The Comedy Crowd Blog

A generation at The Office

Warning. The following article contains quotes from UK sitcom “The Office”, showing how an expertly crafted comedy inspired a generation. If you are not fluent in The Office language, you may find this confusing. If you do speak “Office“, you may find this entertaining. Or not. It’s up to you. Your own decisions. 15 years ago this month the […]

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Writing comedy is hard – but why it’s worth learning how

Daniel Page is a freelance script-editor, writer and producer with credits on Newsjack, NewsRevue, 12 sketches in a London Shed and The Sitcom Trials.  In this article, the first in a series aimed at helping aspiring comedy writers, Daniel talks about the many opportunities that exist for those willing to embrace the realities of writing comedy. […]

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8 reasons why you should join a comedy sketch group

We’ve heard from many writers and performers in the industry recently about their journey in comedy and we noticed a common theme. So many successful comedians started out in sketch groups. Which got us thinking, what is it about sketch groups that makes them such a great breeding ground for new comedy talent? We came up with […]

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Do I have to compromise my creative style to make it?

This is a question a lot of comedy writers struggle with. You know what you find funny. Can’t you just write in that way rather than having to make it fit a derived formula? After all the reason a lot of people start out making comedy is because they have seen and identified things that […]

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Caroline Aherne

One of the greatest British comedy writers and performers of the last 20 years passed away this week. Caroline Aherne was a major influence on many comedy fans including Peter and I, which got us thinking about what aspiring creators can learn from her work. There are 3 things that really stand out to us, […]

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Confessions of a Newsjack Addict

By Simon Paul Miller My name is Simon Paul Miller and I’m an addict. The 12th September 2013 was the day I got addicted. Before that, I just dabbled. I started by submitting a couple of one-liners, it seemed harmless enough, but then I moved on to the harder stuff, sketches. I thought I could […]

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BBC Writersroom – 6 tips from former winner Laurence Tratalos

Before I say anything about entering this years BBC Writersoom (comedy), let me just say that I’m no expert. I’m young, inexperienced and most of the advice I’m offering has been handed down to me by far more knowledgeable people. I entered my script for the BBC Writersroom scriptroom 9 (comedy) back in March. At the […]

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The not so glamorous, yet career defining experience of creating a New Comedy Series

By Georgia Woodward Producer of A Shared House Reading about the life and work of comedy engineers Amy Poehler, Tina Fey and the gals from Broad City – I felt this overwhelming excitement as a young artist. I noticed the thing these broads had in common was that they were the creators of their work, […]

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The Sitcom Trials – So you think you write funny?

The Sitcom Trials – the situation comedy showcase that has been running since 1999 – has once more teamed up with the Gilded Balloon and the legendary So You Think You’re Funny competition at the Edinburgh Fringe in a quest to find the best new sitcom creators in the country. The chosen scripts for the regional […]

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Writing Tips – by Dan Page

Dan Page is a script-editor, writer and producer of comedy shorts, sketch, and sitcom with credits on NewsRevue, Newsjack and The Sitcom Trials. Here are his tips on the key pointers people often struggle with when starting out writing comedy: Let your characters do the talking.  Even the simplest of phrases can be used to show […]

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3 tools that could make you a more productive writer

There is a whole industry developed around the topic of productivity. Typically a ‘thought-leader’ will advocate a particular system of working that they use (it’s often debatable that they do…) and if followed will boost your output by x% and so unlock the door to your dreams.  I’ve tried many of these systems myself. Why wouldn’t I? […]

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Overcoming the 6 main problems facing comedy creators

Recently we ran a a survey to find out the main problems faced by our subscribers.  Thank you to all those who participated – we had over 100 responses and we’ve listed the most common themes below, along with some of the things we’re working on to help.  If you think something has been missed […]

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