• Journey
  • Fresh Mouth: Confidence Through Comedy (Summer 2026)

Summer 2026

Fresh Mouth: Confidence Through Comedy

This Journey transforms your unique observations and “wild and wacky” thoughts into a structured comedy set. Through bi-weekly Journey Meetings and personalized coaching, you will explore the mechanics of humor, moving from a raw premise to a polished delivery. You will learn to find the funny in the everyday while building the stage presence and confidence necessary to share your voice. The experience concludes in a live showcase alongside peers and professional comedians, where you will debut your original material and celebrate the power of humor as a tool for connection and self-expression.

Unique Benefits of this Journey

Learn from the Pros & Get Positioned for Success!

Work directly with professional comedians | Meet one-to-one for coaching sessions with our incredible teaching artist | Debut original work in a live showcase with professional comedians | Produce a final video for portfolios and use on applications.

How This Journey is Different

This is a special program designed for mentees ages 10-13 that helps sustain the Girls Write Now community

While the vast majority of Girls Write Now programs are offered completely free of charge to mentees 14-24, this small, premium Journey has been created exclusively for a cohort of writers ages 10-13, and includes a program fee for mentees. The fee supports the program experience and helps sustain Girls Write Now’s broader mission to provide free writing and mentoring programs to thousands of systemically underserved writers nationwide.
Hollie Harper and Ijeoma Asonye hug on stage at the Let Me Finish! Voices of Comedy Showcase at the Girls Write Now office in NYC.

Journey Cost & What Your Funds Support

To support our programs mentees pay $1500 (or $1200 if application received by April 6) and mentors generously volunteer time

By joining this Journey, participants are not only investing in their own creative development—they are helping make Girls Write Now’s free programs possible for systemically underserved mentees. As with all Journeys, mentors who give their valuable time also benefit by experimenting with new writing, learning diverse skills, and building relationships for life.

Journey Teaching Artist

Hollie Harper

Hollie Harper is a South Jersey comedy nerd/writer/actress/content creator. In 2021 she created and co-exec-produced Hella Late! with Hollie Harper on BRIC TV for which she was nominated for best actress at the 2021 NYC Web Fest. She’s a board member of Standup Girls where she teaches standup and sketch comedy and also teaches both for Gold Comedy. She was also a recent semi-finalist in the NBC Standup Competition.

Hollie is a creative consultant for the Black Women in Comedy Laff Fest and The Lake Placid Film Festival and has been featured on NY1, Black Enterprise Magazine, Black SD Magazine, Thrive Global, Confessional Magazine and was profiled on the nationally recognized Motherly podcast.

This past summer she won Best Actress at the Act One, One Act Festival, and her live, sold-out comedy show F.D.K with Emily Flake was selected for this year’s New York Comedy Festival.

This summer marks Holly’s 5th cycle teaching with Girls Write Now, and she’s loving it!

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Hollie Harper

Ready to Apply?

Check with your parents or guardians, learn more below, and get started now. If you do not already have a Girls Write Now Portal account, you will be asked to create one in order to apply.

Apply Now

Ready to Apply?

Check with your parents or guardians, learn more below, and get started now. If you do not already have a Girls Write Now Portal account, you will be asked to create one in order to apply.

 

 

Apply Now
  • JOURNEY REQUIREMENTS
  • Cycle(s) 1 Cycle (July 1st to September 30th)
  • Time Commitment A minimum 3 hours per month (4-5 hours strongly recommended!)
  • Journey Meetings Attend monthly Journey meetings. See dates listed below.
  • Mentoring Have a minimum of two one-hour pair sessions per month.
  • Journey Project Prepare a comedy set and participate in a stand-up comedy show.
  • Age Range for Mentees 10-13
  • Mentee Journey Fee $1500 or $1200 for applications received by April 6

Fresh Mouth: Confidence Through Comedy Community Experiences

Participants are required to attend two Journey Live Meetings each month throughout the cycle. Additionally, they can schedule 1:1 office hours with the Journey Teaching Artist for individual assistance as needed.

This journey concludes with a Stand-Up Comedy Show, where participants perform their sets for a live audience.

