British Comedy Guide Newsletter
Make It Newsletter Thursday 14th September 2017
Our monthly newsletter for those who are involved in the creation of comedy...
Features
Newsjack Newsjack

Newsjack - the sketch show anyone can write for - is back on air tonight for a new series, and will celebrate its 100th episode soon. Over the last eight years the format has built up a reputation for delivering great satirical comedy and has discovered and launched the careers of several comedy writers.

Series 17 is fronted by returning host Angela Barnes, with Adnan Ahmed and Suzy Grant as the producers. The script editors this series include Ed Amsden and Tom Coles.

Writing on Twitter, the producers gave the following tip in terms of honing your material for the show. "Listen to the first show to see what we select and the overall tone of the show." Episode 1 was recorded last night, so tune in tonight or get the podcast.

Once you have listened, it is time to think about writing for next week's episode. The Submit a sketch page explains how to send them material and what the deadlines are.

Want more tips and support? Angela Barnes shared some writing tips with us in January, and she gives more advice about why it is important to submit every week in this July interview. Meanwhile, to discuss the show with a community of other submitters head over to the BCG forum's Newsjack thread.
WGGB Writers' Guild launches Best Online Comedy Award

The Writers' Guild of Great Britain has launched a new category in its prestigious annual Awards to recognise the best online comedy videos. If you have uploaded a scripted comedy sketch to the internet in the last year, there are more details here on how to nominate your work. Read
John Fleming Have a plan

Blogger John Fleming has observed the fall and rise of many comedy careers. He has published a blog on how to build a career in comedy. It's all about setting goals: Read
Alex Smith Know your audience

Alex Smith from production company Roughcut has written a blog for Televisual magazine about why producers need to know their audiences: so they can serve them shows with pinpoint accuracy. Read
Writing Comedy courses

Can you learn to be funny? The Stage newspaper has published an article in which it talks to some of those behind comedy courses. Read
So Awkward Creating 'So Awkward'

So Awkward, CBBC's hit sitcom about three schoolgirls, is now back on TV for Series 3 and work is under way on Series 4. Back in 2015, creator Julie Bower wrote us a great blog about how the show was developed. We thought it was worth re-visiting now. Read
BBC Comedy Personalise your contact

Make sure you personalise your contact with producers and companies you are sending your work to. Write to each personally from scratch. Don't use a copy and paste template. BBC Comedy tweeted the following message they got, to make that point: "Dear Sir/Madam, I'm a big fan of Comedy Central..." *Files copy/paste email in trash*
Mark Row Edinburgh as a first time performer

At the end of this year's Edinburgh Festival, new stand-up Mark Row wrote us a great article about his experiences performing at the Fringe for the first time. He's very honest about how it went, and his article contains some useful insight and tips. Read
Simon Blackwell Simon Blackwell interview

Channel 4's new sitcom Back is on TV on Wednesdays. Simon Blackwell is the writer behind the show, and in this interview he talks more about creating the programme: Read
James Cary 3 ways to improve your sitcom script on your own

Regular readers of this newsletter will know we love James Cary's blog. In his latest post, he talks about three ways you can improve your script without input from others. Read
Holly Walsh Holly Walsh on writing The Other One

Did you watch new BBC Two pilot The Other One? We really liked it. In this interview Holly Walsh talks about making the show, and offers up a good tip for aspiring sitcom writers. Read
BBC Writersroom BBC Writersroom

A reminder that BBC Writersroom collates some opportunities. You may want to sift out the drama ones, but their list is always worth a look: View

Also, if you're interested in their annual Comedy Room scheme, you might like the blog they have posted giving insight into the 2017 Comedy Room.
Myriad Roughcut Myriad Comic Cuts

A reminder that you have until the 30th of this month to get your entry in for Myriad Comic Cuts, a unique competition seeking comedy scripts in graphic novel form. Details
Sitcom Geeks Sitcom Geeks

James Cary and Dave Cohen's podcast about the art of comedy continues. Episode 56 is a good one for subscribers of this newsletter - it's a chat with top writer Jason Hazeley. Listen

For insight into stand-up comedy, check out The Comedian's Comedian Podcast
British Comedy Guide British Comedy Guide forums

We have six forums on our message board for those who create comedy. There's lots more discussions, opportunities and ideas to be found here. Please check out the Collaborators forum this month - there's various posters in there still looking for people to work with:
Opportunities
Writers' Discussion
Performance Discussion
Looking for Collaborators
Showcase
Critique
Spotlight
Here's a project picked from our Showcase forum. Get your work posted on there and it might be in our next newsletter.

Guide Spotlight Awkward Date

Unhinged Productions posted this sketch in our forum. This video suffers slightly from sound issues (they might be interested to know it's possible to pick up a boom microphone pole from eBay for less than £25), but the comedy group shows lots of promise. Watch
Thanks for Reading
To keep up with what is going on in the world of comedy, don't forget to visit BCG's main site each day.

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