Comedy Workshops @ Oakland Comedy Festival

11AM: Punching Up the Past: Crafting Real-Life Stories into Comedy with Johnny Taylor Jr.

Johnny Taylor Jr. gives a practical comedy storytelling class that helps performers structure anecdotes and find the humor in real-life experiences. Focused on teaching comics how to build a narrative, locate the central conflict, and add comedic punch to personal stories.
1PM: Riff Like a Pro: Turning Audience Cues into Comedy Gold with Joe Klocek
Joe Klocek offers a “riffing” masterclass that teaches comedians how to pick up on natural audience cues, move past repetitive small talk (like "What do you do for a living?"), and confidently build spontaneous, high-reward crowd interaction.