You are all very kind, but a long way off anything meaningful at the moment. Yes, Beaky, the lawyers one. (CONGRATULATIONS by the way - I will definitely be watching).
The Sitcom Mission 2016 Page 8
Quote: Harri @ 14th July 2016, 5:27 PM BSTI'm sure there are plenty of funny and original writers out there who manage to make inroads elsewhere, but hit a brick wall with the Sitcom Mission.
Quote: Harri @ 15th July 2016, 8:41 AM BSTI'm throwing this open, who here wants to pool our talent, our resources, and our time on a collaboration? Form a Best of the Worst group, and show everyone what they missed out on?
When The Sitcom Trials began, back in the mists of time, it didn't run as a tournament. Every night of the show had the audience vote, that's how we kept the viewers involved during challenging (or bad) scripts. But the idea of each show was to showcase material, test it out and then develop it, so we could then sell those sitcoms.
When Dec & Si took over the Sitcom Trials in 2008 they ran it as a tournament, and an excellent one, showcasing something like 30 different sitcoms on stage and having an ultimate winner. They kept this structure when they created the Sitcom Mission. And when my team revived the Trials in 09, they ran it as a tournament too.
Since then we've run the tournament model a couple more times - this year's 6 heats have just finished, and five sitcoms have made it to the final at the Edinburgh Fringe in August - but inbetween times we still run shows as stand-alone events.
I'd encourage anyone to try setting up their own sitcom showcases. It's how we started, and like a stand up gig, it is an end in itself. Stage your comedies, see whether an audience finds them funny, rewrite them accordingly, and hopefully you'll have something better to send off and sell. You can even try inviting the industry to your shows. Getting out there in public, and rubbing shoulders with your fellow writers and actors, can often be better than struggling at home alone. I'd recommend it to any writers who want their work brought to life.
Quote: Kev F @ 26th July 2016, 7:51 AM BSTWhen The Sitcom Trials began, it didn't run as a tournament. Every night of the show had the audience vote ...
Sounds like a tournament to me.
Quote: don rushmore @ 26th July 2016, 11:46 AM BSTSounds like a tournament to me.
No, it's a competition, with a winner every night. A tournament is when a series of competitions, or heats, builds towards a final, with a winner of winners. That was what Simon & Declan pioneered with the 2008 Sitcom Trials season.
(Plus, the competition element in a regular Sitcom Trials is just a bit of fun, as I've constantly sought to point out. The most important thing is the audience seeing the sitcoms performed, and the creators learning from their reaction. Winning the audience vote can frequently be a matter of which writer has brought most mates along that night!)
I was very fortunate to do an interview with the very nice Yasmeen Khan at BBC Three Counties Radio about the Radio Times Best Sitcoms of the 21st Century. From 36.00 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0443b6b
On Monday 12th September we'll be trying out our 8 long listed scripts before an audience. 4 of these will go forward to the Sitcom Showcase for the commissioners and production companies.
Sometimes something works on the page, but less well on the stage (and vice versa), so it's useful to get an audience's immediate and honest response.
Tickets are free. The venue's in Farringdon and times are 7 pm to 10:30 (finishing time is approx).
PM me for details if you'd like to come along.
Simon
Slightly off topic since it isn't unique to us, but if the word 'Sitcom' didn't exist what would you replace it with?
Screenplay? Script?
Screenplays and scripts could be porn, horror, thriller...anything.
Chucklefest, obviously.
I'm liking 'Chucklefest'. Gigglebinge?
The problem a lot of people have with the term is that it puts the situation first. Imagine that we live in a world where the word 'sitcom' hasn't been coined. Hancock and Steptoe have just aired. We need a term to differentiate them from dramas.
What is it?
Not that we're ungrateful for the term. The name Sitcom Mission has the hidden word 'Commission' in it.
On October 6th (Thursday) we'll be staging our second showcase so that we can have another look at our long listed scripts in front of an audience.
We'll whittle 8 scripts down to 4 for the industry show.
The venue is upstairs at the City Pride pub in Farringdon and kick off is 7pm.
All are welcome and tickets are free.
If you need any more details, just PM me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.