Steve Martin MasterClass Review 2024: How Good Is It?

Steven Martin MasterClass teaches comedy. Is it worth paying to learn Comedy from Steven Martin? Let’s Find out!

Academy Honorary Award-winning comic and 7-time Grammy winner has come to MasterClass in order to teach Comedy to the whole world.

Steve Martin, who is also a celebrated actor and wonderful musician, is going full-on comedy for the MasterClass and is starting from the basics. I dare you to not miss it.

In this article, I skim you through the entire MasterClass by Steve Martin, what it’s like taking the lessons, what I got to learn from the MasterClass, what can be improved, the pros and cons of the course, and everything in detail about the content in this MasterClass.

In the end, I also share my final verdict on learning from Steve Martin. Watch out!

Steve Martin’s MasterClass: In A Nutshell

In the MasterClass handled by Steve Martin, the lessons are structured in a way that is not confusing, as the notes are graspable and easier to understand by anyone. Apart from the teaching, you also get fun workbooks in PDF format and audio files to get going with the course.

There are 25 lessons which can take up to a watch time of 4 hours. Trust me, it does not feel like taking a course because Steve Martin does not stick to the formal level of teaching, which is great.

In addition to the workbooks, you get to see some exclusive excerpts of Meteor Shower and Roxanne by Steve Martin. I did not know that we could get to see all this, and I was surprised.

You get to learn how to be a comedian by developing a persona in being yourself. This, in return helps in defeating stage fear and builds the confidence to take up open mic opportunities.

In the end, Steve also gives tips on how to find your place in the world of comedy because each comedian has his/her individual spin, which can take some effort to discover.

Steve Martin: Who is he?

Steve Martin is a talented comic who has been cracking up jokes and shaping his career since the 1960s. His comedy shows are a testimonial to who Steve Martin really is and how funny he can get.

Martin has been receiving awards like he is collecting some postcard tokens, but his dedication and passion for comedy have led him to where he is today, which is incredibly inspiring.

Apart from creating comedy content all his life, he is also an astonishing actor who has starred in movies like The Man with Two Brains, Parenthood, Roxanne, and a big list of famous movies.

He has been awarded and honored with 7 Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Album, 2 Primetime Emmy Awards, and an Academy Honorary Award, followed by several nominations, which include Golden Globes, MTV Movie, and Tv Awards, and many more prestigious awards.

Who is this MasterClass by Steve Martin made for?

The MasterClass by Steve Martin can easily be suggested to people who make soft comedy and light humor, which is a bit basic, to be precise, because Martin’s style of comedy is old school.

If you are someone who is stepping into the career of becoming a stand-up comedian, the course might be apt for you because Martin teaches you how actually to write jokes.

He also guides on performing in front of a live audience which is beneficial if you are taking the path of stand-up comedy seriously. Any Steve Martin would enjoy the MasterClass without a doubt.

What are the Steve Martin Notes (lessons) like?

As typical as MasterClass is, the lessons were nicely arranged in an order where you get to jump from one topic of learning to other with no incompleteness. Steve Martin, being the instructor, made sure that his students were properly utilized hence dropping tips throughout the course.

To give a detailed explanation might be a hard job for me as well as for you to read it all. In order to smoothen things, I am going to share the majorly important aspects of the course and highlight them as easily understandable as possible.

Shall we begin? Let’s go.

1. The Opening Act of the Show

At the beginning of the MasterClass, Steve Martin introduces himself as the instructor of the course and starts briefing about writing, performing, and breathing comedy. It felt like a good vibe.

Slowly, he went on the basics of doing a stand-up performance, shared his common knowledge of comedy and how effective and impactful it can be registered in the hearts of the audience.

“What is Comedy? Comedy is the art of making people laugh without making them puke.”

I was taken aback listening to how much importance Martin gives to his audience on making the right comedy and not getting involved in the controversies.

2. How to Write a Joke

At this part of the course, Martin opens up about the necessity of knowing one’s self. He also suggests that comedy lies in the details of work and that was loud for me.

We usually tend to neglect the parts of which we have to concentrate on and give importance to the unwanted information but he has a different approach towards comedy which was insightful.

He suggests ways in which you can access the wisdom of comedy in the materials of work.

3. Jokes With the Folks

The lesson gives a sneak peek over what it is like performing in front of a crowd and how to control the audience’s voice narrated by Steve Martin. This was necessary because, at the end of the day, each beginner comedian is going to do stand-up someday so it is important to know how it works.

“A day without sunshine is like, you know, night” – be sunshine and brighten the room.

He says that it is essential to layout your performances because the audience is the key source to the performance and they have to be engaged and entertained throughout the stand-up.

