RIGHT IN DC: Sheila Wenz - Teaching People to Become Standup Comedians

My guest today on my Right in DC podcast is Sheila Wenz who is the founder of Stand-Up Studios–DC Comedy Classes for Everyone which is located in Washington, DC. (http://www.standupstudios.com/)

I came to know Sheila because I decided that I wanted to conquer one of my biggest fears: I had this fear of comedy, of being able to tell a joke. I have this weird part of my brain that I can only remember the punchlines of jokes, I can never remember the setup of jokes.

So I was scrolling around the internet and looking for comedy classes so that I could go see what it was all about and Sheila’s Stand-Up Studios DC popped up. I thought why not conquer this fear and find out if I had what it took to at least get up on the stage and make a complete fool of myself. But I was so surprised by Sheila’s class–it was very inspiring and one of the best experiences in my life. She made it such a bigger experience than comedy and now I don’t have that fear anymore.

In my interview with Sheila, I cover:

Is my fear of being able to tell a joke common?
What type of people take these classes
How Shelia got into comedy and also teaching it
How the key to doing comedy is focused first on writing and editing
What is the “Third Rail” in comedy?
How do you know what the audience will be receptive to?
Handling different types of audiences
How do you handle hecklers?
Sharing your life story
Her opinion on political comedy
Why political standup comedy doesn’t work in Washington, DC
Controversy over SNL mocking a Congressional candidate and former Navy Seal who had lost his eye in battle
Has comedy changed during her career?
Challenges of women in the comedy industry
Who is her favorite comedian and why?