THERE IS A THEORY that you cannot teach someone to be funny. You either are or you aren’t. That attending a “school for comedy” is nonsensical: “ Why would you pay someone to teach you how to improv? Didn’t you play make believe as a kid? And George Carlin didn’t take stand up classes. He just was, and is, funny.”
But it’s probably more of a chicken-and-egg thing. Someone who is humorously inclined tends to be drawn to such classes – to build their comedic muscles – as someone who is drawn to such classes tends to be humorously inclined – to flex their comedic muscles. Thus, perhaps, a perpetual cycle of building and flexing for laughs is established. Plus comedy clubs and local comedians benefit from the additional revenue stream, so, eh, why not? Let’s give those so inclined a chance to let their inner child/shadow
Especially when we can all see the results at a stand up class graduation show from a place like the DC Improv Comedy School , where many of the students have “real” jobs. Like in the federal government, law firms, public policy, etc.