British Comedy Guide
  1. BCG
  2. Pro
  3. Inside Track
  4. Library

Inside Track Library

Here is the Inside Track library of timeless insight and advice.

  1. Builders. Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay. Writing

    If you build it, they will read it

    • Article
    • Writing

    Dave Cohen reports back on what's he's learnt from running a course designed to help you speed from nought to first draft in eight weeks flat.

  2. Traffic Lights. Writing

    Things to do before you start writing a sitcom

    • Article
    • Writing

    Simon Nicholls, the creator of Falmouth University's flexible online Master's course in Comedy Writing, discusses what you should do in the early stages of a comic idea; before you type your first word.

  3. Nat Saunders. Writing

    My Comedy Career: Nat Saunders

    • Article
    • Writing

    Comedy creator Nat Saunders talks about the importance of tenacity, how every new show is a struggle to get off the ground, why bullying in the industry is a real hot topic for him, and more.

  4. Martin Trenaman. Performance

    BCG Pro Sessions video: Martin Trenaman

    • Video
    • Performance

    The recording of the BCG Pro Sessions Q&A with actor and writer Martin Trenaman. Amongst other things, he talks about his experiences of appearing in shows such as The Inbetweeners, offers sitcom writing insight, and discusses scripting material for panel shows.

  5. Marketing. Performance

    Marketing yourself as a comedian: the long game

    • Article
    • Performance

    Marketing in live comedy is a long game for comedians. One flyering campaign or one big poster does not make a career. Sometimes, it doesn't even make a gig...

  6. The Watch. Image shows from L to R: Simon Allen, Corporal Angua (Marama Corlett). Writing

    Simon Allen on creating The Watch

    • Article
    • Writing

    Simon Allen talks about writing and producing The Watch, the comedy drama based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. There's some great insights from him in this piece.

  7. The Thin Blue Line. Image shows from L to R: D.I. Grim (David Haig), P.C. Goody (James Dreyfus), D.C. Boyle (Mark Addy), Inspector Fowler (Rowan Atkinson), P.C. Habib (Mina Anwar), P.C. Gladstone (Rudolph Walker), Sergeant Dawkins (Serena Evans). Copyright: Tiger Aspect Productions. Writing

    Balancing characters in a show

    • Article
    • Writing

    No matter what kind of show you're writing, making sure that you have the right characters is crucial.

  8. Paul Revill. Performance

    The Stand-Up Tune-Up, No.3: Paul Revill on the art of compering

    • Article
    • Performance

    Many acts may have lost their mojo at the microphone over the last 18 months. So as regular stand-up returns, we're getting advice from the experts. This time: MC Paul Revill talks about how to wrangle a crowd.

  9. Comedian with thumbs up and down. Image by my best in collections. Performance

    Why bother? Some good (and bad) reasons to be a comedian

    • Article
    • Performance

    If it's such hard work being a comedian, why bother? Good question. There are many good reasons (and some less good reasons) for becoming a comedian...

  10. Image shows from L to R: Ed Amsden, Tom Coles. Writing

    The Value of Networking?

    • Article
    • Writing

    Writers Ed Amsden and Tom Coles discuss how accurate the adage "it's not what you know, it's who you know" is, when it comes to comedy writing work.