Comedy: Writing and Performance
Program Details
Humber’s Comedy: Writing and Performance diploma program helps you develop your craft while gaining an understanding of the commercial side of the industry. Our faculty is comprised of seasoned, award-winning professionals who are active in the comedy industry. You’ll learn stand-up, improvisation, scriptwriting, sketch comedy and all other aspects of the craft. In addition, the program’s strong alumni network supports you through reunion shows, business opportunities and continued coaching. The program features many mainstage class shows, weekly Humber student shows at Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club and Comedy Bar, and an organized showcase at Second City Toronto for scouts, directors and agents with students included on the basis of merit. Upon graduation, you will have the tools you need to embark on an exciting career in one of North America’s fastest growing industries: comedy.
Current students, please make sure to review your MyHumber Academic Progress report to confirm which courses you should register into for your Winter semester. Courses with in-person requirements will likely also have online components. Humber may need to change plans for in-person learning, subject to government and public health directives and/or additional health and safety considerations.
Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:
Produce a variety of comedic materials including sketches, screenplays, sitcoms and variety shows.
Prepare and perform stand-up comedy routines.
Discover their comedic voices and create materials that stem from these voices.
Study both dramatic and comedic performance techniques, and apply those techniques to their own work.
Prepare written humorous materials for magazines and newspapers as well as for radio broadcasts.
Practice individual and ensemble comedic performances both in the classroom and in comedy centres.
Apply the technical requirements of all genres of comedic writing.
Respond to improvisation demands and create characters quickly on stage.
Evaluate the business of comedy and develop career strategies and contacts.
Learn from well-known North American comedic writers and performers and network with those individuals.
Develop team-building and communication skills and engage in exercises that encourage self-understanding, peer respect and professional behaviours.
The Humber Advantage
Kids In the Hall's Kevin McDonald spent a week with our 2nd-year Comedy Students, helping them perfect their sketches and writing for the Monday Night Comedy Bar Show.
We are proud to partner with two of Toronto's premier comedy venues, Yuk Yuk's and Comedy Bar.
Students also get access to top level comedians from across Canada and the US in our PrimeTime speaker series, featuring guests such as Bruce McCulloch and Kevin McDonald of Kids in the Hall, Maria Bamford and Tom Green.
Expert Faculty
Comedy: Writing and Performance professors are well-respected writers, actors, standups, and producers. Program co-ordinator Andrew Clark is an award-winning journalist, screenwriter and author known for his regular Globe & Mail column “Road Sage.” Fellow full-time professors Robin Duke and Larry Horowitz are, respectively, Saturday Night Live and Yuk Yuk’s veterans. Part-time professors include Christel Bartelse, Shawn Campbell, Anne Fenn, Deb Filler, Melody A. Johnson, Bruce McCulloch, Bruce Pirrie, and Mike Sacks.
Melody A. Johnson
Christel Bartelse
Robin Duke
Larry Horowitz
Hopefully, this will be the least funny thing you read while studying at the Humber College Comedy Program. Why? Because we’re about helping funny people become funnier. And that’s a lot of fun.
Our students come from across the country and around the globe. For two years they are immersed in every aspect of the comedy business: stand up, improv, sketch comedy, script writing, acting, physical comedy, videos, you name it. Humber grads are working at every level of the comedy business as stand-up comics, writers on television shows, actors, and newspaper columnists. Our alumni include Debra Di Giovanni, Nikki Payne, Nathan Fielder, Jason Rouse, Jeff McEnery, Ryan Belleville, just to name a few. Our faculty are all working comedians and writers, among them SCTV, Second City, Yuk Yuk’s and SNL alumni.
It is an intense, demanding program that pushes students to their creative limits. Our students are serious about being funny. Laughing matters. For most, it is a life-changing experience. Once the comedy bug bites you you’re never the same.
Did I mention it was a lot of fun?
Andrew Clark
Director
Comedy Writing & Performance
Your Career
Humour is serious business to growing numbers of researchers worldwide who are discovering that laughter is good for you. Comedy is an art and a business, one at which many Canadians excel. You’ll join their illustrious ranks with opportunities to work in stand-up comedy, sitcom/film performance, production, broadcasting, advertising and voiceovers, sketch comedy, and writing. Humber comedy graduates have found work on stage at Yuk Yuk’s, Second City and Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival; on major television networks such as Comedy Central, CBC and CTV; and in many major television commercials. Other grads have branched into advertising, public relations and related fields.
