Comedy writers: Abandon your Sunday lunch
By Steven Canny
On Sunday 20 March I’ll be sitting with other members of the BBC Comedy department in a dimly lit, poorly-heated basement in Glasgow, waiting for writers, performers or confused tourists to join us.
Bit of a spoiler, but we’re there for a panel discussion. We can’t guarantee any startling insights but we do promise to talk in understandable language about exactly how comedy shows make their way to your eyes and ears. If you’re wondering whether to put down your knife and fork and step away from your Sunday lunch, here’s a rough indication of what we might well talk about. Bear in mind that these aren’t really tips: they’re more like things I’ve observed by making comedy. That doesn’t sound very catchy but here they are:
- Character is everything. That’s what people remember and it’s what they return for. Make sure you’re absolutely certain about who you’re writing about and what makes them funny. Jokes are relatively easy to write (well, that’s not strictly true but they are easier) but people are complex, difficult and all too often underwritten. When they’re backed into a corner, what’s funny about how they respond?
- Everyone loves a trier. Put some words on a page, show them to someone you really like and who likes you. Then rewrite them. Rewrite them again and then persuade someone to read them out loud. At that point you’ll want to cry. Resist the temptation and go and write it again.
- Watch and read everything you can. It’s no good dismissing everything as boring. Or old-fashioned. Or rubbish. Watch it, see how it works and try to get a deep understanding about what the audience is responding to. I think it’s also a good to wear someone else’s clothes from time to time too. Isn’t it? I mean, really understanding the syntax, structure, the bones of shows you love. Don’t copy them but get so close to them that you really experience what makes them funny.
- Script editors and producers are your first audience members. Listen to them. You don’t have to agree with them but what they’re doing is reflecting your work back to you with the benefit of their knowledge and experience. Their job is to let you know what you’re showing your audience. A good one should really stimulate your imagination and make you think of a second, third or fourth idea when you had hit a wall with your first.
In general, writers are often left in the dark about what happens to their ideas between the bits that they can actually see. This is an opportunity to talk about that to people who’ve worked in comedy for a considerable period, and to use some examples to reflect the process as truthfully and clearly as we can.
I don’t want to oversell this. So what can you expect if you come along? Well, some swearing probably. And some boring bits. And some uncomfortable pauses when members of the panel disagree with each other but are too polite to mention it.
And I did want to take a moment to let you know that producers, execs, commissioners and channels need you. That’s why we run these sessions. To share information so that the brilliant writers and performers that we love can develop and learn and will end up thanking us by not firing us when they’re our boss. Not that we’re selfish. Just pragmatic. Come along — and remember when you’re running that LA writing room that we gave up our Sunday for you.
And by the way, it’s not just any old basement: it’s the Glasgow institution and hallowed turf that is The Stand. If no-one comes then there’s always a nice bar.
BBC Comedy Workshop: How To Get Your Idea On The Telly will be at the Stand Comedy Club, Glasgow, from 13:00 to 14:30 on March 20.
Originally published at www.bbc.co.uk on March 15, 2016.
