live audience at the Sydney Comedy School graduation show.
You'll be guided throughout the course by multi-award-winning comedian Dave Crisante, who will work with you to help make sure your set is packed with laughs.
For some students, this is a once-in-a-lifetime bucket-list experience. For others, it becomes the first step towards performing regularly and building a career in comedy.
Examples of previous shows can be found on our YouTube channel.
No previous stand-up comedy experience is required.
Location: Surry Hills, near Central Station
Price: Early Bird $375 · Bring-a-Mate Rate $600 (2 people) · Standard $475 · Last-Minute $490
Course format: Four consecutive Tuesday evening classes, followed by a live graduation show on the Sunday after the final class.
2026 Dates
Starts 10 November → Grad show 6 December
2027 Dates
Starts 12 January → Grad show 7 February
Starts 23 March → Grad show 18 April
Starts 11 May → Grad show 6 June
Starts 6 July → Grad show 1 August
Starts 7 September → Grad show 3 October
Starts 9 November → Grad show 5 December
For exact times, venue details and current availability, visit the course booking page here.
What You’ll Learn
During the course, you'll learn how to:
Write a story so that it is packed full of laughs
Improve your charisma and stage presence
Develop a five-minute stand-up set packed with jokes
Turn ideas into jokes with fantastic punchlines
Use your lived experience to create humour
Delve into observational humour
Identify your comedy character
Deliver an introduction that captivates an audience
Improve your confidence and presentation ability
Each week you'll be writing, practising and delivering your own material, with feedback designed specifically around your comedy and your set.
How the Four-Week Course Works
The course runs over four weekly sessions, with each session lasting approximately 2.5 hours.
This is an extremely practical course.
You'll spend the four weeks developing your own stand-up set through writing exercises, performance practice, group activities and personalised feedback.
Rather than simply learning comedy theory, you'll be applying what you learn immediately to your own material.
By the end of the fourth session, you'll have fully developed a stand-up set ready to perform in front of a live audience.
Perform at a Live Graduation Show
The graduation show is the course highlight.
After four weeks of writing, practising and improving your material, you'll perform your own stand-up set in front of a cheering audience.
The show is held on the Sunday immediately following your final class. If you’re unable to attend the grad show, but would still like to perform, simply email us and we might be able to offer alternate arrangements in another of our shows.
The grad show is designed to give you the experience of performing live stand-up comedy in a supportive environment.
Students absolutely love it.
This is by far the most memorable part of the entire experience for all students.
Join the Sydney Comedy School Community
You'll also be offered the opportunity to join our private WhatsApp group, where students share ideas, encourage each other, organise gigs and stay connected during and after the course.
For many people, the community becomes one of the highlights of the experience. You'll meet other people who are learning stand-up, get to know your classmates over the four weeks, and become part of the wider Sydney Comedy School community.
Some students finish the course having ticked stand-up comedy off their bucket list. Others keep performing, attend our shows and Joke Lab sessions, and continue developing their comedy alongside people they met in class.
Who Is This Course For?
This course is designed for beginners, such as those who want to:
Perform stand-up comedy for the first time
Learn how comedians write and develop material
Challenge yourself to do something outside your comfort zone
Become a better storyteller
Build confidence speaking in front of other people
Develop your humour and comedic voice
Improve your presentation and communication skills
Meet other people interested in comedy
Perform your own material in front of a live audience
You don't need to arrive with jokes or material prepared.
If your preference is to learn comedy but not to perform, we recommend our Stand-Up Course for Beginners, which does not include a grad show.
Learn more about the Stand-Up Comedy for Beginners Course here.
What Students Say
Sydney Comedy School has more than 300 five-star Google reviews.
"The structured approach made the daunting task of building a 5-minute set in four weeks completely manageable."
- Anne-Kirstine Dyrvig Sant
"I LOVED the stand up comedy course!! I learnt so much, gained a lot of confidence, public speaking skills and met some amazing people in the community."
- Zoe Sheehan
"Dave's class was full of great theory, ample opportunity to practice in every class, with excellent feedback that helped us fine tune our set before the grad show."
- Mick Jaajaa
Read more Google reviews here.
Your Facilitator
The course is led by Dave Crisante, founder of Sydney Comedy School and a multi-award-winning comedian.
He’s the second-best comedy trainer in Australia, but trains more people in comedy in Australia than anyone else in the country.
Dave has 10 solo shows, and five ensemble shows that he takes around Australia in all major festivals.
For more about Dave and his style, visit his bio page, or check out the Science of Being Funny podcast.
Ready to Learn and Perform Stand-Up Comedy?
Master joke-writing and performing. Build your own stand-up comedy set. Then perform it in front of a live audience.
Private stand-up classes for all occasions!
We offer classes for individuals, workplaces, interest groups, friends, birthday parties, hens nights, libraries, festivals and more!
Get in touch with us today for more information about 1:1 sessions or private events.