Teaching Comedy

When the popular crowd at Brentwood High votes me Most Likely to Marry a Math Book, I’m ready to put my ruler into the eye of any egotistical jock who comes near me. Including the idolized Bobcats quarterback, Connor Bray, when he asks me to tutor him. His only requirement? Our tutoring sessions must be secret—meaning that because Connor is too embarrassed to be seen with the resident math geek, I can’t even tell my boyfriend I’m helping Brentwood High’s all-star player. And when Connor begins to give me lessons in love, it starts to feel like I’m the one getting schooled.

What happens when you put a stand-up comedian in a classroom full of middle schoolers, not as an entertainer, but as their teacher? A bit of hilarity ensues, as you’d expect. But more importantly, you get a glimpse of the American education system from an unexpected source — a system that’s startling in contrast to just a few years ago. Students sitting back, having their work done for them by “para-professionals.” Teachers bound by a code of behavior that makes quieting a disruptive classroom near-impossible. And a fear of inappropriate touching so pervasive that substitute ...

Richard Griffiths, Clive Merrison, and Frances de la Tour star as part of the National Theatre cast. At a boys' grammar school in Sheffield, eight boys are being coached for the Oxbridge entrance exams. It is the mid-eighties, and the main concern of the unruly bunch of bright sixth-formers is getting out, starting university and starting life.

Meet the Prophet Murray, son of Irving of the Tribe of Levi (Relaxed Fit) and his wife, Francine. Though a poor student and a disappointment to his parents, Murray cannot escape his destiny. Hearing God's call, he wanders the lands with his cousin Lenny, preaching his unique brand of biblical wisdom ("Love the stranger, though not on the first date"), dispensing diet tips, and giving unsolicited advice.