About Flappers University

Welcome to Flappers Comedy University  |  Where Learning is a Joke!

At Flappers Comedy University we believe that comedy is truly an art-form, a combination of raw talent and technique. Talent can be lost without technique, so we first teach joke structure and the basic language of comedy. We also believe that what makes a great comedian is being personal and authentic and, perhaps, a rule-breaker, so we provide a safe and fun environment where you can be just that: authentic, inspired and successful. Whether you are already a working comedian or looking to make it your profession, or simply need help with that next presentation or just want to come and have fun, we can help you find the path to funny.

For More Information and Details About Classes – Email Classes@FlappersComedy.com

Testimonials

Our Stand Up Comedy Classes:

“Thank you so much for your helpful and informative class! I learned a lot and really enjoyed myself! Also, I’m visiting a different state, did an open mic, which the headliner for this week happened to see, and was asked to open for him both last night and tonight! I believe this came about in part, because I used some of the motivation and information I found in your class!”

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“You Got me to go on stage. You taught me confidence. I now understand how to write a joke and how long my setups should be. Because of you, I was able to win a comedy contest! Flappers changed my life. I am grateful that Flappers turned me into a comic, which has always been a dream of mine.”

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“Thank you Flappers especially Joanie for teaching me soo much and to Dave & Barb for giving me a place and opportunity to grow!!! …Still so much to learn :-))”

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“I love taking classes at Flappers! Professional, fun and good, constructive feedback.”

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“I can’t tell you how I appreciate all you did for CJ. He is getting so much positive feedback from the showcase video!”

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“Joanie Coyote is AMAZING!!!!! She guided me since the first day of class. She helped me dig deep within myself to pull out material. I laughed and I cried like a little girl and that was all on the first day of class! This class has been a great eye opener for me. I recommend this class to everybody!”

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“Joanie was so helpful. I could never have had the courage to go up on stage without her!”

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“Joanie is AMAZING! She is patient, supportive and hilarious. I saw everyone in my class improve by leaps and bounds largely because of her. The class was excellent and I’m going back for more!”

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“It was a great experience and Joanie was a fantastic instructor. Couldn’t have asked for a better one. She was fun, supportive and helpful. Thank you!”

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“Shannon impressed me with her ability to reach her students. She provided very useful information and instruction specially suited for the individual she was working with. Not only that, she took some negative personal aspects of certain students and provided them with a way to use these aspects to their benefit. I was there to learn comedy, and learned compassion as well. Shannon taught us first-hand how comedy can be therapeutic. The class discussions that she had were very helpful, both for the performer and the student audience. This allowed you to participate in joke writing for others, when you participated in the discussion of course. Really enjoyed this process and am looking forward to the next class.”

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“The class was fantastic. Shannon kept it fresh, fun, and with great energy. She is an excellent teacher. I, and I know most of the class, really felt like we learned a lot about the basics of putting together a stand up set. I have already signed up for intermediate class.”

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“I had the best time during this class! Shannon was absolutely awesome!! She was so patient and supportive of all of us and she really helped us all find our own individual funny voice. Thanks so much for such an awesome time! Loved this class!”

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“Shannon was amazing! She helped me follow my dreams and gave me the push i needed to start doing standup!”

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“Shannon was awesome! Super encouraging, great insight. I really looked forward to and enjoyed every class. I felt really prepared by the end of the 6 weeks. Looking forward to taking more classes!”

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“Shannon was fabulous and always gave us the best feedback. She was consistently positively reinforcing her students and it always felt like a safe environment to try new things. I though she was excellent at peppering our jokes and ALWAYS making them better and teaching us how to do the same. I learned SO much from Shannon. I was impressed at how Shannon would go beyond the three hours just to make sure everyone received equal time. She gave more than 100 percent of her time and energy. I really like her (can you tell?)”

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“I could not be more thankful for how much Shannon was able to teach me in such a short time! I went from not knowing a thing, to feeling confident and being truly proud of my show! Thanks!!!”

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“Shannon was great at pushing us forward – ok – sometimes it felt like slogging! – but kept up with the gentle pressure, encouraging words, lots of laughter and a crazy upbeat approach to everything we were experiencing. I’m sad it’s ended…but look forward to continuing the journey! …Again, thank you for the most fabulous 8 weeks – 6? – 12? – whatever!”

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“Shannon is a very caring person. It helps to get feedback. I would definitely take another class with her. I think she is the best instructor I’ve had so far.”

