Bored of the doom and gloom that seems to have enveloped planet Earth, we set out to find someone who could lift our lowly spirits. We threw some serious resources at the problem, and after several long minutes of research we tracked down Rich Stimbra.

Rich is the assistant director of the San Francisco Comedy College, one of the most famous comedy schools in the US. “It certainly beats having a 9-5 job,” he tells Ooh, “I wake up and go to work when I want and I’m constantly surrounded by creativity, opportunity, and the most interesting people.”

“It’s great to have a job where people clap when you show up to work; they pay to listen to your view of the world and then they clap when you’re done with work,” he says, arousing mild jealousy.

Rich is very enthusiastic about teaching and embraces life as a comedian. He loves “ living a life that is outside of what is considered normal and watching the joy one can give to people by performing,and helping students find out about themselves through comedic expression.”

Curious about the way the comedy college works, I ask Rich how he teaches comedy. “We let people know that you can’t teach someone to have a sense of humor, but there are fundamental mechanics to how jokes are created. We also tell our students to only talk about what is important to them and not what they imagine an audience will find funny. We all have interesting lives and we should explore who we are and find out what’s funny about it. ”

“Comedy is not as easy as some people make it look. There’s a lot of self exploration involved and in the beginning comedians deal with a tremendous amount of rejection. Also, the other half of this is business and comedians who are serious need to learn early on how to market themselves. If done correctly though, the rewards are amazing.”

Courses at the SFCC cost from $250 for beginners, getting students 5 weeks of classes, a workbook, 3 opportunities to perform at open mic shows per week, free entry to professional comedy shows on Friday and Saturday nights and membership of their regularly updated online community. The SFCC also runs an advanced class, helping turn comic material into a well-finished act. Fancy trying your hand at comedy? You can find out more by emailing Rich here.

Tags: adam mclaughlin, Comedy, peter's living room, rich stimbra, san fransisco, school