What Happens at a Stand-Up Comedy Graduation Show?

I've been involved in more than 50 stand-up comedy graduation shows over the years, and they're still some of my favourite events to run.

I've also been on the other side. When I was learning stand-up comedy, I performed in two graduation shows myself. So I know what it's like to spend weeks preparing five minutes of comedy, only to suddenly find yourself standing in front of an audience wondering whether anyone will laugh.

These days, I teach people how to write and perform stand-up comedy through Sydney Comedy School. And one of my favourite parts of the job is seeing students perform their first five-minute set.

But for many beginners, the graduation show is also the part they're most nervous about.

Will people laugh? What if I forget my jokes? Should I invite my friends?

I recently spoke with Brett Oaten, who completed my four-week stand-up comedy course, about what it was like getting on stage for the first time.

I'd seen Brett having a fantastic time at his graduation show. What surprised me was just how much he'd enjoyed the whole experience.

In fact, I think he enjoyed it more than I enjoyed my own graduation shows. And a big part of that was how he approached the experience.

Why perform at a comedy graduation show?

Because it's awesome!

I've watched hundreds of people perform stand-up comedy for the first time. Some are terrified beforehand. Some are incredibly confident. Others have spent four weeks telling me they don't think they're funny.

And then they get on stage.

It's amazing how often people surprise themselves. I've seen students who were quiet and reserved throughout the course suddenly come alive in front of an audience.

For many, it's the first time they've ever performed anything like this in public. And there's something pretty special about getting a room full of people laughing at jokes you've written yourself.

Brett is a lawyer who wanted to challenge himself, learn something new and meet people from different backgrounds.

He enjoyed learning how to write jokes, developing his material and getting to know his classmates.

One thing I tell all my students is that being the funny person at the pub is very different from performing five minutes of stand-up comedy. It's a technical skill, and there's quite a lot to learn.

I was delighted to hear Brett repeating that observation back to me during our podcast. Clearly, some of the teaching had sunk in!

Even after four weeks of writing, rehearsing and getting feedback, he wasn't entirely sure whether his jokes would work.

He got up there anyway, and had a fantastic time.

Part of the reason was that he'd followed our frameworks for writing and performing comedy. But I think an even bigger reason was that he'd brought plenty of supporters along.

I wasn't encouraged to do this when I was learning stand-up comedy from other teachers. And it's one of my biggest regrets.

I wish I'd invited more of my friends and network to those early shows. Not just because I think I would have performed better, but because I would have had people to share those memories with.

Should you invite friends to your first stand-up show?

Absolutely. And I feel very strongly about this.

I've performed theatre as well as comedy, and I think the two are quite different.

In theatre, you might want to spend time developing your character and getting comfortable with the production before inviting everyone you know.

With stand-up comedy, I encourage people to do almost the opposite.

I want students to have as much support as possible for their first performance.

Why? Because stand-up comedy can be tough. Once you start performing at open mic nights, you might find yourself in front of an audience of strangers who don't particularly care whether you succeed.

Your first comedy show doesn't need to be like that.

I want people to have an amazing first experience, so they'll want to do it again.

And if they never perform stand-up again? At least they got to be a rockstar for one night, with their friends cheering them on.

Initially, Brett wasn't going to tell anyone about his comedy course. He certainly wasn't planning to invite a whole bunch of people to watch him perform.

I encouraged him to reconsider.

Your first stand-up show might also be your last. And if your friends find out afterwards that you did stand-up comedy without telling them, they might be pretty annoyed they missed it.

Brett took that advice further than I'd expected.

He invited friends, told people about the show and even posted about it on LinkedIn.

People he hadn't seen for years turned up to support him.

And I think that made a huge difference.

Your friends aren't expecting to see a professional comedian. They're coming to watch you do something brave, interesting and a little bit ridiculous.

And they want you to do well.

Do you have to follow your comedy teacher's advice?

One thing I found challenging about teaching Brett was that he didn't always agree with me.

And I think that's worth talking about.

When I'm teaching comedy, I give people frameworks for writing jokes, structuring their material and performing on stage. I also give them feedback about what I think will work with an audience.

But ultimately, it's their material and their graduation show.

Brett took plenty of my advice onboard. But there were also times when he decided to do things his own way.

For example, I questioned whether audiences would understand some of his cultural references. Brett decided to keep them because they reflected his personality and sense of humour.

I was concerned about whether people would understand the setup well enough to get the punchline. Brett was more concerned about being authentic to himself.

And it worked.

I think having friends in the audience helped too. They already knew Brett, understood his references and were happy to go along for the ride.

That's another reason I encourage students to bring supporters.

I don't want everyone coming out of my courses sounding like me. I want them to learn the technical skills, find their own comedy voice and become funnier versions of themselves.

What if you bomb at your first comedy show?

If you train with Sydney Comedy School and follow our frameworks and feedback throughout the course, I'm extremely confident that you'll have a successful first performance.

That's the whole point of doing a course with us. We help you develop material, test your jokes, improve your delivery and prepare for an audience.

I want students getting on stage knowing they've done the work and have every reason to expect their material to land.

But Brett had another way of looking at the possibility of bombing, which I loved.

If his performance went brilliantly, he'd have a great story to tell his friends.

If it went terribly, he'd still have a great story.

Either way, his friends and family would still love him.

I think this is a fantastic attitude.

When I'm teaching public speaking or comedy, I'm often trying to get people to lower the stakes.

Because when we're worried about embarrassing ourselves, we can become so focused on our nerves that we forget everything we've learnt.

Brett approached the whole experience with a willingness to give it a go, have some fun and see what happened.

And I think that attitude served him incredibly well.

Is a stand-up comedy course worth it?

Well, learning stand-up comedy changed my life.

Following my own grad shows, I've become a professional comedian, performing at festivals - and now I teach thousands of other people how to do it.

And I've seen comedy courses have a huge impact on other people's lives.

Not everyone wants to become a comedian. Some people want to become more confident. Others want to improve their public speaking, meet new people or simply do something they've never done before.

For Brett, the experience wasn't just about getting laughs.

He enjoyed meeting new people, learning the technical side of comedy, challenging himself and watching his classmates improve over the four weeks.

And he got to perform in front of a room full of people who wanted him to succeed.

After more than 50 graduation shows, I still love watching that happen.

People arrive with all sorts of backgrounds, personalities and levels of confidence. Four weeks later, they're performing five minutes of stand-up comedy they've written themselves.

And sometimes, like Brett, they end up having a much better time than they ever expected.

Listen to the podcast: What Makes a Comedy Grad Show Actually So Much Fun?

Learn stand-up comedy in Sydney: https://www.sydneycomedyschool.com.au/