BCG Pro Newsletter

Friday 29th October 2021

"There is no single right way to be creative or to be funny" - Charlotte Runcie

We've got some really juicy things to share with you this week, so let's get straight on to them...

Hat Trick

Hat Trick Sitcom Script Competition

Sitcom Geeks and BCG Pro are teaming up with top production company Hat Trick to launch a new comedy writing competition that aims to find TV sitcom scripts that can be watched and enjoyed by all ages. There's a £1,000 prize and development support available to the winner. Entry opens 1st December. Click through to hear the latest Sitcom Geeks podcast, which explains more.

Big Comedy Conference

Big Comedy Conference: 9th April 2022

Save the date: our full-day conference for comedy writers will take place in central London on Saturday 9th April 2022. You can expect panels featuring writing experts, top producers, channel commissioners and more - plus, it'll be a great place to meet other writers and network! We'll have more details, and hope to reveal our first guests in late November, but we wanted to let you know the date so you can put it in your diary straight away.

Breaking The News: Behind-the-scenes on the topical comedy show

Breaking The News: Behind-the-scenes on the topical comedy show

Breaking The News, the hit BBC Scotland topical radio and TV format, recently passed the 200 episode mark. Did you know you can write gags for it? We spoke to the producers to discover how they put the show together, and talk more about how you can get involved.

If you are planning to submit something, don't miss these writing tips from producer Lauren Mackay.

BCG Pro Sessions

BCG Pro Sessions Paywall

Our next BCG Pro Sessions event - the format where we put your questions to comedy practitioners, live on Zoom - will take place on Wednesday 24th November. We're looking forward to talking to stand-up, writer and actor Olga Koch about topics such as how to build a stand-up career and structuring hour-long shows. To get involved, just press the register button. If you can't join us live, you can still submit a question for us to put to Olga.

Performance Awards

BCG Pro Performance Awards: Sunday deadline

Are you a stand-up comedian, or stage performer in another capacity (e.g. character comic, sketch group)? The deadline for our 2021 Performance Awards is this Sunday evening, so make sure you get your video saved on our entry system before then! Do put yourself forward... you've got nothing to lose!

Opportunities Hub

Opportunities Hub Paywall

Head to our system that lists competitions and events for a full run-down of what's going on. Short film competition The Daftas opens on 1st November, Comedy 50:50 (the organisation that supports female comedy writers) has announced some new events, BBC Academy is organising free online sessions, and more.

My Comedy Career: Martin Collins & Alex Finch

My Comedy Career: Martin Collins & Alex Finch Paywall

With a second series of Sandylands landed on Gold, it seems like a great time to talk to writers Martin Collins and Alex Finch about what they do, and how they do it.

Manchester

Manchester meet-up: 16th November

Thank you to those of you who have already put your name down for our social and networking event in Manchester on the evening of Tuesday 16th November (featuring a keynote Q&A with Phil Mealey). If you live in the area (or are up for a trip to the city - we have cheap hotel room suggestions), do sign up - it's free for BCG Pro members.

Silent Lee

Video Contest

Lee Brace was selected as the October winner of our video contest. Do check out his great dialogue-free Silent Lee sketch. Fancy bringing your creation to a new audience and winning £100 in the process? Enter your video here.

BCG Pro Gag-a-week competition

BCG Pro Gag-a-Week competition Paywall

"Old age" is this week's topic for you to ponder and then send a funny line in about before Monday. We'll give you a bit of advance notice... next week, we're moving down a couple of generations: it'll be "teenagers".

Ian Sweeney and Alex Scott win Short Com TV Sitcom Writing Competition 2021

Ian Sweeney and Alex Scott win Short Com TV Sitcom Writing Competition 2021

A bit of news: Ian Sweeney and Alex Scott were named as the winners of the Short Com TV Sitcom Writing Competition 2021. If you're thinking of enterting Short Com's Feature Writing competition (i.e. film scripts) see Opportunities Hub for a code to get money off the entry fee.

Thanks for reading

We've like to congratulate Greg Winfield, who has been selected to join the Digital Puppets Virtual Comedian project, our exclusive opportunity involving creating and co-owning an animated stand-up character. We look forward to seeing the first video at some point in 2022.

Meanwhile thank you again to everyone who entered our writing awards. The standard of entries has been outstanding. It's proving very tough to define a shortlist that isn't everyone, so thank you for your patience as the deliberations go on. We'll be revealing the results on Friday 12th November.

Also, one final thing: a reminder you have until the end of Sunday to submit a programme idea to Wildseed Studios. There's £10,000 development pots available, so it's worth spending time on an application this weekend, if you haven't done so already.

British Comedy Guide
www.comedy.co.uk

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