Summer Cycle Journey Meetings:

  • Wednesday, July 8, 6 – 7:30 PM ET
  • Wednesday, July 22, 6 – 7:30 PM ET
  • Wednesday, August 5, 6 – 7:30 PM ET
  • Wednesday, August 19, 6 – 7:30 PM ET
  • Wednesday, September 2, 6 – 7:30 PM ET
  • Wednesday, September 16, 6 – 7:30 PM ET

Showcase

  • Saturday, September 26, 2026, 4 – 6 PM ET

If you’re unable to attend a Journey meeting, please notify your Staff Lead in advance.

Journey Circle: Community

Fresh Mouth: Confidence Through Comedy Course

Finding Your Funny: An Intro Stand-Up Comedy
This accompanying course teaches the fundamentals of joke writing, comedic structure, and crafting punchlines. You’ll explore how to develop your unique comedic voice, shape personal stories into tight sets, and experiment with timing, rhythm, and delivery. By the end of the course, you’ll have polished original material and the confidence to perform it for a live audience.

Writing

Fresh Mouth: Confidence Through Comedy Mentoring

Mentees and mentors in this Journey will be matched for one cycle. Pairs will meet for at least two hour-long sessions each month.

Lead 360

All journeys within the Lead 360 Adventure emphasize leadership, aiming to help mentees and mentors develop their leadership skills and work together to create a better future. Explore the other Adventures offered at Girls Write Now below to learn more.

Fresh Mouth: Confidence Through Comedy is a Journey in the Lead 360 & Performance 360 Adventures.

See All Adventures

A Word from Teaching Artist Hollie Harper

Explore All Journeys

Explore All Journeys

Explore Tour (Summer 2026)

Explore all of the creative and storytelling pathways Girls Write Now has to offer through a multimedia, multi-genre experience that includes mini courses, exploratory studios, and one-on-one pair sessions. Discover new skills and build on existing ones with offerings that range from fiction to journalism to publishing, and dive into formats like video, podcasting, visual storytelling, and more. Ideal for mentees who enjoy working across multiple genres and media or are focused on specific projects, this Journey offers the flexibility to tailor your learning experience to your individual needs.

Explore Tour, photos of two girls smiling, GWN logo

Stories of Becoming: Crafting Young Adult Romance (Summer 2026)

This Journey invites participants to dive into the world of young adult romance, exploring the joys, challenges, and complexities of love in adolescence and young adulthood. Through creative writing exercises, character development, and plot crafting, mentees will learn how to create authentic, relatable stories that resonate with YA readers. Participants will explore themes of identity, friendship, and emotional growth while honing their craft in storytelling that captures the heart and imagination.

Teach GWN (Summer 2026)

In this Journey, members of the GWN community will develop curriculum and facilitate a Community Studio for one or more cycles within GWN’s Collaboratory structure. Each cycle involves facilitating three Community Studios, one per month. Participants will gain valuable skills in leadership, teaching, and community building. Mentees and mentors can facilitate a Community Studio either solo (if they are 18 or older) or together as a pair.

Fresh Mouth: Confidence Through Comedy (Summer 2026)

This Journey transforms your unique observations and "wild and wacky" thoughts into a structured comedy set. Through bi-weekly Journey Meetings and personalized coaching, you will explore the mechanics of humor, moving from a raw premise to a polished delivery. You will learn to find the funny in the everyday while building the stage presence and confidence necessary to share your voice. The experience concludes in a live showcase alongside peers and professional comedians, where you will debut your original material and celebrate the power of humor as a tool for connection and self-expression.

College Ready: Drafting Your Narrative (Summer 2026)

This Journey offers a streamlined path to college readiness through interactive workshops, mentoring, and peer exchange. You will move from drafting a compelling personal statement to building a strategic school list and navigating financial planning, all while receiving personalized feedback on your work. By the end of the program, you’ve gained the skills to create a polished application and the insider knowledge needed to present your most authentic self to admissions committees.

Zine Makers: Crafting A Peer Poetry Zine (Summer 2026)

This Journey invites you to step into the role of editor and designer to transform poetry from the spring Poetry Rising Journey into a compelling, collaborative zine. You will move through the specialized stages of the publishing world, beginning with a deep editorial dive to refine existing verses inspired by heritage and created by your peers. As you master visual composition and multimedia design, you will learn to pair these powerful voices with a cohesive aesthetic, ultimately gaining the technical skills and creative vision needed to produce and share a high-impact, independent publication.

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