About Us

We are a comedy school

But we offer much more than just training in comedy. Our classes help people do something that they didn’t think was possible. That is to get up in front of an audience and actually make strangers laugh out loud.

We then provide opportunities for our students to continue to perform and hone their new found skill after the class ends. We give people confidence and make them feel better about themselves. Many people walk off our stage after their first performance with tears of joy and a powerful deep sense of accomplishment. They have done something that many of them were terrified of, and yet they faced their fears and conquered them.

Pursue Your Stand-Up Dreams...Or Not!

Two distinct people take our classes, those serious about pursuing a career in comedy and those interested in boosting their public speaking skills. 

Many former students are now working pro comics with impressive credits, but a larger number have no intention of quitting their day jobs. Whether it's something on your bucket list or just something you've always wanted to try, we're here to help.

In addition, we provide them with several opportunities to continue to perform after the class is over. These opportunities include New Talent shows and open mics. Our students come from all economic backgrounds, all nationalities and ages 16 to 80. We are very proud that we bring people together from so many diverse backgrounds and who often bond and make lifelong friendships.

A Positive Community

We create a positive community for students. They join our larger community of over 10,000 but more importantly they have their class where they often stay connected long after the class ends. Going through this battle with others really bonds people in a powerful way. Thirdly, students can connect and bond with our instructors who often become advocates and mentors. Finally our classes improve there public speaking, writing and improvisational skills that carry over into the real world as well as the comedy world.

We stand for many things. We bring people together and bond them who come from many different backgrounds and nationalities. We help people achieve their dreams. We open up a whole new world for them that they never want to quit.

We do it because its very gratifying to be able to help people achieve their dreams. It’s a great opportunity to be able to spread laughter and good energy in the world.

Perform at Gotham Comedy Club.

We are the only school where are students perform their graduation show on the 300 seat main stage at Gotham Comedy Club. In addition all students receive a broadcast quality video of their performance that they will watch and learn from for many years. These videos have secured countless jobs, bookings, and agents for students.

We give back to the community by offering one and half hour workshops & Q&As called “You Can Do Stand-up Comedy.” We have been offering these for over 10 years. Thousands of people have attended these free events and learned all the details as to how to get started in Stand -up comedy for total beginners. In addition we have started to offer these in Improvisation as well.

Our Faculty

Our instructors are all pro comics and improvisors who have active and successful careers. The fact that they are national headlining comedians with thousands of hours of stage time, gives them a powerful advantage when teaching. All of our teachers have over 10,000 hours of stage time each. That is a significant advantage over our competitors. Having so much experience and insider knowledge translates to a deeper understanding of the stand-up that they impart to their students.

Our Founder

Andrew Engel has been an established comedy producer in New York City for the past 30 years and is currently the Director of New Talent at Gotham Comedy Club.  Over the past 30 years, his New Talent Shows have become the premiere showcase for discovering and developing new comedic talent in New York City.  These shows have become a rite of passage for many serious young comics in New York City. Many national headliners started as “new talent” on his shows including Jim Gaffigan, Ed Helms, Kevin Hart, Greg Giraldo, Demetri Martin, Mike O’Malley, Lisa Lampanelli,  Jessica Kirson, Emma Willmann, Judah Friedlander and many others.  Headliners who often dropped by and still do his New Talent Shows include: Jerry Seinfeld, Dave Chappelle, Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Lewis Black, Ray Romano, Rosie O’Donnell, Colin Quinn, Sherri Shepherd, Joy Behar, Louis CK, Robert Klein, Denis Leary, Caroline Rhea, Darrell Hammond, and countless others. In addition, he was the talent scout for the Ryan Seacrest/ Mark Cuban show “Gotham Comedy Live on AXSTV” He often puts together industry showcases for Gotham as well. Past attendees include representatives from: Comedy Central, HBO, CAA, ICM, William Morris Endeavor, Three Arts, Late night with Jimmy Fallon, The Late show with David Letterman, The Montreal Comedy Festival, The SXSW festival and many others.

Andrew has also co- produced countless other themed shows including “Funny Business” which combined “A” list comics performing alongside corporate CEOs such as Carl Icahn, Barbra Corcoran, Donny Deutsch, Jerry Della Femina, Jim Lebenthal and many other titans of industry.