Stand Up and Learn with Kevin Flynn

Stand Up & Learn™ is an educational program for kids aged 8–16 that is comprised of a series of lessons using video and interactive worksheets that engage students in creative writing, communication, and critical thinking as well as team and confidence building. Stand Up & Learn is the first stand-up comedy program developed for school-aged children, with an emphasis on writing comedic stories and bits. The program is currently being implemented with Nantucket students, The Gateway School in New York City, the Deveraux Glenholme School in Washington, Connecticut, and at the Cape Cod Conservatory.

Program Details:

• The program runs from 3:30pm – 5:30pm Tuesday through Friday from July 15 – 18.
• The performance will take place in the Barn on Friday, July 18 at 5pm (tickets will go on sale in late June)
• The class size will be a maximum of 12 students ages 8 to 16 (minimum 5 to run).

More about Stand Up and Learn:

In 2007, professional stand-up comedian Kevin Flynn was devastated to learn that a rash of teen suicides had shaken the Nantucket community. Kevin knew there was healing power in laughter, so he set his heart on applying it to the tragedy-stricken island.

Kevin envisioned creating classes for kids using stand up comedy techniques to teach confidence and self esteem. As with any large project, he recognized such an endeavor would require funding. So, Kevin gathered a group of his nationally-recognized stand-up comic friends and asked if they would be willing to donate their time and talent at a Festival dedicated to support the kids’ comedy program. The comics generously obliged.

The following summer, the first Nantucket Comedy Festival brought laughter to a community that was in need of its restorative impact, while laying the groundwork for the revolutionary Stand Up & Learn platform.

More about Kevin Flynn:

Kevin Flynn is an award winning actor, writer, producer, host, and comedian.

Starting out as a professional soccer player, Kevin made the transition to standup comedian by winning the prestigious Boston Comedy Riot. Since that time, Kevin has gone on to make numerous television and film appearances as a comedian and actor.

Kevin can be seen as The Wedding Coordinator in The Heartbreak Kid with Ben Stiller; in Me, Myself and Irene with Jim Carrey; in Osmosis Jones with Bill Murray; and as Charlotte’s Boyfriend in HBO’s Sex and the City. His character, Bram Walker, was voted one of the most popular boyfriends in the series. Kevin recently completed a role in the movie The Worlds Greatest Beer Run with Russell Crowe and Zac Efron.

While constantly acting and performing standup around the country, Kevin also works as a host and entertainer in the sports world. Flynn has covered World Cup Soccer for Fox Sports, ESPN, and ABC. Flynn’s show, SportsFigures on ESPN, received the POLK Award for excellence in children’s programming. He also created a weekly sports podcast for the ESPN Network called Over the Ball. The show combines the worlds of soccer, comedy, and entertainment. The show has been named MLS Talk Show of the Year.

In 1996, Kevin was the host of The Discovery Channel’s Go For It, an extreme outdoor adventure show where he swam with sharks, jumped out of airplanes, and scaled dangerous peaks. The show led Kevin to create his first one-man show, The Go For It Guy, which won the Best of Fest at the Boston Comedy Festival and HBO’s U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen.

Kevin is currently touring nationally with his latest one-man show, Fear of Heights—A Very Funny Phobia.

Along with continually performing his stand-up, Kevin is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Nantucket Comedy Festival. Each summer, the festival brings top comedic talent to Nantucket Island as the major fundraiser for Stand Up & Learn™, an island-based, year-round comedy education program serving Nantucket’s children. He is in the process of launching the Stand Up & Learn program nationally.