Wait List: "Five Minutes to Funny" is extremely popular and fills up quickly. If you'd like to be placed on the wait list for that class, complete the Google form at this link.. The wait list is done via e-mail sent from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and once a class is announced via e-mail, the first people to pay in full get into the course. Payment must be made online, with a credit card. If you miss out on registering and want to stay on the wait list, you must complete the form again. You are not automatically enrolled into the wait list for the next class announcement.
About the Class
Price: $450
When: Sundays, January 5 - January 26, 12:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. (in-person weeks one, two and four; online individual coaching week three)
Graduation Show: February 5, 7 p.m. at the DC Improv
Prerequisite: None
Please Note: Students must have access to a device with a webcam and microphone to participate in individual coaching sessions. The instructor commutes from Philadelphia to teach in person courses, on occasion start time of the class may be delayed slightly due to Amtrak changes. All classes are 18 and over. Once payment is made, there are no refunds, exchanges or cancellations.
Spotlight: Through hands-on training with instructor Chris Coccia, you'll learn how to prepare, polish and perform a five-minute stand-up comedy set. A tight, funny, five-minute set can carry you through a comedy career from start to stardom. It can be your open stage set, it can be your audition set and it can be your spot on any number of late-night shows. Lots of people have dreamed about giving stand-up comedy a try. This class gives you the structured environment that will finally get you on stage. Please note: The coaching sessions in week three will be conducted online via video conferencing. Participants must have a reliable Internet connection and a computer or device with a webcam and microphone.
About the Instructor
Chris Coccia (official website) started teaching stand-up at the DC Improv in 2006, but he was a regular on the DC Improv stage way before that. Friendly, funny and accessible, he has a real gift for connecting with audiences of all types. His act is a perfect combination of hilarious material and the ability to present it "in the moment." Flowing seamlessly between material and improvised interaction with the crowd, Chris is able to open the audience up as he pulls them into a shared recognition of our own human-ness.
Chris keeps a full schedule working everything from the country’s top comedy clubs to corporate events to colleges. In addition, he won the 2008 Purina Pet Comedy Challenge, a national event with a $10,000.00 prize. He was also invited to be part of the Great American Comedy Festival in Johnny Carson's Nebraska hometown, put together by the talent coordinator of "The Late Show with David Letterman," Eddie Brill. He has appeared on Comedy Central, The Game Show Network, and XM Radio. Chris is also a frequent and favorite guest on several Philadelphia based radio shows.