BCG Pro Newsletter

Friday 24th July 2020

"Zoom! What was that? That was your life, mate!" Yes, somehow another fortnight has passed. As we near the end of July, here's the latest run-down of news, features and opportunities from BCG Pro.

Writing Awards

BCG Pro Talent Awards - 1 week to enter! Paywall

Our new writing award involves creating just two sketches, and the deadline is 31st July. We're working on great opportunities for the winners, and we've some top judges lined up to read your work, including Horrible Histories producer Caroline Norris, TV sketch show writer Gemma Arrowsmith and Scot Squad creator Joe Hullait.

Sitcom Geeks

Sitcom Geeks

In their latest two podcasts, James Cary and Dave Cohen have been talking to the brilliantly prolific writer-producers Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto. There's some interesting discussion in how success can come from failure, and the real story behind how The Office was made.

My Comedy Career: Sam Underwood

My Comedy Career: Sam Underwood Paywall

As he explains, Sam Underwood does all kinds of things within the world of TV comedy so doesn't have a set job title. His multi-role approach has meant he's picked up lots of tips for creating comedy - which he shares here.

Mother's Best Child talk about how they turned their passion into a business

Mother's Best Child talk about how they turned their passion into a business

Guy Davidson and Dan Clarke have become well-known for creating online sketches for broadcasters. In this insight-packed interview they explain how their passion for comedy led them to forming the production company Mother's Best Child, and the lessons they've learnt along the way.

Opportunities Hub

Opportunities Hub Paywall

Head to our list of competitions, events, jobs and more for the latest goings-on. There's a number of Zoom-based insight sessions scheduled for next week, for example Joe Lycett will be chatting to Mo Gilligan.

Finalists announced for BCG Pro's Yellow Door Script Call

Finalists announced for BCG Pro's Yellow Door Script Call

The finalists selected for the second round of BCG Pro's Yellow Door Script Call have been revealed. Congratulations to the 10 who have made it through to the second round, and a huge well done to everyone who entered - the judges commented on how high the standard of entries were, and on their creative range.

Mini Cheddah wins Comedy Crowd TV 2020 Showcase

Mini Cheddah wins Comedy Crowd TV 2020 Showcase

The winners of the Comedy Crowd TV Showcase 2020 - sponsored by BCG Pro - have been revealed. Mini Cheddah was the winner, with Victor Hampson second and Christian Jegard third.

How Twinned Town adjusted its angle and got made

How Twinned Town adjusted its angle and got made Paywall

Comedians and co-stars Leroy Brito and Ignacio Lopez rejigged their sitcom pitch when the pandemic hit, got a pilot commissioned by the BBC, then made it in lockdown. It pays to be flexible, they tell BCG Pro.

Kate Edmunds to oversee comedy at Talkback

Kate Edmunds to oversee comedy at Talkback

Kate Edmunds has been appointed director of programmes at Talkback, the production company that makes shows including QI and Celebrity Juice.

My Comedy Career: Verona Rose

My Comedy Career: Verona Rose Paywall

Actor and writer Verona Rose talks to us about the importance of being in the right head-space for an audition, how creativity can strike at 4am, and why you need a thick skin to work in comedy.

Maisah Thompson joins Baby Cow as development producer

Maisah Thompson joins Baby Cow as development producer

Baby Cow Productions has announced Maisah Thompson as its new development producer.

Sitcom Mission

Sitcom Mission

This long-running writing competition has a track record of showcasing future writing talent, so the 'winner' line on your CV really means something. A reminder that you have until 2nd August to enter your script. There is an entry fee, but if you're a BCG Pro member you get £5 off.

Jon Long

Creating Musical Comedy

A sign that we are getting closer to something approaching normality: we've just listed the first non-virtual workshop in our courses section. Jon Long will be teaching musical comedy in London on Mondays, starting 10th August.

Our Zoom-based courses, meanwhile, continue to be popular, and - having proven to be a convenient learning method - will continue into 2021. The next batches start in September. See our courses directory now. Let us know if you'd like to see a future course cover a specific topic.

BCG Pro Gag-a-week competition

BCG Pro Gag-a-Week competition Paywall

'Hospitals' is the theme of our gag contest this week. Think you can come up with a joke on the topic before the end of Sunday? The selected winner will go out to 20,000+ readers in our Monday newsletter.

Chris Head

Services

We're in the process of adding a range of service offering to BCG Pro, with options on the way including a recorded table read of your sitcom script. Chris Head has just launched a brand new narrative comedy script reading service. And just like courses, BCG Pro members get a discount on everything.

Barry Ferns

Balancing Acts

Comedian and co-founder of Angel Comedy, Barry Ferns, is the latest guest on the Balancing Acts podcast. He talks about the struggle of getting your art out into the world and the importance of meditation.

Showcase

This section of our newsletter is where we showcase BCG Pro subscribers. Want to appear here? Just email us back.
Showcase

Stokes & Summers

Comedy double act Kate Stokes & Claudia Summers have been busy making sketches and pilots during lockdown - two of which were selected and showcased by the BBC as part of their Upload Festival. Click through to their website to watch and listen to their creations.

Comedy Casebook

Comedy Casebook: Alan Machnik

As he explains in his Casebook interview, Alan Machnik is an engineering manager by day, and a lover/writer of comedy by night. Have a read of this interesting interview to find out what his comedy favourites are, where he'd like to be in 10 years time, and more.

Thanks for reading

If you haven't already, it's time to start working on those two sketches for our writing award. Whether you're new to sketch writing or already bashing things out weekly, our exclusive 80+ page sketch tutorial offers invaluable advice, and access is already included as part of your BCG Pro membership.

We'll be back in your inbox in a fortnight. In the meantime we're working on bringing some new functionality to BCG Pro members... stay tuned!

British Comedy Guide
www.comedy.co.uk

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