Sitcom Trials So You Think You're Funny 2016 Page 2

Would be curious to know number of submissions, as well as number of video-entries...

I've got everything crossed, would really LOVE to be a part of this!

Good luck to everyone that's submitted!

J x

Here's the line up for Monday April 11th's Glasgow Sitcom Trials:

The Graduettes - Performed by Sean Wilkie and cast (SCOTLAND)
Friends Minus Benefits - Walmsley & McInnes (SCOTLAND)
Twentieth Century Fox - Graeme Prosser (SCOTLAND)
Gun For Hire - Adriel Leff (LONDON)
Kapow! - Griff Phillips (OXFORD)

Colin McQuaid and team are performing the writer-only scripts, with the Graduettes self-performed.

This is not a formal Heat, but an airing of a selection of scripts, mostly from local writers, to help assess them. Think of it as an expanded script reading, and a bit of fun.

Scripts for consideration for the other shows are still being read.

We'll see you at the show, only £3 on the door.

Quote: Kev F @ 6th April 2016, 9:34 PM BST

Friends Minus Benefits - Walmsley & McInnes (SCOTLAND)

Hey - that's us!

Just saw this post today, should we have got an email about this?

Saw on the website the venue is Yesbar... Also assume writers get free entry+champagne?

Cheers!

Congrats MartinW!

:)

Quote: Bonzo @ 8th April 2016, 12:01 PM BST

Congrats MartinW!

:)

Thanks Bonzo!

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Here are the video highlights from the Glasgow Sitcom Trials So You Think You Write Funny show at Yes Bar on Monday April 11th. Click to play.

The 5 sitcoms, selected from the entries into the SYTYWF competition, were:

Gun For Hire by Adriel Leff
Twentieth Century Fox by Graeme Prosser
The Graduettes by Sean Wilkie
Friends Minus Benefits by Walmsley & McInnes
Kapow! by Griff Phillips

And the winner of the audience vote on the nights was...?

The Graduettes by Sean Wilkie

This was not a formal Heat of the SYTYWF competition, that will be taking place in June. This was an informal show to give a hearing to some of the material in the competition, and no decision has been made yet as to which material will be appearing in the Heats. Thanks to everyone who came and all who took part, we look forward to seeing you at the subsequent shows.

Glasgow April 11th
Manchester May 15th
Cardiff May 19th
Birmingham May 28th
Glasgow June 28th tbc (Heat)
Birmingham July 9th (Heat)
Cardiff July 16th (Heat)
Manchester July 17th (Heat)
Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh Fringe August 23rd - Final

Stay tuned to this blog, Facebook and Twitter for updates.

Kev F Sutherland
Producer
The Sitcom Trials

Quote: martinw @ 8th April 2016, 11:39 AM BST

Hey - that's us!

Just saw this post today, should we have got an email about this?

Saw on the website the venue is Yesbar... Also assume writers get free entry+champagne?

Hi Martin, so sorry you didn't get an email about this, but I'm really glad you made it to the show. I hope you enjoyed seeing what was just a rehearsed reading of your script. If you like, I can send you the video of the full performance? - Kev F

Congratulations MartinW! That's awesome!

J x

Hello!

Does anyone know what sitcom scripts are being performed at the three informal shows before the official heats?

Manchester May 15th
Cardiff May 19th
Birmingham May 28th

J x

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The Sitcom Trials So You Think You Write Funny Manchester took place at the Kings Arms Salford tonight, testing out some possible scripts for the forthcoming Heats in July.

The scripts in contention were:
Adam & Eve & Steve by Sean Fee
Meat Space by Jim Spiers
Life and Other Distractions by Liam Tully
The Best Years by Laurence Tratalos
And the winner was...

Adam & Eve & Steve, by rather a landslide. A video of clips of the show will emerge soon, and, for the benefit of the writers, we'll be able to show them full videos of their scripts.

Sitcom Trials So You Think You Write Funny 2016 shows:
April 11 - Glasgow
May 15 - Manchester
May 19 - Cardiff
May 28 - Birmingham
June 2 - London Heat 1
July 7 - London Heat 2
July 9 - Birmingham Heat
July 16 - Cardiff Heat
July 17 - Manchester Heat
July 23 - Glasgow Heat
August 23 - Edinburgh Fringe Grand Final

Quote: GoWithIt @ 10th May 2016, 10:41 AM BST

Hello!

