Grin Up North

Hi,

I don't suppose anyone knows anything about this?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1RnsdDpNGBylV5Z0NB4KggS/its-grin-up-north

I have little experience and i am looking for a way to make connections and start sharing my writing.
This looked really promising but the email doesn't seem to want to accept anything I send (maybe they remember my stuff from the writers room :I )

I've done a little reading and the show only started in summer 2018 so I'm assuming this is not out of date. I've tried looking for a contact for the BBC but obviously they make it as hard as possible, that's those license fees at work. There is a handy PO box. I swear the only letters that pass through depots these days must be addressed to either the BBC or The North Pole.

Any input appreciated or likewise if anyone knows of any other opportunities or introductions to comedy writing groups that would be great.

I live in Newcastle by the way.

Cheers

Hi Liam, looks to me like this is another of BBC Local Radio's welcome initiatives in local comedy. Suggest you e-mail Steffen Peddie direct on steffen.peddie@bbc.co.uk, or if that fails, call up the station's switchboard and ask for the Programme Controller?

https://media.info/radio/stations/bbc-newcastle

Best of luck with it!

Hi,
Thanks for the reply. You were right. After trying to reach Steffen Peddie and not receiving a reply I decided to call the station reception and they were really helpful. The email for grin up north still does not work but the booking request seems to have been processed through bbcnewcastle@bbc.co.uk with grin up north as the subject.

Looks interesting...

Hi Liam,

I write for Grin Up North and it's a really good set up with regular meetings at BBC radio Newcastle in which we share ideas and offer suggestions for improvement etc. There are some very good performers who bring the sketches to life. I think there's been an issue with the email address Steffen has read out on air but if you've got a contact now, I'll hopefully see you at a writing session soon.

It's encouraging to hear stuff we've written broadcast and I think we've improved our writing since being part of the show and learning to trim the fat from our sketches.

Hi Jamie,

Yeah I'm all sorted now and will be there on the 7th of February. I look forward to it and will see you there.

Do you develop stuff whilst there or do you go with material?

I don't really know what to expect.

Cheers

So the contact address is bbcnewcastle@bbc.co.uk?

That is what I was advised but I did ring the station directly and made sure someone was looking out for it landing in that inbox, Michael.

GrinUpNorth@bbc.co.uk is the one to be used, but like I say, I think there's an issue with it ATM.

You can take pre-written stuff along and share it with the group; just be willing to tweak and improve, which is what it's all about.

Sometimes we're given a topic to write about and given half an hour to come up with one/liners, adverts or a 30 second sketch. Some of the best stuff has this immediacy.

I'm there on the 6th Feb so I'll not see you but I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Great! Cheers, Jamie.

Thanks! I can't make the workshops as I live in the Eternal Shitty but I did want to send some ideas. What a cool project.

What kind of sketches do Grin Up North normally have on the radio? Plus, what email address do I send the sketch scripts to if they're still looking at writers scripts?

This sounds great! Do they pay for any material broadcast?

The email address is the one further up the page. Sketches can be on any subject but shy away from being overtly political and no foul language/smut as the show is also broadcast on a Sunday afternoon and should be suitable to be heard by kids in the car etc (or at least be subtle enough to go over their heads). There's no payment made for work broadcast but we get good advice and the BBC credit is always great for the CV.

I'm not sure if writers/material from outside the north east are accepted as it's aim is to help promote writing from the area (BBC Newcastle and Tees).

Thanks Jamie! That's very helpful ????

Those question marks at the end of my message above are supposed to be a smiley emoji.
Don't know why it's come out as a question mark?