Two PhD students, a PostDoc, a Lecturer and three Senior Lecturers walk into a bar.
No, not the start of a joke, but a description of what actually happened on campus last Thursday to kick off the first-ever University of Bath Research Centre Stand-Up Comedy Night!
Researchers from The Foundry: Centre for Digital, Manufacturing and Design have undergone an intensive training course in stand-up comedy, culminating in a live performance in front of fellow Centre members, friends, family, and colleagues from across the Faculty of Engineering and Design and beyond.
On the face of it, there might not seem to be an obvious link between the skill sets of a Stand-Up Comedian and an Academic. But in the first part of the course, the participants learned how to structure a piece of text to tell an engaging story, creating interest and delivering a clear and memorable message. Techniques that are highly relevant to writing journal papers, preparing funding applications and structuring lecture material. In the second part of the course, they learned how to deliver their material to a live audience, using voice control, pitch, speed and gestures to amplify their message and maintain attention, as well as picking up tips on interacting with the audience and dealing with hecklers. Exactly the same skills are needed when teaching students, pitching an idea in a funding interview, working with industry partners or giving a public lecture.
The Foundry Co-Director, Paul Shepherd, who dreamt up the initiative, said, “I commissioned the same training for myself more than 10 years ago as part of an EPSRC-funded Public Engagement project, and have had constant reminders ever since of the deep impact it has had on my effectiveness as an academic. And so when I took on the role of Research Centre Co-Director, re-running this course for colleagues was top of my list of activities to help define the centre’s Research Culture. It is not every training course where you can say you are still actively using what you learned a decade later – it was a hugely valuable experience, so much so that I even got Chris Head, my original trainer, back to run the course again.”
Of course, as we all know, one thing is learning all the techniques in theory, but it is quite another to put it into practice. Therefore, the course ended with an all-important live performance, allowing our brave participants the chance to try out their new skills in front of a supportive and appreciative audience. The Claverton Rooms were transformed into a Comedy Club for the evening, with a stage, microphone and a few drinks to help set the mood. The seven comedians from three of the four Departments across the Faculty – don’t Electronic & Electrical Engineers have a sense of humour? – and a rogue Computer Scientist who managed to sneak in as an associate Foundry member, took to the stage one after another to regale the audience with humorous anecdotes about their research, their teaching, and life as a University of Bath academic.
Another Co-Director of The Foundry, Bernardo Castro Dominguez, who took part in the training and led by example by kicking off as the first act said, “It is a good thing to get pushed out of your comfort zone occasionally, but this pushed me so far out I needed a Clarity Travel booking to get me back. I was incredibly nervous before stepping up on stage, but the experience has been fantastic and I am so glad I signed up - I have already been surprised how often I find myself using these newfound techniques, in my work and elsewhere.”
Ricardo Codinhoto added, “Another unexpected benefit has been the culture-building aspect for The Foundry. I’ve 'forged’ (pun intended) lasting new friendships with the others on the course. We have laughed together, brainstormed ideas together, and bonded over a shared fear of making fools of ourselves in front of our colleagues. That said, we needn’t have worried. The audience were amazingly supportive, and as soon as the laughter started flowing, I knew we were in for a great night.”
Another course participant said, “Stop making up random quotes and attributing them to us as a narrative tool to make your text sound more engaging. That’s exactly the sort of thing we’ve learned how to do in the workshop, and now I can spot it a mile away.”
Only time will tell whether The Foundry ends up being the funniest Research Centre on campus. But for now, we can safely say that it has seven incredibly brave members who have honed transferable skills that will no doubt serve them well in their future careers. And if they are still feeling the course’s positive impact 10 years from now, then who knows … maybe they will find themselves organising stand-up comedy training for their colleagues, and before we know it we could have a University full of comedians. One thing is for sure, with all this marking to do, I could certainly do with a laugh…
