DAVE COHEN

&

JAMES CARY

   

WRITING COMEDY FOR RADIO 

WRITING SITCOM FOR TV 

 

Friday 20 April, Friday 4 May 2012   

 

Award-winning writers Dave Cohen and James Cary will guide you through the do’s, don’ts and maybe’s of writing comedy specifically for radio: from one-liners, through sketches, all the way to sitcoms. Everything except how to come up with the jokes – that’s your job. Two weeks later they will take you one step at a time through the process of creating your TV sitcom: character, plot, dialogue and visuals, creating a believable, funny world that audiences will want to return to each week. Everything except how to come up with the jokes...

 

Writing Comedy for Radio (20 April)

Every year, BBC Radio broadcasts hundreds of hours of scripted comedy and comedy drama – far more than all the other TV channels combined. The opportunities in radio are considerable, but writing radio comedy is different from writing for television, film or the stage.

Radio has always been a writer's medium, with hits that have become part of the fabric of British society – Hancock, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue… hit TV shows that began on radio - Little Britain, Goodness Gracious Me, People Like Us, Miranda Hart’s Joke Shop, Harry Hill’s Fruit Corner... and where writers and performers love to return to create shows that could never be done on TV –Lenny Henry, Andy Hamilton, French & Saunders.

Above all it's where new writers are given their first broadcast opportunities – Weekending, News Huddlines, Recorded for Training Purposes, Newsjack.

 

Writing Sitcom For TV (4 May)

After a period in the doldrums the audience show is back in fashion thanks to IT Crowd, Not Going Out and the BBC’s latest award-winning hit show Miranda. Also a number of non-audience hits have revived the form, notably Channel 4’s Peep Show and Inbetweeners, and BBC1’s Outnumbered. But sitcom is a notoriously difficult form to master, and requires several different skills to be applied simultaneously.

We’ll look at the difference between writing for audience or non-audience, for the BBC and for the commercial sector, for mass or specialised audiences, and the relatively new arena of live presentation.

Everyone who attends receives a free pack of notes at the end of the day with details of the TV and radio commissioning process, plus masses of information about companies to contact, how to get your work noticed, andhow to earn a living writing comedy.

Dave Cohen has written for dozens of radio shows including News Quiz, Dead Ringers, Sunday Format and Jammin. He co-created and has written six series of 15 Minute Musical, which won Best Radio Comedy at the 2009 Writers’ Guild Awards. He wrote and starred in two series of Radio 1’s Songlines, and his solo series Travels With My Anti-Semitism. He writes for Not Going Out on BBC1 and has written for numerous BBC sitcoms including My Family. He is a regular writer on Have I Got News For You and chief songwriter for Horrible Histories, voted Best Sketch Show two years running at the Channel 4 Comedy Awards.  

James Cary won a Silver Sony Award for Think The Unthinkable, starring Marcus Brigstocke and David Mitchell. Since then, he has written Hut 33, and co-written Another Case of Milton Jones, Miranda Hart’s Jokeshop and Concrete Cow. He also script edited all four series of Recorded for Training Purposes. He writes for the award-winning Miranda on BBC2, and has also written episodes of My Family and My Hero, as well as numerous TV Pilots, and Radio 4 sitcoms, Think the Unthinkable and Hut 33.

Dave and James began running their courses a year ago. You can read some comments about the course here: http://www.comedy.co.uk/forums/thread/20123/2/

READ JAMES CARY'S SITCOM BLOG: http://sitcomgeek.blogspot.com/

 

The Courses takes place from 10am-4.30pm at

LONDON CANAL MUSEUM, 12-13 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RT

http://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/visit/find-us.htm

The cost for each day is £80 +VAT (Total cost £96) – this includes tea and coffee, but not lunch.

PLACES ARE LIMITED SO BOOK EARLY!

SPECIAL OFFER: Take part in both courses on 20 April and 4 May and pay £135 + VAT (Total cost £162) for the two days.

No refunds available.

For more details e-mail davecohen58@googlemail.com

 

 

DAVE COHEN - SCRIPT SERVICE

"Dave Cohen gives great notes." Sam Bain, co-creator and writer, 'Peep Show', 'The Old Guys', 'Four Lions'.

I run a script-reading service, which you can read about, complete with hideously out-of-date prices here

 

I've also written various articles about writing comedy for a living, here, here and here.

Everything's slightly out of date on that website but I understand a rehaul is imminent.

FOR FULL DETAILS contact me here: davecohen58@googlemail.com