Taking a comedy character from idea to pilot

An interview with Steve Whiteley, creator of the comedy character Wisebowm, recently commissioned for a 30 minute BBC Radio 4 pilot.

OK so it’s a 26 minute video, but that’s just because there is so much gold here for comedy creators. If you don’t want to watch 2 blokes chatting for that long and want to skip to your favourite bits, here’s a breakdown of what we discussed:

0:45 – 3:40 – How it started: from garage MC to early YouTube comedy sketches and poetry readings

2:09 – Butt Jam – not to be missed

4:00 – 5:40 – Early traction for online sketches

5:40 – 6:26 – Producing on a budget

6:30 – 8:00 – Collaborating and finding a team

8:00 – 12:34 – Character stand-up and first Edinburgh experience

12:35 – 14:55 – Entering competitions: Chorts to Musical Comedy Awards and Edinburgh take 2

15:00 – 16:14 – Building the world around the Wisebowm character

16:17 – 18:30 – Speaking to the BBC

18:32 – 20:00 – Pitching and working with comedy coach Chris Head

20:00 – 21:30 – Creating comedy for Radio

21:32 – 22:43 – Other projects, including Wisebowm mixed tape and a comedy film

22:45 – 25:17 – The one piece of advice to yourself starting out: enjoy the process, don’t focus on the result

25:18 – 26:15 – How to stay in touch with Steve Whiteley and Wisebowm

Want to become an indie comedy creator like Steve? Start by entering your 2 minute Chort here or showing us your comedy stylings on Punkanary.