Hi,
Closing date 31st December for this one.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunities/funny-women-comedy-writing-award
Best,
--
Dan
Funny Women Comedy Writing Award 2017
I don't qualify. I'm not funny.
A bit sexist isn't it?
A lot of BBC opps are limited... It's positive discrimination. This means you destroy a hate-fuelled, prejudiced sterotype and replace it with an even more hate-fuelled and prejudiced stereotype. Balance. Animal Farm and all that.
Here's a conversation I had a coupla weeks ago with a Rome comedienne:
- How's your show going, Mick?
- Fine.
- Get a lot of women in it?
- Not many.
- We had a show last month, ONLY WOMEN, and we were totally FUCKING AWESOME! Stickin' it to you guys.
- I'd love to see your face if I said, We had a show, ONLY MEN, and we were totally FUCKING AWESOME! Stickin' it to you women.
- F**k off. That's cos it's been so anti-women for so long.
- Sorry. This is my fault.
- There was even a podcast, Why Women Aren't Funny.
- Did anyone believe it? This is the age of the Internet. There are podcasts on why anally raping elephants should be compulsory for French OAPs.
- See you later.
I have vague recollections of Ginger Spice (a woman so complex her nickname is the colour of her hair) telling a male interviewer she had a tattoo - 'Did it hurt?' - 'OF COURSE NOT. We women are stronger than you men- right girls?' APPLAUSE... Imagine a guy being interviewed by a woman: 'OF COURSE NOT. We men are stronger than you women- right lads?' You'd call the police.
This is in no way meant to be disrespectful to the Spice Girls.
Hopefully the next opp will be for only for sad lonely useless ugly socially-inept fashion-unconscious alcoholic depressed-depressing whingeing-whining foul-mouthed stinking morbid balding overweight bespectacled wankers with only one friend and that's your cat on Facebook, zero talent for f**k all except Latin for f**k's sake and a pathetic teenage obsession with an over-rated, under-talented girl ''''''''''band'''''''''' that went out of fashion 20 years ago and even then they were f**king shit called the Spice Girls.
Comedy has always been male dominated. It is less male dominated than it was, but it's still the case.
One day I'll perhaps find myself tearing myself into knots about all the advantages all those lucky girls get over us poor disadvantaged oppressed men.
I don't think we're quite at that point yet.
Michael Monkhouse, I hope you're a comedy character.
No one gives a flying f**k what I think. Or what anyone else does.
Quote: Chris Hallam @ 4th January 2018, 3:03 PMComedy has always been male dominated.
If you mean the corporate pigs who run any industry from comedy to cream cheese, you're right.
If you mean the 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000001% of worthwhile opps, I don't agree. Paying the occasional lip service ain't gonna make any difference - it just makes said pigs a bit smugger and the disadvantaged advantaged more miffed.
Here's a little experience I had recentlty. The 5-minute Open Mic slot is going well so we decided to insert another show (paid), 20 minutes for the stronger performers. We've accumulated about 20 regulars (through no fault of our own, 16 were guys; probably still are) and decided to whittle it down to 4. We got it down to 10 (again, by a coincidence, only blokes) and finally 4. Then some do-gooder piped up, 'Gotta have at least one female or it's sexist.' I disagreed but was over-ruled so we did. Result:
Audience pays full-price for a hit 'n' miss gig.
Great performer loses 20 minutes' stage time.
Weak performer is hopelessly out of depth.
I guess that makes me sexist. I'm sure if it'd been the other way round no one would've commented.
I don't think I would assume the performance is going to necessarily be worse because the comedian is female. Have our panel shows got worse since they started having Aisling Bea and Sara Pascoe on?
"Out of their depth" suggests a lack of experience. Perhaps giving people i.e. women more opportunities to perform might help with this hmmm?
I really am anti positive discrimination where personal taste is involved. For example, music is down to individual taste. If you like all male rock bands you can watch as many of them as you like without there having to be a quota of females in the band. It is exactly the same if you like all female groups, or mixed groups. Comedy is 100% personal taste. No one can tell you who to find funny. I don't find Michael McIntyre funny at all. I don't find Sara Pascoe funny either. I do however love Peter Kay and loved Victoria Wood's standup (there will be others who don't like them). Opportunities should be open to all.
The Now Show got rid of John Holmes to make space to address the balance of gender/race/sexuality, to make it less white male middle classed. 90% of the replacements, to my taste, are not as funny as John. The main objective of a comedy show is to be funny, so why reduce the chance of it being so by restricting the race/gender/sexuality of potential writers and performers.
Quote: Will Cam @ 8th January 2018, 10:54 PMI really am anti positive discrimination where personal taste is involved. For example, music is down to individual taste. If you like all male rock bands you can watch as many of them as you like without there having to be a quota of females in the band. It is exactly the same if you like all female groups, or mixed groups. Comedy is 100% personal taste. No one can tell you who to find funny. I don't find Michael McIntyre funny at all. I don't find Sara Pascoe funny either. I do however love Peter Kay and loved Victoria Wood's standup (there will be others who don't like them). Opportunities should be open to all.
That's not the point. No one's going round telling people they can only like female comics are they? Or male comics. Has anyone been arguing that?
"Opportunities should be open to all". Exactly! Which I think you would agree hasn't been happening so far. Although the situation is improving.
Quote: Will Cam @ 8th January 2018, 10:54 PMThe main objective of a comedy show is to be funny, so why reduce the chance of it being so by restricting the race/gender/sexuality of potential writers and performers.
Exactly. So why restrict it to white men?
It's not about quotas. It's about giving people of all backgrounds an equal opportunity to show and perform their stuff and be judged on their merits on a level playing field.
Quote: Chris Hallam @ 9th January 2018, 6:22 AMThat's not the point. No one's going round telling people they can only like female comics are they? Or male comics. Has anyone been arguing that?
"Opportunities should be open to all". Exactly! Which I think you would agree hasn't been happening so far. Although the situation is improving.Exactly. So why restrict it to white men?
It's not about quotas. It's about giving people of all backgrounds an equal opportunity to show and perform their stuff and be judged on their merits on a level playing field.
I don't actually agree that that opportunities haven't been open to all.
Comedy writing has never been restricted to white men. Tha 'level playing field' should be restricted to the comedy itself, not the gender/race/sexuality of the writer. It's either funny or it isn't.
The BBC could ask for submissions without names, give writers a unique number for example. That would be the fairest way to ensure there was no discrimination.
Quote: Will Cam @ 9th January 2018, 6:38 AMI don't actually agree that that opportunities haven't been open to all./quote]
Never? Not even in the past? Think lots of people would disagree with you there. Lots of racism and sexism on the circuit still.
[quote name="Will Cam" post="1185005" date="9th January 2018, 6:38 AM"] The BBC could ask for submissions without names, give writers a unique number for example. That would be the fairest way to ensure there was no discrimination.
I thought you were arguing there's no discrimination?
I am going to drop out of this thread Chris. It's the kind of topic that will have 2 opposing viewpoints with little middle ground.
Please note there is an "Are women funny?" thread already.
That's not what's being discussed.