Stand-Up: Finding Your Voice

Class limited to 12 students.

Have you always wanted to perform stand-up but don't know where to begin? In this class, we will breakdown how to get started writing a stand-up routine and find your voice as a comedian. Our methods will include how to mine personal stories for material, how to write one-liners and premises, and how to use improvisation to generate ideas instead of staring down a blank page. Classes will also give students the lay-of-the-land on the NY comedy scene - from welcoming weekly open mics to the best shows to see pros in action. Every class will include stage time to try out original material in front of classmates.

7-Week Class: Wednesday, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM, September 2nd - October 14th, 2026

• Note: Class may end between 9:30 PM - 10:00 PM depending on the number of enrollments.

You will receive a welcome email with your room assignment. Our classes meet at BCC Pig Pen or BCC DogHouse in East Williamsburg.

• Class Show: 8:30p. Thursday, October 15th. Eris MainStage (167 Graham Ave).

Teacher: Sara Hennessey

Bio:

Sara Hennessey is an acclaimed Toronto comedian who now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Sara has performed at Just For Laughs Montreal multiple times, and has 3 comedy albums available: Huge Bitch, They Know Too Much & Trouble in Saradise. Sara writes and performs for television when possible, and has a whirling affinity for live comedy & making indie projects with her incredibly talented friends.

Testimonials:

Truthfully I have been doing comedy but never took a stand up class. Sara helped me hone in on my "character" and speak more strongly in her voice. Also she's just so patient and excited with everyone which is very encouraging to witness and contagious.

Sara couldn't have done a better job teaching this class! She struck a perfect balance between holding our hand in the early stages of the process while knowing when to push us and how much. She was kind and approached comedy without being pretentious or gatekeep-y.

She was an open book and I appreciate her being candid to all sorts of questions I had—what do you do when you get nervous, how to deal with hecklers, etc.

If this class is sold out, sign-up for the wait list here.

Stand-Up: Finding Your Voice

Class limited to 12 students.

Have you always wanted to perform stand-up but don't know where to begin? In this class, we will breakdown how to get started writing a stand-up routine and find your voice as a comedian. Our methods will include how to mine personal stories for material, how to write one-liners and premises, and how to use improvisation to generate ideas instead of staring down a blank page. Classes will also give students the lay-of-the-land on the NY comedy scene - from welcoming weekly open mics to the best shows to see pros in action. Every class will include stage time to try out original material in front of classmates.

7-Week Class: Tuesdays, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM, September 1st - October 13th, 2026

• Note: Class may end between 9:30 PM - 10:00 PM depending on the number of enrollments.

You will receive a welcome email with your room assignment. Our classes meet at BCC Pig Pen or BCC DogHouse in East Williamsburg.

Class Show: 7:00pm. Sunday, October 18th. Eris MainStage (167 Graham Ave).

Teacher: Sara Hennessey

Bio:

Sara Hennessey is an acclaimed Toronto comedian who now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Sara has performed at Just For Laughs Montreal multiple times, and has 3 comedy albums available: Huge Bitch, They Know Too Much & Trouble in Saradise. Sara writes and performs for television when possible, and has a whirling affinity for live comedy & making indie projects with her incredibly talented friends.

Testimonials:

Truthfully I have been doing comedy but never took a stand up class. Sara helped me hone in on my "character" and speak more strongly in her voice. Also she's just so patient and excited with everyone which is very encouraging to witness and contagious.

Sara couldn't have done a better job teaching this class! She struck a perfect balance between holding our hand in the early stages of the process while knowing when to push us and how much. She was kind and approached comedy without being pretentious or gatekeep-y.

She was an open book and I appreciate her being candid to all sorts of questions I had—what do you do when you get nervous, how to deal with hecklers, etc.

If this class is sold out, sign-up for the wait list here.

Solidifying Your Set

This class is limited to 12 students.

Building on Level 1 "Finding Your Voice", Stand-up: Level 2 is all about solidifying your choices to develop your voice and find your niche. By focusing on each individual’s strengths, this course will focus on how to craft a clean set, host and put together a show, and develop tricks to solidify your own voice.

We will workshop material as a group and I’ll give personalized feedback every week. If you want to take your sets to a deeper level and have a better understanding of what makes you funny, take this class. Class will culminate in a performance of each student’s 10-minute sets, leading you to the beginnings of your very own stand alone show.

Prerequisite: Completion of BCC Level 1 Stand-Up OR students who have taken at least one full-length stand-up course at a major comedy theater (UCB, PIT, Magnet, Squirrel, Second City, iO, Annoyance, etc.) or have similar prior training or performance experience can begin at this level. Please write your prior experience in the form when registering.

7-Week Class: Saturday, 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM, August 29th - October 17th, 2026

• Note: Class may end between 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM depending on the number of enrollments.

• This class skips Saturday, September 5th for Labor Day Weekend.

You will receive a welcome email with your room assignment. Our classes meet at BCC Pig Pen or BCC DogHouse in East Williamsburg.

• Class Show: 7:00pm. Saturday, October 17th. Eris MainStage (167 Graham Ave).

• Class Show: 8:30pm. Saturday, October 17th. Eris MainStage (167 Graham Ave).

Teacher: Shalewa Sharpe

Testimonials:

Shalewa taught there is more than one way to be funny. And rather than manufacture formulaic comedy clones, Shalewa nurtured our unique styles.

All my comic friends told me not to waste my time and money with a comedy class. But when I told them WHO was teaching it and they said, "Oh--Great! She's ACTUALLY funny."

She's fantastically supportive and communicated her knowledge and experience superbly. Shalewa is the best, and you can quote me on that!

So many things! Shalewa is naturally very funny! She's a very chill and accessible person as an introduction to comedy. She levels with us, provides great advice, makes strong connections. She meets us where we're at and she allows all comics to develop their own voice. She provides great instruction and guides us towards exercises that are actually helpful. I can't say enough good things! It was an awesome class!

If this class is sold out, sign-up for the wait list here.