The Joke Lab: Training for Comedians
Workshops for Comedians to Improve Their Skills
Keep Developing Comedy Skills Between Open Mics and Gigs
The Joke Lab is a monthly stand-up comedy workshop for comedians who want to write more, improve their material, develop their comedy persona, understand how audiences perceive them and keep improving their skills.
Bring jokes, stories, half-finished ideas or a blank page.
You’ll work on material with other comedians, test ideas, get new insights about your material, and leave with practical ways to make your set stronger.
This is not an open mic or a performance night. The focus is on writing, experimentation and developing better comedy.
Location: Surry Hills (near Central Station).
Time: 6:30pm-9pm
Price: Early Bird $45 · Bring-a-Mate Rate $80 (2 people) · Standard $59 · Last-Minute $69
2026 dates: 29 October, 26 November
2027 dates: 28 January, 25 February, 25 March, 29 April, 27 May, 24 June, 29 July, 26 August, 30 September, 28 October, 25 November
Venue details and current availability, visit The Joke Lab booking page here.
What Happens at The Joke Lab Sessions?
Each session includes:
Exploring your comedy character and on-stage persona
Writing exercises
Material development activities
Opportunities to test jokes and stories
Feedback from other comedians
Each session will give you greater confidence and a clearer idea of what to experiment with and work on in your next set.
Who Is The Joke Lab For?
The Joke Lab is for people who already have some experience performing stand-up comedy.
It is suitable for comedy course graduates, newer comedians who have completed at least one open mic, and more experienced comedians developing new material.
If you have never tried stand-up before, we recommend starting with one of our beginners course our our most-popular 4-week course that includes a grad show.
Performance Opportunities
The Joke Lab gives comedians a pathway to perform at the Sydney Stand-Up Comedy Championships.
Several places in the monthly Sydney Stand-Up Comedy Championships are reserved for Joke Lab participants.
The Championships have been running for four years, with winners progressing to the Grand Final at the Sydney Comedy Store.
Attendees at The Joke Lab will go into the running to perform at an upcoming Championships show.
Membership or Drop-In
You can attend The Joke Lab via our drop-in tickets, available here.
Alternatively, you can join as a member for a once-off introductory membership fee of $100, which will enable you to attend all Joke Lab sessions and go into the running to be booked for all Championships shows until 31 March 2027.
You’ll also join The Joke Lab WhatsApp community, and get additional resources as one of our members.
To join as a member, please email us.
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.