EXCEPTIONAL COMEDY BY & FOR UNIQUE PEOPLE

Unique voices & Exceptional stories - Every member of the UK Armed Forces has an individual story to tell. Their military experiences are singular to the person that went through them. And they all went through things that most civilians would never experience – they get to use all of their history and experience to develop material that most would never even consider. Even the dark stuff…! They find the way to make light of horrible situations, conditions and injuries – they even find ways for people to learn about things they may have been uncomfortable to ask of a veteran and gain greater understanding. If you need totally unique material your audiences have never heard before – or are Serving or a Veteran and think you have a unique story to tell… You now know why you need Project COMEDY.

We are the first Military charity to use Stand Up Comedy for Recovery. During the Covid Lockdowns, our parent charity Project RECCE identified a need to set up a well-being project. Given RECCE is focused on enabling veterans to get into the construction industry and that was all but shut down during the lockdowns – it created a short term programme to lift people’s spirits… We didn’t realise that it was the well-being project we needed – and one that had more than legs…!

We gave people recovery, self-worth, transferable skills and a chance to be themselves to the civilian world.

Backed by the amazing team at Laughing Horse Comedy, we delivered a series of life-changing Stand Up Comedy Courses. And here we are…! Still gigging, passing on the skills we’re permitted to share and being mentored by Laughing Horse…!

People may think of veterans as “Mad, Sad and Bad” - we’re out there now being fun, sun and approachable… We take the stereotype of the average veteran, smash it to bits, educate the UK to why you need veterans in your life and (maybe, most important) make friends on the way.

Don’t want to be a comedian – Yet? Cool…! You don’t have to want to be a Stand Up Comedian to do all the stuff that Project COMEDY offers. There are so many transferable skills you can gain from just working with us.

• Lack self-confidence? - Public speaking gets so much easier if you’ve learnt to be a stand up comedian..!
• Nervous about your next job interview - if we can stand in the corner of a pub and make random people laugh – how easy would it be to sit in front of 3 people and talk about yourself?
• Need to study for qualifications more efficiently - Comedians are ‘trained’ to cut out the redundant and get to the facts/funny fast.
• Need to be more attractive to potential partners - If you work how to do that – please share it with us…!
• Need/want to break isolation and make new friends - There’s noting more magical than making people laugh. And if you step on the circuit, you’ll make the most divergent range of mates you could ever have!

We’re no longer an experiment…! We’ve gained tangible and intangible results…!

Competitions – We’ve acts that have got through to the semi-finals of the South Coast Comedian of the Year – acts that have beaten the Gong at gong shows.

Professional Acts – Members of our stable have been booked (and paid) for professional stand up comedy shows and showcases. Our members can aim for a career in comedy if they want to - not just use it as a recovery tool or hobby.

Success on the First Gig – We never let a new act from our stable perform their first gig until we know:

• They know they’ll connect with their audience.
• Their jokes will ‘land’ - Get the audience laughing and avoid the concept of ‘Cancel Culture'
• Tell a minimum of 8 jokes a minute…! - Meaning your only waiting a 7.5 seconds before your next laugh…!

Self-Sufficient Festival Performers We did a 3 night run of a 1 hour Stand Up Comedy Show at the Brighton Fringe Festival…! That's the beneficiaries! They did it...! No physical aid from the parent charity. The beneficiaries:

• Conducted self-created fund-raising.
• Booked the venue/accommodation.
• Publicised and promoted the event - Including Fringe Directories and Social Media.
• Created, printed and distributed the flyers.
• Wrote and performed original material for a civilian audience.
• Ran all the tech for each performance Including lights, microphones, amplifiers, audience reception and payment devices...
• Gained a following From pro comedians that not only participate in the podcast, but have booked our acts for paying gigs!

It might be of note that other military charities that use stand up comedy for recovery, only request their acts to perform – not the bigger skills that enable them to grow on the circuit.

We can’t train anyone to be funny… We don't need to - you know what's funny...! But we can show you how to be a comedian…! Simply by delivering peer-to-peer training of the essential skills that we know that will get you on the stage and be a success.

Get out there and perform – and there are potential routes to get you into formal Laughing Horse training.

This is Motivation+ – We’re motivated to get you started… You prove to us that you’re willing to run with it and we’ll find ways to support you!

Note: We only train current serving personnel of the UK Armed Forces - or Veterans of the same services. We will ask for evidence of your service before we start training you.

If you’ve got a half-decent internet connection, you can get involved with Project COMEDY. Our Ambassadors and Acts are based all over the country, so we connect using tools like Zoom and Discord.

We meet online every other Monday evening (as a minimum) via Zoom for what we call our Green Room. In the Green Room we offer training and support, find new material and develop new routines, we test new sets and offer constructive feedback, find gigs and review venues.

More than that, we offer each other support, understanding and encouragement. We convert military banter and language into something all audiences can massively enjoy.

We get acts to gig with each other, where practicable, so we can network and make connections for each other.

We have plans to arrange our own gigs and to create new fringe shows where we have the unique selling point of current and former UK Armed Forces Personnel creating, running and promoting their own shows.

If you’re not sure you can get on the stage and perform – that’s not an issue. Drop into a Green Room and listen to our material…! We love seeing if we can make people laugh with our new stuff. And as you watch how we do it… You might even be tempted to learn a little more.