I'm a student currently on the third year of a BA Media Arts at Plymouth University. As one of my modules I am required to collaborate with an outside agent on a piece of media-related work relevant to the field in which I hope to build a career in. I have chosen to write a screenplay for my project in which the protagonist is a stand-up comedian.
The title for the screenplay is "Sticks and Stones". The story will revolve around a stand-up comedian who is struggling in both his personal and professional life. His frustration causes him to alter some of his material one night mid-set to become more offensive as a means of lashing out against those who he feels are the basis of his frustration. The almost therapeutic feeling of release that he gains from this leads him to believe that he is required to shock the very core of the moral fibre of his audiences in order to challenge them with something that they haven't seen as aggressively performed before anywhere before in order for him to gain recognition within the industry. This leads to much criticism as well as a cult following that he tries desperately to appease, threats against him and a decision to make whether the risk that he is taking is worth the risk to both his career and the safety of both himself and those around him.
In order to acheive my requirements I will need to collaborate with (preferably) a stand-up comedian. Mainly in the interests of developing material that will be used during the stand-up routines within the narrative as well as gaining an insight into the motivations, lifestyle and barriers that a stand-up comic has and to essentially make the characterisations as true to the nature of the business as I possibly can. There will be no written contribution required from the collaborator. They will however need to participate in an on-camera interview with myself at the conclusion of the project to discuss the nature and development of the collaboration. A draft of my screenplay is required to be submitted in April of next year and although my work may continue in terms of fine-tuning the script beyond that time, it is very unlikely that any potential collaborator would be required beyond that time.
As I have already stated, I am a student at Plymouth University. Currently based in the Devon area and although it would be ideal for my collaborator to be based in the region I am more interested in finding the right person to collaborate with and would be willing to travel elsewhere in the U.K to meet and discuss and work on the project with the most suited potential collaborator.
If you are a comic who is interested in participating and collaborating on this project or if you know of somebody else who might be interested. Or even of another avenue that I could explore in order to find the right person to collaborate with then any tips would be appreciated.
I am passionate about this project and while I am the one who will be writing the screenplay it is important that any possible collaborator believes in the project and is committed to helping the screenplay fully realise it's potential.
Contact me to discuss via this thread, private message or via email at greatest504ws@hotmail.com
Thank you.
S.J Lowe
