Comic legend starts online classes

Comedy courses are often treated with suspicion by professional stand-ups… but there's no questioning the credentials of the latest comedian to turn tutor: Steve Martin.

The US comedy legend is to offer a series of video classes – and he vows that even would-be comics who think they have no talent can make it.

‘I never actually thought I was funny,’ he says in a clip advertising the sessions. ‘You may think, "I don’t have any talent." I guarantee you I had no talent. None.’

He said he was inspired to offer the lessons when ‘I was talking to some students and they were saying things like "how do I get an agent", "where do I get my headshots" – and I thought, "shouldn’t the first you’re thinking about is, ‘How do I be good?’"’

Martin explains that over the course: ’We’re going to talk about a lot of things. We’re going my specific process performing comedy, we’re going to talk about writing – editing is one of your most powerful tools. If that bit’s not working, it’s gone the next night.’

The clip shows him giving advice to a group of four aspiring comedians as well as telling the viewer: ’Remember: you are a thought machine. Everything you see, hear, experience is usable. Whatever makes you unique as a performer, do it and know that there’s room for you.’

He also confessed that a ‘pet peeve’ was comedians who start their sets by saying: ‘how we doin’ tonight?", explainign: ‘You’ve blown one of the most important moments of your show!’

The course of more than 25 video lessons costs $90 (£75) and will start soon on the MasterClass website – which also offers acting classes from Kevin Spacey and Dustin Hoffman, screenwriting from Aaron Sorkin and filmmaking from Werner Herzog, among others.

Here's a trailer:

Published: 3 Mar 2017