Comedy: Writing and Performance

Course Code: HCCC 100

At this introductory level, students start the lengthy and involved process of finding their own comedic voice. This challenge requires that the students participate in many classroom activities and coaching sessions that cause them to engage in significant levels of self-reflection. Students develop the necessary skills to transform the self-knowledge gained in all levels of these courses into the material for stand-up comedy routines. Working with their instructors and colleagues, students develop the skills needed to create polished material and rehearse their routines in class and eventually deliver them in public forums. The work of professional stand-up comedians is critically examined and reviewed to gain knowledge about the variety of comedic styles and industry trends.

Course Code: HCCC 101

HCCC 101 Improvisation 1 focuses on the fundamentals of improvisation. Students learn to develop their own improvisational voices through a series of exercises and workshops, which focus on the self, space, and environment. These are the basis for improvisation.

Course Code: HCCC 102

In Sketch 1 students study the elements of sketch comedy by reading, analyzing and performing published television and stage material. They will begin the process of developing their own sketches by utilizing improvisational techniques and begin to write with support, rehearse, and perform small group scenes.

Course Code: HCCC 103

Students will learn about the history and many types of physical comedy. As they continue to study various techniques and approaches, students will develop their physical acting abilities. These studies will provide the students with a greater understanding of how to communicate with their bodies.

Course Code: HCCC 104

Acting and Voice 1 introduces an array of basic acting techniques to the students. Exercises based on plays by established comedy writers are used to enable the students to apply these techniques to comedic material. This course has been calibrated for the non-actor who needs to apply the skills and techniques of the actor to a full range of comedic forms on stage, but primarily for stand-up routines and sketches, while laying the foundations for their ability to grow into situation comedy and film.

Efforts are initiated to train the student's vocal range through breathing techniques and extracurricular exercises.

Course Code: HCCC 105

Students will get an overview of the history of comedy from the time of the ancient Greeks to the present day. They will gain an understanding of the context of modern comedy (including their own), and of the universal elements in comedy. Special emphasis will be given to Canadian comedy in the second semester. Both courses will be eight classes in length.

Subjects covered will include some or all of the following: Greek comedy, Commedia Dell'Arte, Shakespearean comedy, restoration comedy, burlesque, vaudeville, music hall, silent film comedy, Picaresque narrative, stand-up, the satiric mask, farce, film and TV comedy, etc.

Course Code: WRIT 107

In the College Writing Skills - Comedy course, students lay down a bedrock of grammar, essay, and basic business communications skills. These skills can subsequently be built upon for academic and professional writing and WRIT 207, as well as other related courses. The course ensures that students are literate and knowledgeable about written communications.

Course Code: GNED 101

The humanities course focuses on fundamental questions individuals ask of themselves as they proceed through life. Why are we the way we are? Do we have free will or are we prisoners of our past experience or our biological inheritance? What motivates societies to change? Why do societal changes so often divide people into opposing camps? Why do so many people find contemporary life at home, at work, and in the community unfulfilling? What constitutes good government? How should injustice be fought? Can nations successfully deal with global problems? What is science and how does it differ from other kinds of inquiry? Can scientists provide solutions to the problems we face? What is art and does it offer answers of its own? What is its relationship to beauty, to knowledge, and to ethics? Is objectivity about art (or anything) possible? These questions are organized into units that begin with issues concerning the nature of the individual and then extend outward to various social, cultural and physical contexts.

The issues explored in this course are too complex to have any one right answer. Rather, individuals must search for answers that make sense of their experiences via various theoretical perspectives. The humanities course supports this endeavour through study of different thinkers presented in the readings and exploration of different points of view explored in class discussions.

Course Code: HCCC 150

Refer to course description for HCCC 103 Physical Comedy 1.

Course Code: HCCC 151

Refer to the course description for HCCC 100 Stand-Up Comedy 1.

Course Code: HCCC 152

Students learn to develop their own improvisational voices through a series of exercises and workshops, which focus on the self, space, and environment. These are the basis for improvisation.

Course Code: HCCC 153

Students study the elements of sketch comedy by reading, analyzing and performing published television and stage material. They will begin the process of developing their own sketches by utilizing improvisational techniques and begin to write with support, rehearse, and perform small group scenes.