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“Hey Shannon! Just wanted to say thank you for teaching a wonderful class. I learned so much and working with the other guys in the class was very helpful, but you were so patient with us all and were such a great teacher. The show wouldn’t have gone so well if it wasn’t for your genius and experience. NO LIE. Thanks and hope to see you soon. Hope to also take the second class the next go around if possible.”

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“Shannon was great! After watching other sets in other clubs it became apparent to me how much I learned in the class and how happy I am that Shannon coached me. I’ll see you guys later this year.”

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“I wanted to say thanks for not only teaching me comedy, but also making it fun! I felt really comfortable and confident on stage, and I’m seriously considering pursuing comedy as my career choice, partly perhaps because of you.”

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“Shannon was great. Very supportive. Very funny. Enjoyed my experience. Will refer others to the program. Thank you!”

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“Thanks so much for the opportunity to participate in your class yesterday. I told you already, and I’ll tell you again (cause who doesn’t like having their ego stroked by a stranger?), I signed up for the class because I saw a show you were hosting and I was impressed by your ability to not only be funny, but engage the crowd and improvise. I have only ever seen one other comedy show and it was at Flappers as well so you very well may have hosted that one too, I don’t know though, the clubs six drink minimum left the night a bit fuzzy. You guys only left me one line to tell you what I thought of the class and I write pretty big so I wasn’t able to completely convey my thoughts. Mostly what I got out of the class was inspiration. Where I’m from it’s a lot of “Hey you’re funny. Now pick up your tool bags and get back to work”. Never any “Hey, you know you can do something with that right? Now pick up your tool bags and get back to work”. Out here being funny is a “talent” and after taking your class and listening to Joanie, Barbara, Dave, and yourself, I walked away (and kept walking for a while cause I lost my car in a parking garage) thinking “Wow, this is something people ACTUALLY do?”. That was probably the most helpful thing I got out of the class. Barbara was amazing! Her energy and enthusiasm was as contagious as her smile. Everyone was so great. I’m still coming down from the spiritual high.”

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“Shannon is a freakin’ awesome teacher. She gave great comments and feedback to every student at every class session. She was encouraging and continued to pull more from us. She gave clear homework assignments and was always available by one means or another, if we gad questions. I will definitely be taking another class or two at FU, and I hope I can have Shannon for at least the intermediate class. I have also seen Shannon perform on stage and she is a great example of practicing what she preaches.”

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“You did a terrific job yesterday, what I loved was you weren’t patronizing at all as you shared your knowledge and obviously have a love of comedians – it’s always a great collection of humanity from all different backgrounds in the comedy world. You were on your feet talking for the best part of 6 hours!! That is extraordinary. This was a really good class. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.”

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“Thanks so much for the class. Your class was magnificent. Had a great time and learned a lot. I can’t wait to attend more.”

Our Improv Classes:

“I will use some of these improv games for my students, thank you for showing me new ways to voice our voices. I sure did learned a lot within a short amount of time. Was awesome.”

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“The class was extremely fun and Christine was a great instructor with lots of energy. I had a great time meeting the other students but the class started to get smaller over time as people dropped out. So a larger class size would have been nice. Overall a great experience and I would love to do it again.”

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“Overall, quite happy with the 2 classes that I have taken. I feel quite comfortable with short form, and Christine is an incredibly patient and entertaining instructor. Her critiques are delivered in an honest yet palatable way. I look forward to her feedback because I feel confident that what she has to say is genuinely for my benefit as an improvizationalist. Definitely will take another class with her, and am growing to love the skills that I have acquired in improv.”

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“Sara IS AMAZING! She always had helpful notes after our scenes in class. I wanted a comedy coach to push me to get better and Sara did just that. I will be taking the next Improv class with Sara. Thank you!”

Our Writing Classes:

“I had never heard of Gabe Abelson until his Writing for Late Night TV class but I was impressed with his resume. I took his class and it was one of the most fun I have had. He teaches you how to write monologue jokes, how to write a late night packet, and tells you stories about his time writing for Leno, Letterman, Tom Green, etc….”

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“Gabe’s class was awesome! Lots of great advice and info. I would highly recommend the class to anyone looking to break into Late Night Writing. Thanks Gabe & Flappers!”

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“Great class! It was very educational.”

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“…Very interesting and I learned a lot about the late night TV world and writing for it. I had an idea of what to expect, but it ended up being more than I knew. I enjoyed the sort of “round table” feel of like a writers’ staff with all the students coming to class and sharing what they wrote, the feedback and tweaking.”

