My experience of a comedy course with The Comedy Trust

For my 40th Birthday my husband bought me a comedy course with the trust. I had always expressed an interest and made people laugh but I though that was just normal and never really pursued it. My husband thought I would be great at it hence the gift.

So nervously I went along to the course and honestly my outlook on my life was about to change ..... I had just had a wonderful baby boy 18 months before and whilst I loved motherhood I found it hard, I had previously suffered some years ago with anxiety attacks and sadly my anxiety was rearing its ugly head, I had managed to contain and control it so well. But whether due to hormonal changes or just the fear of responsibility to look after every need of a little human being it came back...... I was worrying myself sick, was he cold, was he hot, was he hungry, was he ill, all of the things mums worry about but then I started worrying if something happened to me what would then happen to him ? Did I feel unwell ? Dizzy ? Sick ? I self diagnosed all sorts of things when I’d had 3 heart attacks and a brain tumour all in one week(all in my mind) .... I thought yes the anxiety has returned. I sought counselling as that had previously helped and it does very much help to release your thoughts and fears and re evaluate what’s really happening.

At this point I thought a course for me to focus my energy on something positive may be just what I need so a challenge it would be but I was doing it.

I went along to the class met Sam Avery from the Trust and the other people in my group and I started what was to be thought changing and life changing for me.

In the first week we all chatted about us and what we found funny and asked to put together 5 minutes of comedy for the following week. I got home and guess what the baby had survived a few hours with his dad they’d even had fun!!!

The second week we all performed them. It was nerve wracking but for me, I felt a release. I felt like for those two hours a week and for those 5 minutes performing and perfecting my set each week I was only thinking about the course and the comedy and it was such a buzz I loved it.

On the last night we performed our sets in front of family and friends and honestly I was so nervous but it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had, I made people laugh and afterwards people I didn’t know came to tell me how funny I was and how much they’d laughed..... out loud .... At me !!! (Don't get me wrong I’ve been laughed at many a time but this time they were supposed too!)

I can’t recommend this course and the trust highly enough, when I was feeling vulnerable and low and my anxiety had returned. It helped me so much to grow in confidence and laugh and now I have 3 gigs lined up to start a new hopefully funny chapter in my life .