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Did you hear the one about...? The Witch Hiker sits in on the Universal Comedy Development Course, and finds out how participants benefit from 8 weeks of tears and laughter. Knock Knock...Who's There?...Doctor...Doctor who?
So what is Universal Comedy? It's a company formed in 2004 by and for folk experiencing long term physical ill health with the aim of providing inspiration to become creative once more, to help individuals use their experiences as a positive focus, and also to help them rediscover their self-confidence, communication and social skills. Course participants can join in at whatever level suits; from one day comedy workshops, to short courses and longer training courses. There is even a regular news feature on the UC website to allow people who are still housebound to access some support. The courses are designed to help them with all manner of writing, improvisation, stand up and radio performance and are tutored and supported by comedians from the Glasgow comedy circuit. And best of all, the whole thing is completely free! I've been lurking in the background of one of the eight week courses which is designed to help the participants develop their skills and work towards creating pieces for a "Final Showcase" performance to be held at the CCA (Centre for Contemporary Arts) in Glasgow. The group is a real mix of people from different backgrounds and circumstances. They found out about the course from GPs, libraries and hospital departments. Knock Knock!...Who's there?...Woo...Woo, who?...Don't get so excited, it's just a joke.At the start of the course the focus is on developing their skills and thinking about new techniques with sessions on improvisation, live stand up comedy, recorded pieces and thematic development. These sessions are tutored by the likes of Susan Calman, Raymond Mearns, Paul Sneddon & Sian Bevan who can be found mainlining places like the Stand and even on the telly - Susan was particulary forthcoming about how to find them all on You Tube! Our group of participants had six all-weather regulars with a couple of folk who came as and when they could. For some of the participants physically managing to get to the class and stay present for the session was a challenge in itself. From an initial timid group, faced with an enormous and nerve-racking showcase, they became more comfortable and confident with their creative work as well as with each other, as the weeks passed, the group became more and more cohesive, and even started to enjoy the thought of the Grand Finale (well some of them did!). They were all working on individual pieces as well as supporting each other’s work by acting in one anothers sketches. They went from being nervous about sharing their ideas and thoughts to creating Stand up sets, comedy sketches and songs. How's that for a result? The rehearsals and fine tuning began in earnest as the final performance started to hover on the horizon and you had to remind yourself that this was a group of people struggling with health issues and energy levels. Knock Knock!...Who's there?...Karim...Karim who?...Karim of the crop!
Knock Knock!...Who's there?... Boo....Boo who?...
Don't worry, Universal
Comedy will be back soon, and for more information you can visit
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Laughter is the best medicine (how often have we heard that?), and for
the last few weeks the Witchhiker has been watching this theory be put
to the test. And no not in a teehee laughter therapy sort of way, oh
no, but rather I've been sitting in on an eight-week long Universal
Comedy 'Development Training Course'.
Fast forward a couple of weeks and the day of the showcase finally
arrives. I made my way to my seat in a packed hall in the CCA. The
event was compered by Paul Sneddon who warmed us all up for the
entertainment to come. First up was a stand up set from David, now I
know he was nervous in rehearsals because he suffers from bouts of
amnesia (not the sort of comedy he was aiming for). However up on that
stage with the spotlight on him and the microphone in front of him you
really couldn't tell, he looked like he'd been doing it forever! Walter
Dunlop's "Noah" sketch with himself and Dougie also went down a storm
and even gave them the opportunity to practice some of their
improvisation techniques when they decided to change the lines mid-set!
Janet's stand up piece and joint impressions set with Chris was also
flawless and Jimmy had us all laughing with his take on Walter's CSI
Govan. The first half of the show closed with Dougie's comedy blues
song to thunderous applause, and not just from me, the hall was packed
with family and friends of the participants who had all come along to
watch and share in their achievement. It was fantastic and fair play to
them, it takes some courage get up on stage in front of hundreds of
people, and it takes something more to make them laugh too...
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