Interesting insight Kev, cheers.
Sitcom Trials Autumn '09 Page 52
Beaten Kev to the results punch, at last (except if you read the Twitter feed...)
Last night was the first semi-final of the Sitcom Trials, with its two winners guaranteed a place in the Grand Final on December 1st in front of an increasingly exciting panel of industry judges.
Despite both audiences voting for "Alan Pob: Writing Wrongs" by Saul Wordsworth as their favourites, when the judges scores were factored in - the results, and the two shows going through to the final are:
"Futureproof" by Elise Bramich
"End to End" by McNeil, Pamphilon, and Holt
Commiserations to everyone involved with the other scripts, the standard was genuinely brilliant, and to lose out in the semi-final is no kind of failure at all.
Next week:
* Baby, It's Cold Outside
by Peter Higgins
Directed by Lydia Parker
* The Johns
by Hugh Travers
Directed by Sarit Wilson Chen
* My Sister
by Robin Bailes
Directed by Matt Holt
* Long Term Sick
by Mark Brotherhood
Directed by Lydia Parker
* Assemblage of Evil
by Joe Deacon
Directed by Charlie Henniker
Hi Sitcom Trials fans,
If you weren't there, here's #sitcomtrials Semi final No 1 video diary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gfe-ZrbfeEc
The previous shows are all here;
Heat 1 video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aubpflpa_Wg
Heat 2 video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu9uhwzn9as
Heat 3 video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHHKnFr1L40
Heat 4 video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90LC0iyYe2w
Tickets for next week's second semi final, and the Grand Final are on sale now at: http://bit.ly/3yxhj4
Hi Trials fans. Tonight's second semi finals judges are Little Britain producer Ashley Blaker, TV Burp writer Daniel Maier, and Comedy Store Player Richard Vranch.
Sales are struggling cos we're not in Time Out (and no I don't know why) so anyone who can spread the word to anyone who can make it, please please do.
It's a cracking line up of Assemblage, Sister, Sick, Johns and Baby, so a sin to miss it.
Leicester Square Theatre 6pm or 8.30
Sadly unable to attend tonights - best of luck to everyone involved, have a blast!
x
I finish work early on a Monday and since arriving home have been reading this thread with interest but could I please ask what exactly are the sitcom trials?
There you go, David.
And you might also wish to consider as it is still open...
Quote: Griff @ November 23 2009, 5:01 PM GMTI am most impressed that "IT" David was unable to find any resources on the internet for himself which might assist him with this query. I wonder if he works in the IT support department for Demon Internet.
I'd have laughed even more if you'd said NT fecking L. Their software was developed by Helen Keller-with Captain Hook typing in the code.
Grrrr.
On a lighter note of blatant self-promotion; we have a workshop this Saturday the 28th. Places available.
Too little time to tell you what the Sitcom Trials is, or are (discuss), as I type this on pay-per-second internet at Belfast International Airport (oh yes, high flying me, I left the Trials on Monday night, and by Tuesday morning was teaching at a school in Maghera, be impressed).
But there is time to tell you the results (I can only assume James [Parker, producer] has been even busier than me in the interim). This Monday's second semi final threw up two audience winners (whereby the audience were shown the end of the one they liked best), with the 6pm audience choosing Long Term Sick by Mark Brotherhood and the 8.30 crowd going for Baby It's Cold Outside by Peter Higgins.
Their votes were then combined with the more detailed votes of our judges (who give marks out of ten for each sitcom, and who tonight were Richard [Comedy Store Players] Vranch, Carrie [News Quiz] Quinlan, and Danierl [TV Burp] Maier, Ashley [Little Britain] Blaker having become unavailable) to give us the two sitcoms that will definitely be going through to the final: Baby It's Cold Outside, and Assemblage of Evil by Joe Deacon. These join last week's finalists End To End and Future Proof.
James is now totting up the scores from the two semi finals to work out which will be the 5th sitcom to go through to the final as highest scoring runner up. Stay tuned for that news, and the video from this week which I shall be editing tomorrow.
Totting has been done, I wanted to make sure everyone involved knew before I posted for the public. I think now I can say that the final finalist is:
Long Term Sick by Mark Brotherhood
It really is a tremendous line up for the final - so do come along. It's in the Main House at the Leicester Square Theatre at 7.30 on Tuesday night, it would be really great to have as many people as possible come along to support the show, to support new writers, and to give these guys the best response possible.
Hi Socks fans,
(couldn't post this to Facebook from here in Belfast International Airport, where my 6pm flight to Bristol has been delayed till 21.05, gnash, gnash, so if you'd like to help me spread the word, please circulate):
A very very special chance to see the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre (last London show this year) next Tuesday Dec 1st, when the Socks are special guest hosts of The Sitcom Trials at the Leicester Square Theatre. Tickets: http://bit.ly/1MLzMt
It's the sitcom show that spawned the SFSPT in the first place, and it's been running its heats and semi finals over the last two months. Now here's the grand final, with the highest standard of comedy, topped off by the Socks them very selves. You cannot afford to miss it.
More details at http://sitcomtrials.co.uk and tickets (only a tenner for two hours top notch comedy in the presence of the TV comedy industry's finest) at http://bit.ly/1MLzMt
Be there or miss the truly unmissable.
Love, the Socks
PS: And making up for his week, we are well and truly in Time Out this time: http://bit.ly/6RuzLS
From KevF's post....[Which illustrates the big difference between scripts read cold, and scripts brought to life on the stage. Even scripts read round a table, as you'll experience in sitcom writing workshops, are seen in a new light. Dialogue can start to sound clunky when an actor has to deliver, or hidden nuances can start to become clear. Some scripts are also better suited to the stage than others, which may go onto be fine filmed comedy dramas for example.]
............................
A good example is Little Voice, the film with Jane Horrocks.
I found the film so boring and didn't laugh once.
I went to see the theatre production last month at the Vaudeville, London and laugh till I cried most of the way through.....
And here's the video from the second semi final, at last:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7VTczQWDyo
Including interviews with judges Daniel Maier, Carrie Quinlan and Richard Vranch, and clips from all sitcoms. Afficianados of these videos will notice how much difference an audience makes, with the crowd this week being smaller and quieter than in the sitcoms' respective first rounds. Compare & contrast why don't you?
James has been having website fun this week, with sitcomtrials.co.uk going on and offline like a pissed Kate Moss, and I've had to chase up the Leicester Square Theatre's website which managed to lose us from its listings. But it's all coming together and we're looking forward to it being a great big biggie. I hope you'll all be there at the final on Tuesday, it's be worth it.
Is the sitcommission free to enter?
Yep. It's the feedback that costs money, but it's entirely up to you if you want any.
Dan