Does anyone know what sitcom scripts are being performed at the three informal shows before the official heats?

Manchester May 15th
Cardiff May 19th
Birmingham May 28th

We'll be updating you on Cardiff and Birmingham shortly. The greatest apologies, though, to the writers of the Manchester scripts who, due to a miscommunication at our end, weren't told in advance that we were doing their scripts. The videos of the performances will be going online for their eyes only as a small compensation.

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The London Heats of the Sitcom Trials So You Think You Write Funny will be taking place at a new venue for us, Ophelia in Dalston, on Thurs June 2nd and Thurs July 7th.

Ophelia has a fabulous downstairs theatre bar, with its own entrance, and a cozy room with stage, PA and lights, ideal for a Sitcom Trials show. Ophelia is right beside Dalston Junction overground station at 574 Kingsland Road. You can't miss it, though you might be deceived by its sneaky lack of a name on its sign. Here's what the place looks like:

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Tickets are just £5 on the door, doors open 7.30pm, show starts 8pm. Sitcoms being performed will be announced in the next couple of days. We look forward to seeing you there.

The next London Heat is at the same venue on July 7th. Online tickets will be available for that show shortly.

Sitcom Trials So You Think You Write Funny 2016 shows:
April 11 - Glasgow
May 15 - Manchester
May 19 - Cardiff
May 28 - Birmingham
June 2 - London Heat 1
July 7 - London Heat 2
July 9 - Birmingham Heat
July 16 - Cardiff Heat
July 17 - Manchester Heat
July 23 - Glasgow Heat
August 23 - Edinburgh Fringe Grand Final

Quote: GoWithIt @ 10th May 2016, 10:41 AM BST

Does anyone know what sitcom scripts are being performed at the three informal shows before the official heats?

Manchester May 15th
Cardiff May 19th
Birmingham May 28th

A very good question, and profuse apologies for the cock up which meant Manchester's writers weren't told which scripts were being read on the 15th.

Cardiff May 19th was downgraded to a table reading rather than a show, on which you'll hear anything if there's anything to report (ie, if everything they read was rejected, and since none of it was recorded, all you'll hear in the end is which scripts have made it to the Heats).

Birmingham May 28th details in post below.

And June 2nd, the show I'm responsible for, hasn't announced its line-up yet either. Never let it be said that the Sitcom Trials doesn't like to keep you waiting till the last minute.

A full line up of sitcoms going into the Heats will be announced soon.

Kev F
Executive Producer
The Sitcom Trials

Quote: GoWithIt @ 10th May 2016, 10:41 AM BST

Does anyone know what sitcom scripts are being performed at the three informal shows before the official heats?

Birmingham May 28th

UPDATE: Birmingham are doing a development day on Saturday 28th with the five scripts they've chosen:

Aquarius Cafe by Rachel Sambrooks
The Cleaners by Richard Constable & Roger Saunders
Naval Gazing by Rob Smyth
Falling Flat by Peter Etherington
All at Sea by Aaron Caris

The writers have all been invited along and will be working with Aaron and the team to get these items in shape for their heat.

UPDATE: Cardiff did a read last week and are reading more this weekend. They have a shortlist of 7 contenders, which survived the table reading. They were:

Coffee Boys
Chops
Caravan
End the Night
Red Dragon
TEFL
Agents of Love Craft

They may add a couple of names to that list, they'll certainly have to lose two by the time of the Heat.

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The 4 sitcoms that have been chosen for the First Heat of The Sitcom Trials So You Think You Write Funny, to be held in London on June 2nd, are:

Lookalikes by Vanessa-Faye Stanley
Latched On by Victoria Morris & Clare Clifford
Father God by Tasha Dhanraj
Singularities by Kat Sadler

(Earlier post said Single In The Smoke by Tash Goldstone was in this Heat. It is in fact in the July 7 Heat)

The show takes place at Ophelia, 574 Kingsland Road, Dalston E8 4AH (right next to Dalston Junction station) doors opening 7.30, show starts 8pm. Tickets are just £5 on the door.

We hope you can all make it and we look forward to seeing you there. The next London Heat will be at the same venue on July 7th, followed by Heats in Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester and Glasgow and the Grand Final at the Edinburgh Fringe in August. Line-ups for those Heats are to be announced shortly.