Course Code: HCCC 154

Refer to course description for HCCC 104 Acting and Voice 1.

Course Code: WRIT 207

Professional Writing Skills for Comedy students builds on the fundamentals of communications laid down in WRIT 107. Students will investigate the literature of humour and satire and determine their literary strategies through reading and analyzing various theories of humour and discussing their application in stories and poems. As part of their assigned readings, students will be expected to write several in-class essays. They will also be asked to write an out-of-class essay-based on stories read outside of class or/and a short story that effectively employs literary humour while maintaining competent grammar and style.

Course Code: GNED

The following courses represent the GNED General Education electives that you can choose from as part of your program's curriculum.

Introduction to Liberal Arts and Sciences
GNED 101 An Introduction to Arts and Sciences

Anthropology
ANTH 202 Physical Anthropology
ANTH 205 Cultural Anthropology

Arts
ARTS 138 Understanding Movies: An Introduction to Film Studies
ARTS 229 Musical Pioneers
ARTS 241 Exploring Music and Film
ARTS 246 Art and Artists - Money, Madness and Masterpieces

Cultural Studies
CULT 211 Conspiracy Theories and Critical Thinking
CULT 214 AlterNative Pathways: Aboriginal People in Canada
CULT 217 Encounter with Latin America
CULT 228 Pop Culture: Shaping How We Live
CULT 236 China: The Next Superpower
CULT 239 Digital Culture
CULT 242 Culture, Technology and Identity
CULT 243 Crossing Borders: Migration and Culture
CULT 244 Gender, Race and Ethnicity
CULT 245 The Body: Beauty, Sex and Consumerism
CULT 248 Women and Popular Culture

Economics
ECON 110 Real Life Economics
ECON 204 People, Money and Markets
ECON 206 The History of Money

English
ENGE 110 Literature: An Introduction
ENGL 239 Dark Days Ahead
ENGL 242 Pulp Fiction
ENGL 246 Contemporary Fiction
ENGL 247 Life Stories
ENGL 248 Voices from the Underground

Geography
GEOG 210 The Nature of Ontario
GEOG 212 Political Geography

History
HIST 110 Canada: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
HIST 203 Monsters of the 20th Century
HIST 217 History of War
HIST 218 The Making of the Modern World
HIST 222 The Age of Europe: From the Enlightenment to 1989

Humanities
HUMA 137 Art Matters: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Art
HUMA 226 The Arts and the 21st Century Imagination: Longing for Paradise
HUMA 235 World Religions
HUMA 241 Risky Business: Living in a Dangerous World
HUMA 242 Vampires: In Film and Literature
HUMA 244 Ordinary Heroes: Extraordinary Lives!
HUMA 250 God, Science and Religion

Languages
SPAN 110 Introductory Spanish 1

Philosophy
PHIL 100 Ideas: An Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 110 The Love of Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 217 Ethical Issues
PHIL 225 Philosophy of Love and Sex
PHIL 227 Business Ethics
PHIL 228 Success: Philosophical Perspectives
PHIL 229 Violence, Order and Justice: An Introduction to Political Philosophy
PHIL 230 Environmental Ethics

Political Science
POLS 110 Introduction to Politics
POLS 204 Morality, Democracy and Politics
POLS 219 Globalization
POLS 223 War and Terrorism
POLS 224 Justice, Equality and Rights
POLS 225 Environmental Policy and Economics

Psychology
PSYC 110 Psychology - An Introduction
PSYC 205 Applied Psychology and Leadership
PSYC 207 Psychology of Sport
PSYC 210 Psychology - Developmental
PSYC 220 Psychology - Social
PSYC 230 Psychology - Abnormal

Science
SCIE 110 The Science of Everything
SCIE 208 Water: A Life or Death Issue
SCIE 213 Astronomy: The Evolving Universe
SCIE 216 Origins of Life
SCIE 219 Dangerous Earth
SCIE 221 The Environment
SCIE 223 Astrobiology: Life in the Universe
SCIE 224 Discovering Dinosaurs

