Our own Class Clown

Vernon Clarke

Home Group 

As teachers, we are very mindful that there is more to a student than just what we see in the classroom, and we are always interested in getting to know students and what "makes them tick".  Year level camps, excursions and Home Group sessions prove to be valuable experiences,  as they provide opportunities to cement positive staff-student and student-student relationships, promoting friendship and trust in the learning environment.  This in turn enhances positive student wellbeing and learning outcomes.

Home Group 11S and I were excited to share in Ethan Gallagher's recent experience in the Melbourne Comedy Festival, as he competed in the Class Clowns program this year. Class Clowns is the Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s national development program for young people. The program introduces teens aged 14-18 to comedy through creative workshops with professional comedians and uses artistic activities to hone comedic talent and build self-esteem, confidence and resilience.  Past participants likeRhys Nicholson, Annie Louey, Aaron Chen  (ABC'sFisk, Squinters, Ronny Cheng International Student) and William McKenna have gone on have careers in show business.

Ethan, what prompted you to enter Class Clowns?

I first wanted to enter the competition because I had been writing some material and really wanted to try it out. I have also always loved comedy, and Class Clowns is a great opportunity for younger people to get involved. 

Are you considering a career in comedy?

I’m definitely considering it if I can get good enough.

What are you favourite things to write jokes about?

Probably just random little questions that are on my mind, and weird hypotheticals that I’m thinking about.

What preparation or help did you get from the organisers of Class Clowns?

All the performers come to the show a couple of hours early so they can do a comedy workshop with a professional comedian. If you show up with some material they will help you refine it, and help you to do better on stage in general. 

You did well to reach the final of Class Clowns. To what do you attribute your success in joke telling, and what makes a good performance?

I think my jokes work because they are things that you have either thought about at one point, or they recount some glaring inconsistency with everyday stuff that you might never have realised before. In terms of performance, the most important thing for me is confidence. That doesn’t necessarily mean you need to act outwardly confident to the audience, since I definitely don’t - you just need to be confident in your material and how you’re coming across on stage .

For more details, here is the Class Clowns website address -  Class Clowns (comedyfestival.com.au)

The 2021 Class Clowns videos have not yet been released, but you can view one of Ethan's previous contributions  (2019) below.