I've been working with Greg Dean and the "Deaners" for a little under a year now. I think what sets Greg's workshop apart from other comedy programs is how academic his approach is. From joke structure to the ever important relationship with the audience, his insight into the world of stand-up comedy is something any comic, regardless of skill level, can benefit from. Another aspect of Greg's workshops that keeps me coming back is the "family" atmosphere fostered in classes. Criticism is always constructive, and I've always felt like I was writing or performing in a safe environment, which is something I believe is important for new comics before they proceed to open mics where most comic dreams go to die. That all said, take Greg's class. You'll be funnier, and you'll actually know why. read more

Greg and Gayla are literally the best at what they do!! An awesome workshop to break into comedy, and the shows are very cool!!

Here is an update review from my first in 2011. I still write and perform stand-up comedy and Greg's techniques are still key to achieving good routines, but here is an example of the wide range of uses his teachings can offer. I am a designer/decorator for a large retailer. Engaging with your clients and making the process comfortable, educational, and satisfying is the goal. Applying what I have learned in Greg Dean's writing classes have also helped me in achieving a huge following of clients who had a real personal experience because of how I engage with them and create a relaxed, entertaining experience. My clients feel as if they are relaxing with a friend when they work with me. Not a pushy sales associate! I keep them laughing while also offering a very professional experience. If you speak publicly,....PERIOD! You can benefit beyond your expectations with what you can walk away from Greg's class with!! read more

I took this workshop about 5 years ago. I took Greg's 6 week course about 3 or 4 times. I can not express how valuable it was then and has been on my life since. You will learn basic and advanced concepts about writing and performing stand-up in a supportive and encouraging environment. Many of the skills I learned from Dean, I use in my everyday life. I have never forgotten how important it is to "have a relationship" with your audience! Greg is a great guy and can be trusted. I can not thank him enough for all of the small and great things he taught me. read more

Excellent, fun, great methods, relaxed environment....I highly recommend it and only had two classes and feel funnier....looking!

Excellent methodology and thoughtful instruction. Greg, Gayla and Fernando are awesome.

I took a course here that kinda just opens the individual up to stand up comedy. I had a great time, learned a lot, and worked out a few jitters that I may have had my first time in front of the class. Greg was amazing with being helpful, and if I didn't have a full time job and was actually pursuing Comedy, I would go back through his whole course ware.... I believe in Greg Dean's Workshop, and I believe that I pulled many thing from it. read more

I actually signed up for two comedy workshops at the same time. I soon realized that Greg's approach was the best fit for me (and probably anyone). He has the experience to hone in on what is funny in your material and the confidence to stay out of the way once something is working. The other class was so wrong for me that I decided to throw that money away and just not go back, but all you have to do is go to watch his advanced comedy class perform at The Comedy Store and you can see that he helps develop the individual performer and he doesn't try to shoehorn people into a "one size fits all" performance mode. read more

I've done other classes and workshops and I haven't found them as helpful as half an hour in Gregs class. It's about finding your unique perspective and voice and finding ways to truly connect with your material. This class took years off my development time and made me a great joke writer. And the kind of comic that bookers in all areas and demographics want to see again. read more

As a Storyteller and speaker, I needed to better connect with my listeners. I've known of Greg's class for nigh unto ten years now and come to know some of the graduates. There is no better coach for understanding comedy, it's delivery and it's connection with the audience, than Greg Dean and his dedicated team. Greg sets a standard of excellence and expectation from his team and his students, that both challenges and rewards every jot and tittle of investment you as a presenter put into it. But don't take just my word for it, read the other comments here, then see for yourself. Take his classes, the proof is in the pudding. read more

Greg gives you an environment where you can find a voice and hone your skills. It is very supportive and cultivating and honest and more than anything you make friendships that will help you thrive in comedy read more

