Find Your Funny at The Alley Stage
Marietta's own comedy club doesn't just put on shows — we train the people who make them. Our stand-up and improv classes are built for total beginners and seasoned performers alike: small class sizes, real stage time, and instruction from working comedians who perform and teach for a living. Whether you want to write your first five minutes, sharpen an existing set, or just get more comfortable thinking on your feet, there's a class for you here.
Every course ends with a live showcase on our stage — because the real education happens in front of an audience, not just in a classroom. Past students have gone on to perform at our own Comedy on the Square shows and open mics right here at The Alley Stage.
Choose your path:
- Level 1 Stand-Up Comedy — no experience needed. Learn to write jokes, build a set, and perform it live.
- Level 2 Stand-Up Comedy — for Level 1 grads (or equivalent) ready to sharpen their voice and grow their material.
- Level 1 Improv — Chicago-style improv fundamentals: listening, instinct, and commitment.
- Level 2 Improv — for Level 1 grads ready to build scenes, callbacks, and character work.
- Level 1 Sketch — Write, rewrite, and perform original sketches in a real writers' room. No experience needed..
Payment plans available: Don't let cost hold you back from signing up. We offer a payment plan option: 50% due at registration, with the remaining 50% due by October 15.
Level 1 Stand-Up Comedy Class
Thursdays | 6:00PM–9:00PM
October 29th – December 10th (no class Thanksgiving week)
Ready to take the mic and make 'em laugh?
Whether you're brand new to stand-up or looking to sharpen your set, our six-week Stand-Up Comedy Class at The Alley Stage is designed to help you find your funny and build a solid set — from first idea to final punchline.
Taught by professional comedian Ro DelleGrazie, this class offers a hands-on, supportive, and seriously fun dive into the art of stand-up comedy.
What You'll Learn
- How to generate original material from your life and perspective
- Writing and refining jokes using proven structure and editing techniques
- Using voice, timing, and presence to enhance your stage delivery
- Gaining confidence through weekly performance workshops
- Plus, tips on navigating the local comedy scene and open mics
Class Includes:
- Six weekly sessions (3 hours each) at The Alley Stage
- Personalized feedback and guidance from your instructor
- A final Graduation Showcase, where you'll perform your set live on stage for friends, family, and fans in a fun and encouraging environment
No prior experience required — just bring your sense of humor and a willingness to try!
Please note: because our instructors are active, working comedians, there may be occasional classes led by a qualified substitute instructor.
Instructor: Ro DelleGrazie
Ro DelleGrazie is a stand-up comedian, comedy coach, and instructor with over 27 years of stand-up experience and nearly two decades of coaching comedians. She began privately coaching in 2008 before teaching a six-week stand-up comedy course at Flappers Comedy Club in 2010. Ro later founded The Academy of Funny, where she trained comedians and produced student showcases at legendary venues including The Comedy Store and Flappers.
As a coach, Ro focuses on helping each comedian develop their authentic voice rather than following a one-size-fits-all approach. She works with students on joke writing, set construction, stage presence, career strategy, branding, and the business of comedy, helping comics build everything from their first few minutes to feature and headline sets.
In addition to coaching, Ro has performed across the country and has appeared on Oxygen, Comcast, SiriusXM, TruTV, and FX. She has also toured with comedian Lisa Lampanelli as both a performer and comedy coach.
Level 2 Stand-Up Comedy Class
Mondays | 6:00PM – 9:00PM
October 26th – November 30th
Take your comedy to the next level.
This advanced class is designed for comedians ready to refine their skills and tackle the business side of stand-up. Through weekly on-stage workshops, personalized coaching, and peer feedback, you'll hone your craft, push creative boundaries, and build the tools needed for long-term success. The goal: leave with up to 10 new minutes of original material.
Prerequisite: students must already have a basic understanding of stand-up, a solid five-minute set, and have completed either The Alley Stage's Level 1 Stand-Up class or an equivalent from another institution.
What You'll Learn
- Refine your craft: sharpen your unique comedic voice and master advanced joke structures, timing, and delivery — including the difference between joke telling (setup, assumptions, punchline, tags/toppers) and storytelling (authenticity, empathy, and the power of unexpected twists).
- Build your set: develop up to 10 new minutes of original material and construct seamless routines with strong themes, transitions, and callbacks.
- Business & performance: gain practical insights into the business of comedy, including booking gigs, marketing, and networking.
Instructor: Yoshee So
Yoshee So is a nationally touring comedian, improviser, and teacher whose dynamic career spans stages, classrooms, and podcasts. He's performed at top venues like Stand Up Live, Helium, and the Punchline, and been featured at major comedy festivals including Laughing Skull, Boston Comedy Festival, and the World Series of Comedy. A co-founder of the Red Pill Players, Yoshee has spent over a decade performing improv grounded in Game theory and the Harold, with training from UCB, Second City, and Improv IO. He currently teaches and coaches comedy in person and virtually to aspiring comedy students. He also co-hosts the popular Breath podcast, featuring 400+ interviews with comedy legends and over 15 million views worldwide. His debut album American African humorously chronicles his journey from immigrant roots to suburban superhero, reflecting his passion to inspire laughter and empower new generations of comedians.