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“The class was very insightful and Gabe was a great instructor. He even extended us his personal contact information to continue helping us.”

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“Gabe’s class was very informative. I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn how to write for Late Night. Class act! Thanks to Gabe and Flappers.”

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“Gabe was awesome. Very enriching experience. It’s good to be in a class where you’re actually doing the work and getting the fundamentals. Rather than discussing them. I think Gabe’s approach was appropriate with something like comedy/comedy writing which really is something that cannot be “taught.” I would highly recommend this class to anyone considering writing for late night.”

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“Gabe was an excellent teacher, helped foster a very nurturing, creative environment and provided great, constructive feedback. He was also very generous with his time outside of class. Overall great class, would definitely recommend to others!”

Our Kids & Teens Classes:

“Ryan was a HIT! It’s offical, he is now famous at Chaminade Middle School! LOL! We sent an email to my cousin Al after we left Flappers and he wrote back with some great advice for Ryan while he’s on stage. Just like you, he said it was all about having fun and talk to the crowd as if they were a group of his friends. Thank you again for your help- he loved every minute of it!”

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“The kids were full of confidence and joy on showcase day. The open mike was fun and ground breaking for both and especially for Adora, she finally chose to push through to the end. The kids have learned a lot from you. They were playing improv games with family last week, It was fun to see their confidence in that area.”

Our One-Day Workshops:

“Thank you so much for the Intro to Comedy Intensive! What an inspiring day! I will be back for more as soon as I can figure out some financial strategies that would work for me. Really great class. Most helpful exercises, for me, were the “mapping” and the (terrifying) critique of our brave student. Seeing how people perceive us without knowing us was amazing. The BEST part was having so many teachers so we got all of your various perspectives of everything.”

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“Thank You for holding such a wonderful and insightful workshop. The information you gave was extremely valuable and much appreciated. It is not too often that people are willing to share such vital information without charging through the nose. I appreciate your economic compassion, especially in these tough times. Thank You again and I look forward to working with you in the future.”

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“I was excited about the class and the next one. I already invited other comics, my agent, and some friends in marketing. Thanks for all the info about the college market.”

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“My head is still spinning from the college market workshop. It was chock full of info but you were very clear on the steps that need to be taken, as well as lots of useful insider tips.”

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I can not even begin to tell you how much your session yesterday opened my mind about where and how I am going in my performing career. …You made me realize that for way to long I have been settling for a lot less than my abilities can generate. I have been so focused on the show part of show business that I have almost totally ignored the business and marketing aspects of show “business”. I have spent countless hours in improv classes learning both the Groundlings and Second City comedy techniques, been in acting and scene study classes, magicians seminars learning new tricks, even won a few comedy and magic awards in various contests. When you mentioned how the college audiences really like to be a part of, and get involved with the performers show, that one comment removed any reservations I would have had about being successful with the college crowd. Audience participation has always been the strongest part of my act and is the most fun for me and my audience. I really want to get into the college shows circuit. Thanks again.”

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“The class was very insightful and I do believe it will help me further my career in comedy. …I will definitely suggest the class to other comedians and I am very excited to begin the process of breaking into the College Market. Thank you for offering this class. There are not many avenues to take when trying to learn the business side of comedy, so thank you very much.”

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“It was good to hear your take on the whole College market. What I think I (and most of the other attendees) appreciated the most was your honest opinion of the process, the politics, and the rules to the game. I even think you could open up this insight much more – I am always just wanting to hear what somebody truly feels from their experience. You have dealt with NACA for so long, that I would put weight to your assessment. Even though perceptions and experiences can vary, any smart person in the room would certainly find some value in an honest, unapologetic take. The best take-away you can impart on anybody attending is a perspective for honest self-assessment of their career, content, and materials. Sometimes I struggle to determine if my promo or approach is up to snuff – but somebody like you could train the eye and brain to do it well.”

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“I just wanted to say that I had a blast in the V/O class!! Mona and Ashley were incredible!! Not only did they show us techniques that can be applied in their profession but showed us how these techniques can be applied to those of us who already do stand up. Terrific class and the only complaint that I have is that the 3 hours went by way too quickly. Thanks for the opportunity!!”

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“You’re a lifesaver… the promote yourself conference was very helpful…I knew I was missing stuff…just didn’t know what….now I do. :)”

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“Thank you for putting on a great seminar last night. It was time very well spent. We’re lucky that you’re willing to share all of your insight into the business.”

“I just wanted to say I enjoyed the seminar last night. It was a last minute thing for me to show up and I’m glad I did. Very informative.”