Plotting the comedy, editing the content, and, being yourself on the stage can help is what he suggests. You are told to take note of the crowd’s laughter because as a comedian, that is the only instant feedback we receive while being available on the stage.

NOTE: An exclusive footage of Steve Martin’s tribute to Tom Hanks is shown.

4. Hunt For the Voice of Comedy

As Martin starts off the lesson, he shares about the struggles he faced in finding his comedic voice while he got caught up with various things in college that he had to go through in a tough time.

“I’ve got to be breathing. It’ll be my worst business mistake if I don’t.”

Once you start discovering your tone of comedy, there should be a lot of counter-learnings that come along with it. Like, you can fictionize your uniqueness, fix a niche and establish as an unusual subject which means people should be excited to know what might be in your voice of comedy.

They cannot be offered the same monotone in every show so he advises you to vary yourself and build a flexible stage character. By this, you don’t have to be fake to be funny but know your audience.

5. Growing With Comedy

You get to receive all sorts of advice about growing as a comedian which means Martin unveils the obstacles one might go through in his comedic career so he offers some helpful tips.

The tips may include using stages to rehearse for projects, getting comfortable by being yourself, learning from past experiences, and building confidence from the wave of the crowd.

Along with it, he skims through various techniques that he personally uses on stage.

Apart from all the lessons and notes in the MasterClass, there is an exclusive workshop made available for the students, which is organized by Steve Martin along with fellow budding comedians who are completely new to the field.

With the workshop, you get to see the transparency of how things actually work where you also learn how to begin an act, work with props, and be available on stage.

The workshop part was very well made because I got to relate to a few students in the workshop.

What did I learn from Steve Martin’s MasterClass?

Pros & Cons of this MasterClass by Steve Martin:

 Here are some of the pros and cons of Steve Martin’s MasterClass:

Pros:

Effective and informative content.
Basic level teaching for beginners.
Availability of useful workshops.

Cons:

Old school comedy.
Too basic for intermediaries.
Not suitable for everyone.

What do I Think Should be Improved in This MasterClass?

While taking up the MasterClass by Steve Martin, I found out that Steve was playing it safe in teaching only the kind of comedy that he produces and neglected to go in-depth of the spectrum.

I kind of expected him to unlock the guts behind making offensive humor, but he simply did not touch the topic of “dark and offensive comedy” which felt weird.

About the comedy, his style and quirkiness are outdated, which might bore out some students.

He is still trying to keep up with his old method of making comedy, but I don’t think it might match the comedy and expectations of today’s trend.

Innovative and creative comedy can be included in addition to teaching students of all competitive backgrounds, from basic to experienced comedians.

What is the cost of Steve Martin’s MasterClass?

To unlock the courses in MasterClass, a student has to pay for only one single plan, which is priced at the rate of $180/- per year (billed as $15/- per month)

The plan is flexible in a way where you get access to all the available courses on the platform of MasterClass, which means 80+ MasterClasses are unlocked if you buy the All-Access Pass.

Also, there is an option of a 30-day refund policy offered by MasterClass which you can use in case you are not satisfied with the course that you opted for and want a refund from the platform. Wanna know more about MasterClass pricing, check our detailed breakdown of MasterClass costs & pricing here.

Alternatives to the MasterClass by Steve Martin:

For the ones who are seeking help and trying to find a different course on learning comedy, don’t worry, I got you covered. Even I was on the hunt for another comedy MasterClass which is when I found the Judd Apatow “Teaches Comedy” MasterClass on the same platform.

For this, you don’t have to spend separately and buy a different package because with the All-Access Pass you get to benefit the most out of MasterClass, which means the MasterClass by Judd Apatow is available for free if you had bought the All-Access Pass.

I would strongly suggest you take up both the courses because let me tell you something.

You get an added advantage of learning two incredible legends, different styles of comedy and learning to differentiate comedy from one instructor to the other.

I swear, being able to take two courses back-to-back about the same subject opened up new rooms about comedy for me.

Final Verdict: Steve Martin MasterClass Review (2024)

As a fan, I don’t know how it must have felt but as a student of Steve Martin, it was good. Not the best but it was decently good since there were a lot of expected elements missing in the course.

Explore Steve Martin MasterClass

It did teach a lot of things I might be able to find elsewhere like learning how to write scripts, performing in open mics or a live audience, and trying to experiment with an old comedy.

Though the MasterClass guided me in different aspects of learning comedy, it did not fully do justice in covering the entire spectrum of comedy. A few bits were lacking but apart from that, the course was a perfect fit for anyone trying to learn comedy from the base or starting.

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