The Bristol Sitcom Trials 2012 is up and running, and Vince Stadon is in charge. He's got a venue and he's getting a team together. He's put more details up on the Sits Vac Forum, so anyone who wants to get along to the Jan 20th meeting, whether you're a writer, performer or eager supporter, check out those details and contact Vince to RSVP.
The rest of you can hold your breath for a week and you'll get that script call you've been waiting for.
Kev F Sitcom Trials
Now available to read on Kindle are a handful of Sitcom Trials scripts from the archives.
If any other Sitcom Trials writers would like to publish their works like this, get in touch and I'll happily show you how.
Kev F Sitcom Trials
A couple of meetings have been arranged, for anyone interested in popping along,
saying hello, and starting a ferocious argument over which is the best Two
Ronnies sitcom: "Porridge" or Sorry"?
Friday Jan 20th, 8:00pm, Scotchman and his Pack, St Michaels Hill, Bristol.
Sunday Feb 12th, 2:00pm, venue Bristol TBA.
Please do come along if you're interested in participating in the Bristol Sitcom Trials, and/or if you think that Timothy Lumsden should have done a stretch with
Fletcher.
Have we found the next "Community", the next "Cheers", the next "Clarence"?
Only you can decide... (and obviously TV commissioning Editors)
--Vince.
THE BRIEF for submission to The Bistol Sitcom Trials.
The Sitcom Trials wants situation comedy scripts that a small group of actors can perform in a live environment with minimal stage in front of an audience, who will hopefully laugh. Ideally these sitcoms will be so marvellous that the TV & radio industry representatives in the audience will snap them up immediately.
THE FORMAT:
Your script must have a first 'half' of less than 8 minutes
This first half should end in a cliffhanger, or something that leaves
the audience wanting more.
It must then have a final scene of 2 or 3 minutes long. This will be
performed only if your sitcom is the winner on the night
Your script must have NO MORE THAN 4 CHARACTERS. Ideally 2 boys 2 girls.
If you can write a script with just 2 or 3 characters, all the better.
The sitcoms we are to test out in our regular pub theatre shows with an eye to them being developed for TV must be
PERFORMABLE LIVE (ie no filmed or location inserts)
&
ON ONE MINIMAL SET.
Think in terms of a radio script.
WRITER-PERFORMERS - INCLUDE YOUTUBE DEMO
We are particularly interested to hear from writer-performers, especially
those with an on-stage track record (eg Edinburgh) who would present their
own sitcom as a self contained package. To demonstrate your live potential we would need to see a video, ideally a link to a YouTube video, which we can judge alongside the script. Please include the video link as part of the script.
UPLOAD SCRIPTS TO THE FILES:
Upload your entries to the appropriate folder in the files section of the egroup. You will need to join the free egroup to do so: http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/SitsVac/files/
Deadline for entries - midnight Weds 29th Feb, 2012
Deadline for voting - midnight Weds 7th March, 2012
VOTING:
All members of the SitsVac egroup/British Comedy Guide Sitcom Trials thread, you included, will be invited to read, review, and vote on all scripts in contention. Vote YES, MAYBE or NO as to each one's potential and add a short one paragraph review. Your votes will not be counted unless you include a review.
Send reviews to the Sits Vac TV group message board (http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/SitsVac/), or to the Sitcom Trials thread at the British Comedy Guide Forum (https://www.comedy.co.uk/forums/thread/23202/)
Writers are welcome to vote on their own scripts.
Votes are then totalled thus; Yes = 2 points, Maybe = 1 point, No = minus -1 point. This way we draw up a shortlist for a script reading, from which we select the items to go into the stage show.
PERFORMANCE:
The top five enties (as voted by you) will be performed on Friday March 30th, 2012, at the Wardrobe Theatre, St Michael's Hill, Bristol. This will be a rehearsed-reading/script-in-hand/radio-style affair. These sitcoms will be in competiton with each other, the winner to be decided an audience vote.
PRIZE:
We aim to stage the winning sitcom as a full 30-40 minute one act play sometime later in the year.
Any questions?
Happy scribbling
Vince Stadon
Just to reiterate, in case anyone hasn't got the message, The Sitcom Trials will take place on Friday March 30th 2012, at the Wardrobe Theatre, St Michael's Hill, Bristol.
This will be a rehearsed-reading/script-in-hand/radio-style affair. These sitcoms will be in competiton with each other, the winner to be decided an audience vote.
Deadline for entries - midnight Weds 29th Feb, 2012
Deadline for voting - midnight Weds 7th March, 2012
Entry is free, the shortlist will be selected by you the readers and writers on this forum, and all discussion and questions are welcomed here. The brief, guidelines, details etc are here on the Sitcom Trials website.
Vince Stadon, aka Mr Ashdown, is the producer of this season (I remain, as ever, Executive Producer) and his answers to your questions are the ones that count. Any questions? Fire away.
