Elevate your comedy writing skills in this 6-week course taught by comedy writer Carlos Greaves in Charlotte, NC.

Carlos Greaves is an Afro-Latino electrical engineer turned comedy writer. He is a contributor to The Onion, The New Yorker, and McSweeney's, and wrote for Kevin Hart and Keenan Thompson's TV special, Back That Year Up, in 2023. He also writes a weekly humor newsletter, Shades of Greaves, and his debut book, Spoilers: Essays That Might Ruin Your Favorite Hollywood Movies, was highlighted in Vulture's "Best Comedy Books of 2023."

Class will be held every Wednesday at 6:30pm for 6 weeks. 

Class is limited to 15 students in order to make sure each student gets ample instruction. 

Class Curriculum

Week 1 — What Makes Something Funny?

Topics: A brief history of comedy, scientific theories of humor, sketch structure (UCB model, heightening), types of sketches

Week 2 — Creating Memorable Characters

Topics: Tropes vs. Stereotypes, SNL characters (Stefon, Debbie Downer, Tina from Temecula) and why they work

Week 3 — Writing a Repeatable Sketch Series

Topics: Why some premises never get old

Week 4 — Production Values

Topics: Recording audio, 3-point lighting, 180 degree rule

Week 5 — Exploring the Medium

Topics: Making sketches for IG vs. TikTok vs. YouTube, pushing the boundaries of the form

Week 6 — Making Promotional Sketches

Topics: Basics of advertising, NBC Soccer Promo