Las Vegas International School of Stand up Comedy Sydney CBD

FAQs

• Where are you located? What are the course Dates and Times?

  We're located inside The Civic Hotel Hotel 388 Pitt St, Sydney NSW 2000

  Sydney City CBD

  Nov 7th - Dec 3rd ( 5 week course / Saturdays 1pm-3:30pm)

  May 15th - June 19th 2027 ( 5 week course / Saturdays 1pm-3:30pm)

  Oct 9th - Nov 13th, 2027 ( 5 week course / Saturdays 1pm-3:30pm)

• Who are the instructors and how much experience do they have?

  The main instructor is the founder of the school, Donte D1, born in Las Vegas Nevada, he has been performing stand-up comedy since the age of 14 1/2, he has over 50 years' experience in the USA and Australia and is the author of several books (including 2 books on stand up comedy and fringe and comedy festival how to. He has worked and performed with Jean Kittson, Anh Do, The Late and great Jeannie Little, Pauly Fenech (fat pizza) and Constantino to name a few. As an actor, he's had roles in The Matrix Reloaded and Fat Pizza vs Housos Movies plus appearances on TV Shows, Getaway, Recovery, Disney, Comedy Inc, The Big Breakfast and Generation 7. (see photos on our About Us page). This course will also include 1 or 2 special guest instructors that are comics and/or industry promoters. Due to their ever-changing schedules, we'll announce closer to class start date who they are. Past guest instructors: TanyaLee Davis (USA) Michael Connell, Kyle Legacy, Joe White, David Poltorak ( the Professor from TV's The Chaser), Marty Bright, Aaron Pratt plus many more. For more on the founder and head instructor, please see our "about us" page on our website

• What's the difference between your school and others?

  Because The Founders of The School of Hard Knock Knocks and The Sydney Comedy school were former graduate of our previous school, (Australia's school of Stand up Comedy) there are no doubt some similarities in our basic intro and complete comedy curriculums, we recommend not taking our class if you have attending any of these schools because of that reason, however our International Performance course is exclusive to the Las Vegas Comedy School. Where we differ is The Las Vegas School of Stand-up Comedy specializes in training up and coming comics the art of preparing and performing on local and international stages. Our founder (Donte has over 50+ years of experience in The USA and Australia. (including promoting shows and performing at the Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth Comedy and Fringe Festivals. he's also the author of the books " So you wanna Be a stand up Comic?" and " How not to Lose money putting on your own Comedy and Fringe Festival Shows". Most other schools give you insight into performing for Australian audiences only. If you never plan on leaving your local area, that's fine, but generally, Australian material doesn't work well in the UK or The USA or Japan or China or Scotland etc. With our optional International Performance Course, We show you how to tweak your Australian material to make it universal for international audiences. Currently, we only offer a 5 day course, If looking for something a bit more spread out, we recommend the School of Hard Knock Knocks 5 week course. We also offer our New Open Mic Comedy Preparation Course plus online courses and how to books on stand up comedy and Festival preparation. Another unique thing we offer is in real-time student weekly practice video recording and replay to instantly finetune your performance. Our school also specializes in showing you how to Create, Promote and Run a successful Fringe and/or Comedy Festival show.

• What's the difference between your 5 Week Courses, International Performance course and your Open Mic Comedy preparation Course?

  Our 5 week courses are designed for those who are serious about getting into the comedy industry, locally and nationally. It covers everything you need to start performing as a professional. Our optional International course focuses exclusively on transitioning comedy from local rooms to international stages. Students learn to adapt timing, cultural references, and delivery for diverse global audiences. Pre-requisite for this course. You must have a tight 5 min set to start. If you have less than 5 mins of tested material, we recommend not taking this course until you do.. The open mic Comedy Preparations course is for those beginners who want to dip their toes into the stand up comedy industry but aren't sure where to start and have little money to invest. Note: Complete Course Graduation Shows are held on Thursday Nights 7:30pm. We suggest, selecting the course that best suits your schedule,

• What courses do you offer? Do you have online courses? Do you offer any how-to books on Standup comedy & Fringe and Comedy Festival start-ups?

  We offer a 5 week Complete Industry Course, Our International Performance Course, Our Open Mic Comedy Preparation Course. We also recommend for those not quite sure if stand up comedy is for them, booking our online Intro to stand-up comedy course. our online course is only $24.49 or grab one of our bestselling books " So you wanna be a stand-up Comic?-15 things to know before and during" and " How not to lose money putting on a Fringe or Comedy Festival Show"

• What is the cost of your courses? Do you offer any discounts?

  Our 5 Week courses (Taught only twice a year) start at $349.99 (book early and pay only $249.99) . Our International Performance course is $199.99 Our online Intro course is $24.49. Our Open Mic Prep course is $99.99.

• What else do you offer?

  All graduates will receive a professional Glass framed Graduation Certificate, 2 live club gigs with a live audience, A FREE Professionally Edited Graduation Performance Video ($100 value), a FREE Copy of our New International and Australian Comedy Club Open Mic Room Guides (details on Open Mic rooms in Several countries and Australia). Plus 2 free Tickets to the graduation show for friends and family!

• I heard you have a International Global Open Mic booklet which gives you sign up details on open mic rooms in several countries around the world, Plus an Australian Open Mic Club Guide as well?

  Yes, our International Global and Australian Open Mic booklets, ( which is updated every 3 - 6 months) gives details on rooms in France, Chicago, LA, Singapore, Ireland, The UK, Las Vegas and many more, plus Australian major Cities, but unfortunately, you can't purchase these books, it's only offered free of charge to our comedy school 5 Day course graduates or The Open Mic Prep course students receive a free copy of the Aus open mic gig guide booklet for free.

• Is there an age limit?

  Yes, it's 15+. if you are aged between 15-17, you will receive 1 live gig to perform in.

• My memory isn't so great, can your school help with that?

  Yes. We have several easy methods to improve your memory. Improving your memory will boost your confidence, which inturn will make you a better performer.

• My friends and family think I'm funny, does that mean I'll probably be a good stand up comic?

  NO, not really. Stand up comedy is not only about funny jokes or stories. There are several other factors that bring it all together, if you're missing any of the other performance requirements, funny jokes alone won't save u plus telling jokes to friends and family is not the same as a room full of strangers, on a stage, under a spotlight.

• I'm not sure if Stand up Comedy is for me, any suggestions?

  Of course. We have 3 suggestions. 1: Take our online Intro to Stand up Comedy Course. This covers all you'll need to know and helps to start your career in stand up comedy. each lesson includes a small quiz to test your memory in what you have just learned. The cost is only $24.99, so if you take the course and decide stand up comedy is not for you, you're only out of $24 instead of hundreds for a full course & 2: Purchase our Book " So U wanna Be a Stand up Comic?- 15 things to know before and during your journey" This also covers the ins and outs of the industry. It's only $25 with Free shipping and this could also save you big bucks if U decide comedy is not for you and 3: Take the Open Mic Comedy Prep course to prepare yourself to hit the open mic clubs and sound like a pro.

• Stand up Comedy on TV looks easy, in reality, how long does it normally take to get to the actual performance stage of a Stand up Comic on TV?

  It varies, but normally, by the time you see a comic performing regularly on TV, they've probably been at it on the average of 5-7 years. There are of course exceptions to the rule and those depend on several factors we cover in class, it is, however, possible to get to that stage in less than half that time.