For those who want to check an item off their bucket list, escape their comfort zone or improve their speaking skills, the Center for the Performing Arts is offering another round of its Intro to Stand-Up Comedy Class.
In four weekly sessions May 3-24, participants learn the history and evolution of stand-up comedy along with the basics of joke writing and performance. Under the guidance of the instructor, each student writes and rehearses their own five-minute routine to perform for friends and family at the graduation show May 29 in the Center’s Studio Theater.
Simmons
Instructor Dwight Simmons is a nationally known comic who has been featured on Kevin Hart’s LOL Radio on Sirius XM and on the syndicated The Bob & Tom Show, for which he is also a writer. He is a co-director of the annual Limestone Comedy Festival in Bloomington and the creator and host of the web series BrewTube Comedy. In 2018, Simmons’ self-produced album Sip and Pass reached No. 1 on the iTunes comedy charts, making it his second release to do so. That same year, he was the Indiana selection for Thrillist’s “Best Undiscovered Comedian from Every State.”
The class is recommended for ages 17 and up and limited to 15 participants. The cost is $90. The three-hour weekly sessions will begin at the Palladium, 1 Carter Green, with physical distancing and other public health protocols in place. Registration and more information are available at (317) 843-3800 or TheCenterPresents.org/IntroToComedy2021.
About the Center for the Performing Arts
The mission of the nonprofit Center for the Performing Arts is to engage and inspire the Central Indiana community through enriching arts experiences. Its campus includes the Palladium, a 1,600-seat concert hall; the Tarkington, a 500-seat proscenium theater; and the black-box Studio Theater. The Center presents and hosts hundreds of events each year, including the Center Presents performance series, featuring the best in classical, jazz, pop, rock, country, comedy and other genres. Educational and experiential programming includes children’s concerts and camps, book clubs, lectures, and classes in music and dance. The Center is home to the affiliated Great American Songbook Foundation and provides space and support services for six resident arts companies. More information is available at TheCenterPresents.org.