ABOUT
The world needs laughter. and you got jokes!
What's up! I'm Londale Theus Jr, Actor, Comedian, Comedy Coach, and founder of YOU GOT JOKES ACADEMY: an online comedy school dedicated to taking the mystery out of comedy so you can be the FUNNIEST VERSION OF YOU!
Laughter is a universal language, but making people laugh is not...and it CAN BE.
I've dedicated the better part of a decade writing and performing comedy professionally, while developing proven techniques and methods to help anyone express their comedic spirit to the fullest: whether you're an established comedian, trained actor, a beginning performer, or a professional looking to "free up" their personality and humor...at You Got Jokes, We Got You!
how Comedy changed my life in africa
I had just spent 2 years in a great Theatre program at CSU Long Beach training and performing in mostly dramatic acting, and I created this idea in my head that "comedy wasn't important and can't change people's lives like drama can."
During the summer, I participated in a study abroad/volunteer trip with the Karimu International Help Foundation where we went to a remote village (Bacho Village) in Tanzania (East Africa) and helped build class rooms, teacher housing, and well projects as well as work with the primary and secondary school students to develop a theatrical piece that they performed in front of the entire village.
Being a Black American, with ancestors who were enslaved, always left me feeling like part of me was missing; stolen from me in such a way that I couldn't feel whole. I knew spending 3 weeks in a land where black people were the majority, where they had no separation from their lineage and culture, would be deeply healing, but, I COULDN'T SPEAK THAT MUCH SWAHILI! Heading into the trip, I feared I would lose an opportunity to connect with the people while experiencing the cultural and spiritual healing I desperately needed because of our language barrier. So I did what came natural...I MADE PEOPLE LAUGH EVERY CHANCE I GOT.
I would come up with jokes, and learn how to translate the specific words I needed, and tell them jokes in Swahili and they would bust up laughing. They had never heard that type of comedy and joke structure in their language. I would do characters and physical act outs so at many points, we didn't have to speak the same language, they all understood the comedy. After a week, most of the village would see me coming and start laughing and they gave me the nickname "Mchizi Wangu" which roughly translates to "My crazy homie."
And the coolest part was, after 2 weeks, THEY STARTED CREATING THEIR OWN JOKES, AND ACT OUTS, AND CHARACTERS, WHICH THEY HAD NEVER DONE BEFORE! Seeing new tools of comedic expression enter into a community, and seeing how they used them to enrich their lives and to have more fulfilling connections with their community, completely changed my life and my philosophy: "COMEDY IS EVERYTHING!" It is the most uplifting and powerful tool that we can use to express ourselves and make deep connections with the world that might otherwise be lost to our cultural differences.
From that day on, I dedicated my life to comedy, and I created You Got Jokes Academy to carry on that philosophy and to help people use the gift of comedy to enrich their lives and the lives of others.
You Got Jokes Training Methods
STAND UP COMEDY
-
The W.H.O. Joke Pyramid - 8 Step Complete Joke Writing System to go from no ideas to over 30 different jokes
-
40+ Joke Structures with Theory and Examples from the best comedians and how they constructed their jokes
-
Acting techniques on how to PERFORM joke structure.
-
The Joke Circle - Brainstorming method on how to write jokes on offensive or controversial topics that are actually funny instead of abusive.
SKETCH COMEDY
-
Sketch Pyramid - A complete, step by step, sketch comedy outlining and final draft system.
-
Several examples and templates of sketch comedy structure based on the best sketches from SNL, The Chappelle Show, Key and Peele, and more
-
Premise Spine - How to develop a comedic thesis statement in the form of a "What if..." statement which serves as the spine and engine for all the jokes in a sketch
-
Expand The World - How to earn heightening and plot twists in a sketch
IMPROV COMEDY
-
All the fundamentals in long-form and short-form improv: Yes And, The 3 W's at the top of scenes, The Unusual Thing, Labeling, Playing Game, etc
-
Over 40 games and exercises to expand your individual improv performance skills as well as your group play
-
Specific exercises for individuals looking to "break out of their shell" and become more comedically spontaneous in their personal and professional life
NARRATIVE WRITING FOR COMEDY
-
Two types of contrast in comedic storytelling
-
The 4 primary joke structures in all comedy
-
Several of the most popular secondary joke structures used in TV/Film Comedies
ACTING FOR COMEDY
-
The 5 Techniques of Comedic Performance (Emotion/Action, Language, Tempo, Volume, Physicality) that will allow you to lift up the comedy on specific jokes in the text as well as add comedy where there are no jokes.
-
Recognizing specific joke structures in a script that demand a specific performance to "sell the joke" and applying it successfully with confidence.
DIRECTING FOR COMEDY
-
Understanding the joke structures in a script, how they relate to the 5 Techniques of Comedic Performance, and how to communicate with actors so that they are able to apply it in an organic way.
-
How to use the 5 Techniques of Comedic Performance to give your overall piece a specific comedic tone.
PERSONAL EXPRESSION
-
Fun and engaging Improv and Acting Exercises to help you break through inhibitions, become more spontaneous and outwardly expressive, how to recognize moments for comedy on the spot, and how to become a more engaging public speaker.
EXPERIENCE
STAND UP COMEDY
# Years of Stand Up Comedy experience: Weekend Headliner at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank, Celebrity Judge Winner of the Uncle Clyde's Comedy Contest at Flappers. Performed at Hollywood Improv, The Comedy Store, UCB & more
# TV stand up debut on NBC's Last Call With Carson Daly
# Final round of auditions for Montreal's Just For Laughs New Faces Showcase 2017
# Mentored for the Stand Up With Comedy non profit, where we worked with middle school students in low-income communities and teach them the principles of stand up comedy while guiding them in writing their own material, culminating in a class show where they perform stand up for their school and faculty.
SKETCH COMEDY
# Performed with my sketch team Bombardier on Maude Night at the UCB Theatre LA from 2015-2017
# While with Bombardier we performed our original sketch shows at San Francisco Sketchfest, filmed multiple sketches that appeared on Season 1 of The UCB Show that originally streamed on Seeso and can currently be seen on Starz On-Demand
# Years of experience in writers rooms pitching ideas, punching up ideas from other writers, writing sketches and more.
# Writer for the CBS Diversity Showcase 2015 and Actor for the CBS Diversity Showcase 2016
# Solo Character and Impressions performer with years of experience auditioning for shows like SNL, Montreal Just For Laughs New Faces, Maude Night at UCB Theatre, CBS Diversity Showcase, and more.
IMPROV COMEDY
# Improv 401 Graduate of the Upright Citizens Brigade Training Center in Los Angeles, and multiple Advanced Level Classes
# Improviser on Harold Night for 3 years with Rococo and member of monthly improv troupe Benetton at UCB Sunset
# Years of coaching experience in long-form improv from children and beginners to advanced level improvisers
# A member of the UCB Approved Coaches List
# Trained in workshops with the co-founders of the Upright Citizens Brigade: Matt Besser and Ian Roberts