Kev F
Thanks to BBC Writers Room for retweeting the call for scripts for the Bristol Sitcom Trials (deadline Feb 29th). As a result, readership of the Trials blog just shot up, I've got a string of extra Twitter followers, and Vince is about to be deluged by scripts.
In tribute or consolation I've tweaked the Sitcom Trials poster (cos it just wasn't complete without Mrs Browns Boys) and made a Bristol version. Enjoy it at sitcomtrials.co.uk.
Oh and we keep telling them to come over to this forum to ask questions, so be nice to your new friends when they come to play.
Kev F sitcomtrials.co.uk
It would seems Jan 31st is the Big Deadline.
Courtesy of Hayley McKenzies' Script Angel blog, I've found the following deadlines that budding writers might care to note:
NYTV & Fox Television Studios Scripted Comedy Pilot competition for UK Independents.
Deadline: 27 January 2012.
Ten Minute Play Competition from New Venture Theatre and Sussex Playwrights .
Deadline: 31 January 2012.
Drama Assocation of Wales One Act Playwriting Competition
Deadline: 31 January 2012.
The Sitcom Mission 2012 (with which fans of the Sitcom Trials will be more than familiar)
Deadline: 31 January 2012.
Digital Comedy Lab is an incubation programme for film projects in the comedy mockumentary genre.
Deadline: 31 January 2012.
Tobacco Factory Theatre Script Space is looking for new one-acts plays.
Deadline: 31 January 2012.
Dream Up from New Perspectives Theatre - looking for new writers from the East Midlands. Plays must be 10-15min for 3 characters.
Deadline: 31 January 2012.
Drip Action Theatre Trail Writers Competition - have your play performed at the Arundel Festival Threatre Trail.
Deadline: 31 January 2012.
BBC Writersroom Future Talent Award - for north-based recent graduate drama writers.
Deadline: 1 February 2012.
Love Bites are looking for new pieces for their Anti-Valentine's Night. Max length 15'.
Deadline: 8 February 2012.
So, what are you all waiting for?
Oh, and of course there's The Sitcom Trials. Deadline for the Bristol show is Feb 29 and it's free to enter. Other deadlines still to be announced (Manchester show now lined up for July, details to come).
For the Bristol show can we enter scripts that were entered in the Manchester Trials last year?
Quote: evan rubivellian @ January 27 2012, 9:00 AM GMTFor the Bristol show can we enter scripts that were entered in the Manchester Trials last year?
I can't see why not. Oh and Breaking News, the meeting of The Bristol Sitcom Trials group is Feb 12th at The Oxford, Totterdown, Bristol, 2pm - 4pm.
If you can make it, we hope to meet writers, actors and comedians and start to get a feel for the forthcoming show. You might get something read out if you're there (or you might not, Vince is the boss).
Kev F
(Who'll actually be there, this time)
Are you still doing the sock puppet theatre, Kev?
Yes he is.
Quote: David Bussell @ January 28 2012, 2:32 AM GMTAre you still doing the sock puppet theatre, Kev?
I am. The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre are beginning what promises to be quite a busy year. We do 3 days at the Leicester Comedy Festival (Feb 9-11) then 30 days at the Adelaide Fringe (Feb 17-March 19). Then tour dates all over the UK from Exeter to Aberdeen, and in August a brand new show (our 5th) at the Edinburgh Fringe. Thanks for asking.
All of which explains why I'm so delighted when someone else offers to produce the Sitcom Trials, cos there's no way I could do it myself.
Kev F
Is there a way to get feedback on a script that I am working on - and its chances in this competition?
Quote: ToddB @ January 29 2012, 11:41 AM GMTIs there a way to get feedback on a script that I am working on - and its chances in this competition?
Hello, Todd
Scripts in this competition are voted on by any one who wants to read/comment/vote on them all - typically this means around 20-30 one paragraph reviews of every script.
You can post your script here, in the Critique section, and that might well garner some useful feedback.
You can attend a Bristol Sitcom Trials meeting - next one's 12th Feb (see Sitcom Trials FB page for details). We'll get actors to read a few things, and discuss .
And I'd be happy to read a script and give feedback, if you want to PM me (and this applies to everybody). Please note though that I won't be voting, and have no final say in the script selection, which is entirely up to peer review/decision.
Kind regards,
--Vince
Writers entering scripts for the Bristol Sitcom Trials on March 30th (script deadline Feb 29th, entry details here) might be interested in this Word Cloud, a graph put together by James Parker, producer of 2009's Autumn season of The Sitcom Trials. It shows the most popular names given to characters, aggregated from the hundreds of scripts entered. Will your names be more original than these? Think on...
Next show March 30, Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol
Meeting for potential Bristol Sitcom Trials group members, everyone is invited, Sun Feb 12th.
Script deadline Feb 29 - enter here (entry is free).