Sitcom Trials So You Think You Write Funny 2016 shows:

May 28 - Birmingham development day
June 2 - London Heat 1, Ophelia Dalston, 8pm £5
July 7 - London Heat 2, Ophelia Dalston, 8pm £5
July 9 - Birmingham Heat, The Mac, 7.30pm £8
July 16 - Cardiff Heat, Motorpoint Arena 8pm
July 17 - Manchester Heat, Kings Arms Salford, 8.30pm £4
July 23 - Glasgow Heat, Dram 8pm
August 23 - Edinburgh Fringe Grand Final

Announcing the scripts chosen for the Heats of The Sitcom Trials - So You Think You Write Funny

http://sitcomtrials.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/sitcom-trials-sytywf-chosen-scripts.html

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The Sitcom Trials is running a competition to find the best new situation comedy writing in the country, culminating in a Grand Final at the Gilded Balloon at the Edinburgh Fringe in August, as part of the long-running So You Think You're Funny competition.

Heats will be taking place in London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester and Glasgow, showcasing 30 brand new comedies, 5 of which will compete in the final in August. Their prize will be the chance of their own show at the Gilded Balloon at the following year's Edinburgh Fringe.

Past winners of the Sitcom Trials include McNeil & Pamphilon, whose new TV series Go 8-Bit starts soon on Dave, and Miranda Hart whose joke-shop based sitcom was the hit of the Sitcom Trials' very first Edinburgh run.

The Sitcom Trials So You Think You Write Funny 2016 is the biggest and most ambitious live sitcom competition the country has seen, taking place in more cities than ever before, none of which would be possible without the teams in each city and their sterling showrunners.

Birmingham is in the hands of comedian and actor Aaron Twitchen and his Foghorn Improv group; Cardiff's show is helmed by comedians Charlie Smith and Dan Mitchell and their team from A Box Full Of Comedy; Manchester is run by actor and author Sean Mason and his team, who take the credit for running Sitcom Trials longer than anyone else; Glasgow is under the control of Colin McQuaid and his Beyond A Joke troupe; while London is looked after by Sitcom Trials creator and executive producer Kev F Sutherland.

The full list of chosen scripts and writers is below, along with a list of the Heats and venues for the various shows.

THE CHOSEN SCRIPTS:

LONDON HEAT 1 - June 2 at Ophelia, Dalston E8 4AH
Father God by Tasha Dhanraj
Latched On by Victoria Morris & Clare Clifford
Lookalikes by Vanessa-Faye Stanley
Singularities by Kat Sadler

LONDON Heat 2 - July 7 at Ophelia, Dalston E8 4AH
Galaxy Ball by Diane Spencer
Good Little Boy by Lewis Cook
No 74 by Victoria Reilly
Single In The Smoke by Tash Goldstone
Sonny & Me by Baby Isako
We Three Kings by Christian Nardecchia

BIRMINGHAM HEAT - July 9 at The Mac, Birmingham
All at Sea by Aaron Caris
Aquarius Café by Rachel Sambrooks
Falling Flat by Peter Etherington
Naval Gazing by Rob Smyth
The Cleaners by Richard Constable & Roger Saunders

CARDIFF HEAT - July 16 at Exit 7, Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
Agent of Lovecraft by Paul Hunt
Chops by William Kelly
Coffee Boys by Liam Jones
End the Night by Adam Charles Baker
Red Dragon by Michael Young-Drennan

MANCHESTER HEAT - July 17 at Kings Arms Theatre, Salford
Adam & Eve & Steve by Sean Fee
Babestation by Stephen Lawson
Lost Cause by Andy Partington
Vlog Eat Vlog by Christy White-Spunner

GLASGOW HEAT - July 23 at Dram, Glasgow
20th Century Fox by Graeme Prosser
Compose Yourself by Richard Archibald
Graduettes by Sean Wilkie
Kapow by Griff Phillips

GRAND FINAL - August 23rd at The Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh Fringe http://tinyurl.com/TrialsGB

(NB: You'll notice the total number of scripts on this list is only 28. That is because the Manchester and Glasgow heats may include an additional 5th script in each. The choice of these is currently being debated and we didn't want to delay the announcement while that continues.)

Hello!

Any idea when the final two scripts will be decided?

J x