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Program Availability
Comedy: Writing and Performance Program
Watch the video to see how the Humber’s Comedy: Writing and Performance diploma program helps you hone your craft while gaining an understanding of the commercial side of the industry.
Music & Performing Arts Success Stories
A Q&A with Kait Rak
Wed, January 27, 2021
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Young Lion Reflects on the Ad Industry and Humber Experience
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No news at this time.
Every attempt is made to ensure that information contained on this website is current and accurate. Humber reserves the right to correct any error or omission, modify or cancel any course, program, fee, timetable or campus location at any time without prior notice or liability to users or any other Person.
On October 21, 2019, the Provincial Government of Ontario announced the renaming of the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) to the Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU). Both names may appear on this website.
Post-Admission Requirements
Once you have been accepted, and have confirmed your offer, you may need to complete a further set of requirements related to your program (Post-Admission Requirements).
Fees
The 2020-2021 fee for two semesters was:
- domestic: $5,997.70
- international: $15,874.00
Fees are subject to change.
Scholarships
Humber Scholarships
Find out more about scholarships and bursaries that you may be eligible for, visit Student Scholarships.
Humber Bursaries
Bursaries are available for Certificate, Diploma and Degree programs primarily based on financial need, visit Humber Bursaries.
External Awards, Bursaries & Scholarships
Find out more information about external scholarships and bursaries, visit External Awards.
Indigenous Student Awards, Bursaries & Scholarships
Humber offers a variety of bursaries and scholarships for Indigenous students, visit Indigenous Student Awards.
Pathways
Pathways are academic routes that students can take to move from one credential to another.
PATHWAYS OUT TO ANOTHER PROGRAM:
TO A PARTNER INSTITUTION
BA Comedy Writing and Performance Level 6
Humber and the University of Salford in Manchester, UK have entered into an agreement to facilitate transfer from Humber's Comedy: Writing and Performance Diploma to Salford's BA in Comedy Writing and Performance for considered entry to the third and final year of study upon satisfying the requisite entry criteria.
Application for admission:
- applicants may apply by January 15 through: https://beta.salford.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/comedy-writing-and-performance
- skype interview
- sample comedy performance (a recording of a public stand up performance is acceptable)
- if the student wishes to be considered as a comedy writer, then a sample of recent and assessed comedy writing, such as a group of 3-6 sketches or sitcom pilot of minimum 12 minutes or 12 pages is acceptable
- evidence of critical engagement with contextual studies around comedy writing and performance - typically this would take the form of a standard academic essay, certified by Humber as being the work of the student
- GPA of 60% and above in the second year of the Humber diploma. (A GPA of 55%-59% may be considered on a case by case basis.)
Each student wishing to register at Salford shall arrange for their own visa to enter the UK.
Admission to the academic programs listed is at the sole discretion of the partner postsecondary institution. Please contact the institution for detailed admission requirements.
For more information, contact:
DR. RICHARD TALBOT
Senior Lecturer in Performance, School of Arts & Media
Floor 6, New Adelphi Building, University of Salford, Manchester M5 4BR
T: +44(0) 0161 295 6367, m +44(0) 7899 872 215 r.talbot@salford.ac.uk
Bachelor of Applied Management
Graduates of any two-year diploma program at Humber Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, who have attained a cumulative grade point average of 70% or greater will be eligible to enter year three of the four-year Bachelor of Applied Management (BAM) at the University of New Brunswick, Saint John.
Depending on the diploma program, students may be exempted from study in certain courses and therefore, requested to take alternate courses offered by the Faculty of Business.
Please note: Admission to the academic programs listed is at the sole discretion of the partner post-secondary institution. Please contact the institution for detailed admission requirements.
For more information please contact: admissions@unb.ca.
How to Apply
Applications to Humber are made through ontariocolleges.ca. Be sure to submit your application by the equal consideration deadline of February 1. You may apply after February 1, however, post-February 1 applications will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis depending on the availability of the space in the program. To check program availability refer to the Campus/Availability listing on Humber's program pages or ontariocolleges.ca.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
If you’re an international student, you can apply directly to Humber via our International Centre.