Level 1 Improv Class
Tuesdays | 6:00PM – 8:00PM
October 27th – December 1st
Whether you're an aspiring comedian, a professional looking to sharpen your public speaking, or a total beginner wanting to step out of your comfort zone, this 6-week class is the perfect, zero-pressure place to start.
This course focuses on the absolute fundamentals of improvisation: active listening, trusting your instincts, having total commitment, making connections, supporting your scene partners, and discovering the “funny” in the ordinary. Through a series of supportive group exercises, games, and basic scene work, you will learn how to stop overthinking, get out of your own head, and lean into the joy of making mistake-free choices.
In this class, you'll master the fundamentals of improv, learn to trust your instincts, and build hilarious, unscripted scenes from scratch in an incredibly supportive environment. Absolutely no stage or comedy experience is required. Just bring your curiosity and get ready to have a blast!
Instructor: Andrew Chance
Andrew Chance is an improvisor, actor, director, and comedy show producer. After more than a decade acting on stage and video, he began learning improv from Bob Wood at Relapse Comedy Club in Atlanta. Intending only to use it as an acting tool, he quickly found it to be a deeper form of self-expression. He joined the house team, People Garden in 2019. He later joined the Groovecats improv troupe under the direction of the founder of Atlanta’s Whole World Theatre. In 2025 he joined the Improv at The Alley troupe, the mainstage team at The Alley Stage. He currently performs with them and Opening Night, a longform improv team that mounts a full-length improvised play every month. He also produces stand-up comedy shows in the Atlanta area, and has been a performer and producer with ShenaniGuns Comedy Shows since 2011, performing at major theme parks, state fairs, and festivals throughout the country.
Level 2 Improv Class
Mondays | 6:00PM – 8:00PM
October 26th – November 30th
Join instructor Rachel LaForce for Level 2 Chicago Style Improv. This course will build on two-person grounded scenework, the principle of “Yes, And,” and other Level 1 basics. Together, we will build new skills, including the give and take of group scenes, callbacks, character-based scenes, and explore different improv formats.
This class requires the completion of a Level 1 improv course from any reputable improv theater.
Come ready to move, have fun, and learn to play like a pro!
Instructor: Rachel LaForce
Rachel LaForce is a Comedian, Creator, Cultural Commentator, and co-founder of Skewed Orbit Studios. A veteran of The Second City whose work has appeared on HBO, Hulu, truTV, CNN, and the TEDx stage, Rachel uses comedy and cultural commentary to connect the dots between headlines, identity, and human behavior. Through her podcast Healing Is Hilarious, keynote speaking, digital media, and live performance, she helps audiences turn the moment into meaning.
Level 1 Sketch Class
Wednesdays | 5:30PM – 7:30PM
October 28th – December 9th (no class Thanksgiving week)
Love writing? Grew up quoting SNL? Great sketch comedy starts at The Alley.
Join Second City Chicago alum Casey Navarro and learn to write your own sketch packet, the same kind of writing sample comedy writers submit to shows like SNL. You'll explore every style of sketch, from sharp character pieces to parodies to big, absurd premises, while building your joke writing, your acting chops, and a solid grasp of sketch structure.
The term ends with a live showcase of sketches you and your classmates wrote and perform yourselves. Whether you're brand new to comedy or already have a few stage credits, this class will make you a sharper, funnier writer.
Instructor: Casey Navarro
Originally from Beavercreek, Ohio, Casey is a seasoned stand-up, sketch, and improv comedy performer and writer. She spent five years touring with Second City Chicago and was recently waitlisted for an SNL writing position. Casey was honored to participate in the first Atlanta SNL audition last summer. She has also worked with The Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles before moving to Atlanta, where she became a teaching artist at the Alliance Theatre, Catapult Acting Studios, and Utopian Academy of the Arts. Additionally, Casey is a playwright, joining the ranks of artists like Lily Tomlin and Sigourney Weaver as an Artist in Residency at Saint Mary's College. There, she wrote and directed her first full-length multimedia dark comedy play, LUCKY LIAR LOSER, which explores themes of violence against women. Casey has written for Chicago's Redeye, Harness Magazine, and works as a freelance copywriter and commercial comedy consultant with Brontosaurus LA. Recently, she completed a stand-up tour in Europe and spent four months performing comedy at sea on NCL's Breakaway. You can catch her as a weekend regular at Laughing Skull Lounge and The Alley Stage, or in commercials for brands like Big Lots and Ally Bank.