The Mizel Arts and Culture Center at the JCC offers a comedy class, the Tight Five, that culminates in a live performance after eight weeks of practice. Yup…nothing builds confidence like bombing in front of your rabbi, your Aunt Barbara, and your ex from summer camp! The Tight Five class allows all budding comedians (regardless of experience, religion, or background) to learn about the ins and outs of comedy. Throughout the process, each student creates a “tight five set,” or five minutes of stand-up content. The participants will brainstorm and workshop their bit with the support of The Comedy Bible by Judy Carter, the other students, and the teacher. Students will choose personal anecdotes and offer vulnerable storytelling to write jokes that the audience will connect to (and hopefully laugh at!) You might decide to take the Tight Five comedy class hoping to find your voice. Instead, you’ll get an echoing pit of self-doubt and two elderly women knitting in the front row who will whisper “oy vey” every time you open your mouth. Either way, we promise that it will be cheaper than therapy. The Tight Five class is for everyone and anyone eighteen years of age and older. No experience is necessary to enroll in the course – absolute beginners, returners who don’t feel funny enough yet, intermediately silly people, retired class clowns, and family jokesters.  

 The class will meet once per week throughout the Spring 2026 Session with six class meetings, a dress rehearsal, and final performance in mid-April with a headliner. Past headliners include comedians like Adam Cayton Holland, Ali Kolbert, and Wolf Theatre Academy alum Sam Clark. You will want to invite all your friends and family to the showcase so your dad can say, “We’re proud of you for trying.” Which is Jewish for, “That sure was…something.”