Cleveland Mike - Class Clown logo

Teaching Stand-Up Comedy 

for kids ages 11-17 

Are you a "class clown"? Or are you just a smart, funny kid? Well here’s your chance to learn stand-up comedy from real professional comedians, hone your funny attitude into a real stand-up comedy act, and perform for your friends, family, and fans of comedy.

Register Now for this Year's Workshop by October 6th
The 2022 Workshop is is free for students

  • Four (4) two-hour (2hr) classes with professional instructors held for four straight Saturdays 12pm - 2pm:

    • October 8th​

    • October 15th

    • October 22nd

    • October 29th

  • All classes will at the Cleveland Public Library - Main building, Downtown, in Teen Studio 470

  • Classes are held leading up to the 15th annual Cleveland Comedy Festival November 2nd - 5th

  • Space is limited to 12 students for this workshop.

    • Parents are welcome to sit-in.​

  • Graduation Show, performed by the students, takes place on Sunday November 6th.

    • Location: TBD

Read More About the Facilitators

Your lead facilitators will be Cait Hogan, Rodney Bengston, and Rob Coleman — all veteran stand-up comedians and work with the Cleveland Comedy Festival.  Ms. Hogan, Mr. Bengston, and Mr. Coleman have over 35 years of combined experience performing stand-up comedy in comedy clubs, theaters and venues all over the world.  They taught the first Class Clown class in 2012 which graduated with honors.

What Students will Learn

  • Joke creation and refinement

  • Public speaking skills and timing

  • Stage presence and confidence

  • Basic comedic persona development

  • Improvement of memorization skills

2015 Class Clown ad

"(My son's) experience in the Class Clown class is the one he most often points to as being his most enriching, most fulfilling and, usually, most fun.

David, Bay Village   parent of Class Clown student

Programming Support has been made possible by a generous Anonymous donor as well as these facilitating and grant awarding organizations below:

Programming for The Class Clown Workshop is made possible in part by the Cleveland Public Library, circulator of one of the largest and most extensive collections in the country.  We thank them for their partnership in hosting our workshop.

CPL Primary Logo

The Class Clown Workshop has been made possible in part by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically.

Ohio Arts Council

The Class Clown Workshop has previously been made possible in part by Neighbor Up, supported by Neighborhood Connections, a nationally recognized community-building program established in 2003 as a program of Suite 1300 Services, Inc., a 501 (c)3 nonprofit funded primarily by the Cleveland Foundation and other partners. Its mission is to fuel the power of neighbors to create, together, an extraordinary world right where they live.

Neighbor Up

The Class Clown Workshop has also been previously made possible in part by Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, whose mission is to inspire and strengthen the community by investing in arts and culture.

Cuyahoga Arts & Culture