Feeling Funny comedy course

It certainly does for me, which is why I was so intrigued when I read that the new ‘Feeling Funny’ comedy course at LJMU is designed to tackle the subject of mental health and, in the process, help improve your mental wellbeing.

The course is led by comedian Sam Avery and is brought to LJMU students (for free!) by The Comedy Trust. We spoke to Sam who explained why this course is for everyone:

Can you tell us about yourself and how you got into stand-up?

I was very shy and nervous but always loved comedy and had this pipe dream of trying it one day. In the end I got drunk and signed up to a ‘Stars in their Eyes’ competition as a joke. The show was a complete farce so I just messed about dressed as Mick Jagger, somehow came second and someone offered me my first stand up gig off the back of it.

Can you offer any words of encouragement for students on why they should come along to the course and what they might get out of it?

There’s absolutely no pressure on anyone who does the course to commit to the performance at the end. The sessions are friendly, laid back and lots of fun and we make sure that people are supported, not pressured. We’ve worked with over 10,000 people on similar courses since 2002 and 90% of them have expressed an increase in confidence and wellbeing. And if they do want to do the show we only invite friends and family so it’s the most supportive, on-side audience you could hope for.

How can stand-up help mental wellbeing?

Stand-up comedy is a great way to get things off your chest, to stand up and tell the world all the things you’re not very happy about. Jerry Seinfeld said that stand up is just ‘complaining in an entertaining way’ and I think there’s something in that. Once you have that skill it’s something that you can use in the future in order to approach potential problems from a slightly different perspective.

The course runs every Wednesday 3pm – 5pm until Wednesday 29 November in Redmonds Building, 1^st Floor, Room 114. The course started on Wednesday 18 October, but you can still join on the second session on Wednesday 25 October.

Email Charlene@thecomedytrust.com to sign up.