Stand-up comedy can be intimidating for those of us who are new to comedy. Tom creates a very supportive environment to help you gain confidence and get prepared for your first show. He teaches all you need to know, from comedy techniques, to how to write great jokes. He also gives great tips on how to take your set to the clubs.

I had only two things left on my bucket list. Climb Mt. Everest or take a stand-up comedy class. Sure glad I chose the latter of the two. I thought it would be fun but it exceeded all of my expectations. The six weeks just flew by. Could hardly wait for the next class to begin.

Tom Riehl is a genius as a teacher, mentor and psychiatrist. If you ever wanted to know if you have the talent for stand-up this is the class for you. Want to know how to put a comedy routine together, set ups, punch lines —-this is the class for you. You have the magic formula. It works.

Everything was covered- from the business aspects of doing open mics, producing, getting gigs to writing which included formulas I hadn’t seen before. Enjoyed performing followed by feedback and group suggestions to punch up jokes (happy to report their suggestions helped!!) Class always great energy and fun!!

Remarkable. Truly eye-opening experience makes the vast and wonderful world of stand up comedy less like mysterious.

I loved the collaboration with working comics. It was a close knit group that got along really well. Tom has a knack for giving input and ideas and helping comics fine tune their material. Tom is very positive and upbeat and never makes anyone feel like they don’t belong. I’m glad this school exists and I’m proud to have gone through both the beginners class and the writers workshop. I am telling everyone I know about SOS and I hope it stays around for a long time.

Tom taught me how to organize my thoughts in outline and how to “unpack” my jokes getting his feed back and structure was huge for me. After only one session, he had helped me focus my efforts and thoughts on paper. I saw a huge improvement in confidence on stage as the class progressed. Tom was patient, easy to understand, highly intelligent, punctual, and flexible during our writing sessions. Your future self will thank you!  Thanks Tom!