How to Punch up the Comedy in Your Feature Film Script

Learn from Jonathan Tessero, award-nominated writer, director, and creative consultant trusted by Tony and Emmy-winning producers to make scripts sharper, funnier, and more shootable!

You’ll also receive two downloadable guides packed with punch-up techniques you can start using immediately to make your script land bigger laughs and sharper moments.

If you’re writing a feature film, whether a character-driven comedy, a heartfelt dramedy, or a genre piece with sharp wit, you already have something special. Today’s marketplace is full of good stories, but the scripts that truly shine are the ones that hit harder, land funnier, and move faster. You’ve done incredible work: you’ve built characters you care about, shaped scenes that serve your story, and crafted dialogue that sparkles with subtext and desire. Now it’s time to take everything you’ve created to the next level and transform your script into a Hollywood-ready gem with the power of the punch-up!

But punch-up can feel like a mysterious, intimidating step - mostly because no one ever really teaches it. You may have heard vague notes like “make it funnier,” “lift this moment,” or “sharpen the turn,” without any real guidance on how to do that without breaking the scene you’ve already shaped so carefully. Maybe you’ve tried the obvious fixes: adding jokes, trimming lines, swapping a word or two. Or maybe you’re stuck on a pivotal beat and don’t know if the solution is tightening, deepening, heightening, or rewriting behavior instead of dialogue. Punch-up isn’t a punishment, and it can’t rescue a bad draft, what it can do is transform a good script into the version that gets made instead of passed around to script doctors. It’s a craft of rhythm, tension, specificity, escalation, and character-driven choices. And once you understand the toolkit, you can use it to tune your script before anyone else touches it.

That’s exactly why Jonathan Tessero is the perfect guide for this webinar. Jonathan is an award-nominated writer, director, and producer whose work across theater, film, television, and live entertainment has earned acclaim from The New York Times as “sentimental… quietly affecting… and very funny.” He brings more than two decades of experience writing and directing material for actors, comedians, musicians, models, and performers across Broadway, Las Vegas, arenas worldwide, and major U.S. television networks. His expertise lies in understanding how jokes land, how character shapes voice, and how performers bring dialogue to life—making him a trusted creative consultant and script doctor for Tony and Emmy-winning producers. When it comes to rewriting, rhythm, and comedic architecture, Jonathan has not only taught the craft—he has lived it at the highest professional level.

In this webinar, you’ll break down what punch-up actually is, why it matters, and how great writers think about rewriting. You’ll learn how to diagnose what a scene truly needs, sharpen rhythm and turns, use behavior to elevate comedy and character, apply structural tools that strengthen emotional and comedic impact, and rewrite without losing your voice. With practical approaches, the “Five Fast Punch-Up Fixes,” and handouts like the Punch Up and Pass Checklist and Guide to Function, Impact, and Cost of Making That a Joke, you’ll walk away with a clear, actionable framework for elevating your script and the confidence to polish your story into its strongest, funniest, most shootable version yet.

PLUS! You Will Receive:

• Two downloadable guides packed with punch-up techniques you can start using immediately to make your script land bigger laughs and sharper moments.

Feedback from attendees: 

"I have to watch it again, but I loved when he said, "It's not about the joke, it's about building the scene to make people laugh." (Or words to that effect)" -Mark

"Candid real life information. The instructor used from their own method and experience!" -Ron