You guys are kidding me right? Like any other ``performance coach'' in Hollywood since the Dawn of Film - or in the case of New York - since the Dawn of Stage - there have been scourges such as this guy willing to be handsomely paid by any number of hopeLESSes year after year and plenty of hopeLESSes with more money than sense willing to fork it over. He hooks you in by providing a ``showcase'' at the end. Which nobody who's not in the class and/or who hasn't been also handsomely paid - by your ``class fees'' to attend - will show up. And the only reason his class ``feels like family'' is because you-all have PAID him - and HANDSOMELY - to do just that. But does he ``hang'' with the ``brothers and sisters'' of the ``family'' anytime he's not paid to? OH HELL NO. Like everything else in Hollywood - it's as fake as a three dollar bill. I'm a little older and slower than some of you, so it took me four times round the block - the class - the ``advanced'' class - and then twice more round as a ``paying'' assistant - meaning we still pay the same fee everybody else does - just we're treated as teaching assistants or group guides now instead of just your basic Schlep Joe (or Jane) - to find that out. Meaning - for about a tenth of the cost - you can rent or buy his video and book (or get both free at the library) hold class once a week in your apartment - invite all the other unconnected, broke and hopeless-es in Hollywood - order in Thai Food and rent the Community Room of your apartment complex for some Saturday night six weeks hence and get the same results. Don't get me wrong, he's good at what he does - just - the same as any other acting, singing, dance, music or any other kind of artistic coach with no connections in a major entertainment city - in the business does - you're never going to get seen doing anything by anybody who can launch your career in said art. Translated: After taking his class(es) we're never going to see you open for any act you've ever heard of, we'll never hear of you going on the road with anybody, we'll never be able to buy your T shirts at the Ice House or anyplace and you'll never even get cast in anything done by the Santa Monica Community Theatre Players nevermind Broadway at the Beach nevermind at the Ahmanson, Pantages or any other live theatre you've ever heard of. The same as any other ``coach'' the closest any of his ``family'' will ever get to any kind of paid act is if they get drafted at their work to head up a work group or project and it involves an element of public speaking elsewhere in the trade. Meraning: Save your money. Go pay Johnny Nigro the Balloonatic at Santa Monica Pier and his buddy Toby the Clown who plays in front of the Oscar Theatre in Hollywood to teach you or else take a Dale Carnegie class and then teach it. At least that has currency someplace outside Santa Monica Boulevard. read more

A more analytical approach to comedy. If you love numbers, charts, graphs and, scientific method but have the desire to pick up the mike, take this class. Even if you are not wired that way, Greg has fantastic writing exercises to keep you churning out new material. Chances are you will find some new aspect to comedy that you can add to your arsenal. read more

This comedy workshop is good training for a begining as well as for working comedians or actors. I took acting class after I took this workshop and I found out that it has an element of dramatic actor training too. He helps you to develop your own show. That was scary part for me but he gave me an attention and support I needed. And he works hard to get you succeed. Greg Dean's Comedy Workshop is a good place to start for beginners and to futher develop you career. read more

Overall I'd rate this an excellent class. Greg really puts a lot into the series. His wife Gayla is there (a stand up comic too) often and Victor and Fernando, his witty sidekicks also offer advice and feedback. Practical in so far as he makes you stand up and "do" but also good for the bookish as Greg provides you with a book to which you can refer and homework assignments! I'm loving it about half way through the course. Superb and well worth the money!! read more

I'm an aspiring comedy writer who was enrolled at Second City in Hollywood taking classes when a friend recommend I sit in on one of Greg Dean's classes. Boy am I glad I did. This isn't only a stand-up comedy class that is going to give you an instructor who tells you what he or she thinks is funny. This is a two-part class that helps build a fundamental understanding of comedy and joke structure while doing it in a welcoming and very entertaining environment. The class had people from all walks of life ranging from litigators who wanted to improve their speaking techniques to writers (like myself) to polished comics who were there to work out some new material. Stand-up comedy can be scary, but Greg and his team help you approach it with proven techniques that allow you to handle the "scary" parts and make it very enjoyable in the process. I actually took the class twice and apply the joke writing techniques to my scripts on a daily basis. Worth every penny and I had a blast. read more

Comedy is an art form and so is teaching. Greg Dean is a master of both. Greg gives you the tools for joke structure, writing, rehearsing, and performing, but the class is about so much more than that. It's a journey about discovering your own comedic voice in an engaging and supportive environment. Most importantly, I'm learning to laugh at everything that's wrong with me. Somehow the whole experience feels rejuvenating and even transformative. I completed the beginning class and am in the final stages of the advanced class. I'm glad I took the classes and am guessing you will be too. read more

I think anybody who is even remotely interested in doing comedy... for whatever reason... should take the time to learn from somebody who knows something about it before they go off on their own and start trying to do it. Greg Dean definitely knows something about it. Jokes have structure. Greg Dean will teach you how to write them. And if you put in the work, you will even learn how to stand up and deliver them... and you might even be funny! I recommend taking both the beginners class and then the advanced... back to back. read more