Sociology
SOCE 100 Canadian Society and Culture
SOCI 110 Sociology: Introduction
SOCI 205 Social Entrepreneurship: Profit, People and the Planet
SOCI 219 Sport and Society
SOCI 232 Gender, Power and Society
SOCI 233 Sociology of Cultural Difference
SOCI 234 Society and Conflict
SOCI 236 Issues in Crime
SOCI 237 Sociology of Fashion
SOCI 238 Sociology of Food
SOCI 239 Citizenship, Immigration, and Democracy
SOCI 240 Sociology of the Family
SOCI 246 Sociology of Emotions
SOCI 247 Leadership
SOCI 249 Imagining the City
SOCI 257 Canada Today
SOCI 277 Sexual Diversity: Contemporary Social Issues

Course Code: HCCC 200

In Physical Comedy 3 students learn about the history and techniques of several types of physical comedy. As they study various techniques and approaches, students develop their physical acting abilities. These studies provide the students with a greater understanding of how to communicate with their bodies.

Course Code: HCCC 201

These courses deal with the writing of TV and film comedy. Students will work primarily on the development of sitcom scripts and of the feature film format. Attention will also be given to the business side of scriptwriting: pitching ideas, acquiring an agent, etc.
The student will learn scriptwriting in hands-on sessions using specific exercises to isolate the basic elements of the screenwriter's craft. The students will create their own characters, place them in locations, and allow them to speak in their own voices as they move through their own stories. The students will also learn the unique responsibility of telling their stories in visual terms intended specifically for the screen.

Course Code: HCCC 202

Acting and Voice 3 pursues the full array of basic acting technique. Exercises based on plays by established comedy writers are used to enable the students to apply these techniques to comedic material. No longer considered non-actors, the students pursue a full range of comedic forms in strengthening their live comedy performances while laying the foundations for their ability to grow into situation comedy and film.
Efforts increase toward assuring the students obtain full control of their vocal abilities; classic projection, pace and control. As well, the art of voice-over is examined in light of its commercial applications.

Course Code: HCCC 203

In Sketch and Writing 1 students continue to apply improvisational techniques to discover and create ideas for sketches. These improvisational techniques are combined with expanded writing techniques to produce sketch comedy material. Students begin to focus specifically on television sketch writing and performing.

Course Code: HCCC 204

At this level, students look at the more ethereal elements that make for a unique branding of their own stand-up comedy. The process of finding their own comedic voice takes a more inward path as they learn the art of Le Jeu in order to further their abilities on stage. This challenge requires that the students participate in many classroom activities and coaching sessions that cause them to engage in significant levels of self-reflection. Students develop the necessary skills to transform the self-knowledge gained in all levels of these courses into the material for stand-up comedy routines. Techniques of Comedia Dell'arte, clowning principles, mask work and mime combine to expand the student's knowledge of his or her capabilities outside of the traditional stand-up comedy realm. Traditional, polished stand-up routines are the goal and are performed in class and delivered in public forums.

The principle thrust of the course is creating commercial stand-up comedy while exploring numerous traditional, inter-related skills that contribute to that goal.

Course Code: HCCC 205

This course introduces students to the production of comedy television using a practical, hands-on approach. Course work familiarizes students with the real world of the broadcast industry, laying the foundation for comedy lab success. In the comedy labs, small groups of students, with advice and technical assistance from noted industry professionals, collaborate in a team-oriented environment to write, act, produce, direct and edit a six-minute mini-DV format comedy short.

Course Code: HCCC 206

HCCC 206 Improvisation 3 first reviews the fundamentals of improvisation. Students learn to develop their own improvisational voices through a series of exercises, which focus on character, environment, and give and take. These are the basis for improvisation. Then, as time permits, long-form improv, games, and other specialized improvisational forms will be examined. The exploration process also involves creating premises for comedic sketch through improvisation, as well as the creation of characters. The course develops high degrees of focus and concentration such that students increase their ability to be spontaneous in both creation and performance while developing a narrative.

Course Code: HCCC 250

Refer to the course description for HCCC 201 Comedy Scriptwriting 1.

Course Code: HCCC 251

Refer to course description for HCCC 202 Acting and Voice 3.

Course Code: HCCC 252

Refer to course description for HCCC 204 Stand-Up Comedy 3 and Le Jeu 1.

Course Code: HCCC 253

Refer to course description for HCCC 203 Sketch and Writing 1.

Course Code:

Course Code: HCCC 255

Refer to course description for HCCC 206 Improvisation 3.