Comedy Writing taught by Tom Chalmers kicks off on March 20th. This is a six-week survey course in comedy writing: humor (magazine & talk show), character monologue, and sketch. Classes will be 90-minutes long, taking place via Zoom video-conference meetings every Saturday starting at noon. Additionally, a weekly 30-minute rewrite session will take place every Wednesday at 6:30 PM.
We reached out to Tom to tell us a bit about himself and this upcoming course.
1. How did you get into comedy writing?
I started writing comedy in high school when my friends and I hijacked the school newspaper and wrote satirical editorials and student poll parodies, much to my school's dismay. I fully dove into comedy writing when I studied with The Groundlings program in NYC where I became a member of the performing company, writing monologues and sketches for a weekly comedy show.
2. Who is your favorite comedian and why?
I love the physical commitment of comedians like Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Melissa McCarthy and Amy Sedaris. I marvel at how they wring out every possible ounce of comedy from their characters. For writing, Key & Peele are close to perfect with their clear setups and pinpoint execution of their funny and fearless comedic ideas.
3. What can students hope to gain from your class?
Students can hope to learn how to effectively assemble comedy. I can't teach them how to be funny but I can teach them how to build the funny. Students will take their opinions, perspectives, and personal histories and plug them into structures that help clearly convey the intended comedy and encourage escalation of the original idea.
4. What do you wish every aspiring comedy writer knew?
I wish every aspiring comedy writer knew that they already have plenty of promising comedic ideas dancing around in their head. They just need to know how to harvest them and how to best serve them up. They don't need to think, "What's something funny I should write?" Seriously.
5. Why is comedy crucial to society?
Laughter often comes as a release of tension. Comedy is our pressure valve, allowing us to laugh and let off steam - which we could all really use right now. Comedy can do so by being a complete distraction from society, or by holding up a mirror to society to show us the humor in how we interact.
Biography
Tom Chalmers has been writing and performing comedy since when Stranger Things was set. Tom founded an improv comedy troupe at Columbia University, Six Milks, and spent his summers in Chicago studying with Second City and Improv Olympic. Tom then went on to study at The Groundlings four-level training program in NYC, where he was a company member, teacher, and eventually Artistic Director. He directed weekly sketch-comedy reviews that featured former students who would go on to write for such shows as Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons among others.
Tom has written for SHOWTIME Television, TBS, and USA Networks. He has also written corporate comedy for Sony, Bank of America, Abbott Labs, and more. Tom has taught at NYU and now at Warren Wilson College. He currently teaches writing classes through the Flatiron Writers Room and a variety of classes at the Asheville School of Improv (which he started). He is a member of the acclaimed improv comedy troupe, Reasonably Priced Babies, and is host and producer of the monthly series, Listen to This, stories and more on stag. He could go on but he won't.
Register for your spot in this course here: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?class=magn