I've gotta say, this guy really knows his stuff! I'm currently taking one of his workshops, and he has made it possible for me to understand so many facets & nuances of comedy that I never knew even existed! Greg is a really a dedicated & knowledgeable teacher, and his wife & support staff round it out to a perfect team! read more

Stand-up comedy seemed scary and impossible to me. I forced myself to sign up for Greg Dean's course because everybody told me he was such a great teacher and that I should be doing comedy. I'll be honest...I dreaded going to the classes. I was afraid. I'm an actress--not a comedian. I kept showing up to class each week because the environment was so safe and supportive that I wasn't afraid to take risks. After the beginning and advanced courses, I felt confident in my voice as a stand-up. My first performance in the showcase at the Comedy Store went so well that not only did I decide to focus on stand-up as a profession, but I also booked my first paying gig for three weeks later. I now perform at least one show a week at various clubs in Los Angeles, and I absolutely love it. I attribute my confidence, my voice, and my understanding of joke structure to Greg Dean, Gayla Johnson, and the other comedians in my class (with whom I still collaborate). read more

I had been trying to muster up the courage to give stand up a try. My wife read up on Gary Dean's workshop and signed me up and pushed me off the plank. I loved it. It was very informative, fun, challenging and did I say fun? In a few hours, my understanding of comedy did a complete 180. Gary offers tangible techniques that lead to skills. I would highly recommend the workshop for anyone wrestling with the idea getting in front of a Mic in hopes of "being funny". He's a great, easy going guy with a wealth of information based on years of experience. read more

The best class I've ever taken. I never thought I could stand on a stage in front of an audience of strangers and perform comedy... but Greg Dean has created a safe place to grow and learn and have fun. Greg is smart, insightful, and an absolute genius when it comes to making a routine funnier. Perhaps most importantly, he understands and teaches from the belief that there is no one way to be funny, that everyone is funny in their own unique way, and rather than try to force his students into a narrow creative vision that may not work for that person, he helped me discover exactly what was funny and unique about me. And to stay true to that. I can now speak with my own voice, which is liberating, and I thank him for that. I highly recommend this class; you will get so much out of it... and you'll laugh like crazy. read more

Greg Dean creates a safe supportive environment in which to find your own voice. His insightful comments and feedback can help build a great set. I thoroughly enjoyed the classes and performing at the Comedy Store. I would highly recommend his training. read more

I'm the CEO of a successful company and have been speaking and coaching for years. Then I met Greg and quickly realized his comedy coach applies directly to speaking in front of professional audiences. Wit and humor are not always appropriate. But, when you're trying to keep people awake in their seats or keep them from leaving, it sure doesn't hurt at the right time. So, thank you Greg. What you've taught me I will be able to immediately implement in the corporate world. read more

I've taken many classes with many instructors. Greg Dean knows comedy, inside and out. He will absolutely take you to the next level, by providing a safe, supportive environment at a comfortable Santa Monica theater, with street parking and covered parking right across the street ( very convenient ). He really breaks it all down - joke structure, stage technique, performance, delivery, timing, etc... He encourages class participation and feedback, which is really helpful. In 5 weeks, you will have a solid 7 minute set ( that may have otherwise taken many months to figure out on your own ). The proof is in his showcases, which are hilarious! Great guy, great teacher! read more

Not a positive experience. The final week of class, one of the teaching assistants did a roast of students, mean-spiritedly making fun of my delivery and jokes -- as a green comedy beginner, I could have done without this. For a total class cost of $600 (beginner and experienced), you can learn this stuff elsewhere. Many of the students for Advanced Class are returning -- a few take it over and over again. The result is sort of a disorganized clique-y environment with comics (including teachers' deputies) out for themselves. Greg was frequently gone from our classes at which point his assistants take over. That's what you're paying for. He is a nice enough guy and affable, but the bottom line is it feels a little light in the instructors' credentials. read more

Greg Dean's Comedy Workshop is a vert professionally run workshop. It is a fantastic, safe, stimulating, creative environment to learn the fundamentals of standup comedy and develop your talent. Greg, Gayla and the team are sooo supportive. You can only get better studying here!!!!!!!!!! read more

I recommend this class strongly, I lived inside my head for many years ..this helped me get outside my head..I was so high with my first successful show at the Comedy store..I actually have great comedic timing naturally and instinctively, I never would have found this out had I not taken and met Greg Dean..don't get me wrong I still am responsible for my comedic future..but the support is great!! I love the rehearsal process he teaches, 100% pure honesty baby..if you cant cut it dont show up.. read more