Bedroom sketch artists - How we made Shared Drive

Shared Drive, an online audio sketch pilot, has just launched. Producer, director and editor Tom Worsley explains here how the project was created.

There's a distinct lack of sketch comedy - and comedy in general, really - and as many brilliant writers and performers are struggling to find opportunities as the comedy marketplace dwindles, it made me realise that you've got a choice - you either get terribly sad and cry about the industry or you decide to make something yourself. After all, creating content and releasing it online has never been easier. So I promptly dried my tears, blew my nose, showered and dressed, and set about getting in contact with the funniest writers and brightest performers I could think of and asking them to be involved in my new project...

Shared Drive is a sketch show at a time when opportunities for sketches are limited, and are only continuing to get smaller. The aim was to create a one-off sketch showcase just to get something out there, bringing in as many writers and creatives as I could possibly cram into a 30 minute show without it simply bursting open and drenching everyone with comedy. A showcase that performers and writers could clip for their social media and send out there to whoever would listen.

But how could I, a mere fool with a laptop, make this happen? Firstly, I had to tap into my social media address book and beg all the incredible writers I've got to know through Twitter to see if they had any spare, unused sketches to donate.

Fortunately, they all wanted to be part of it. We received material from Chris Ballard, Chris Douch, Alex Garrick-Wright, Sophie Hall, Max Kreisky, Paul Read, Vicky Richards, Kalum Wilson and Amy Xander.

Then I put the call out for performers and received a tidal wave of responses. It was overwhelming just how much people wanted to be part of a little project like this. I suppose that's proof people are just desperate to make comedy right now.

We ended up with a cast of people who've won writing competitions, had hit shows at the Fringe, produced viral content - Alex Garrick-Wright, Rob Gilroy, Elaine Malcolmson and Rhiannon Shaw - and me; I was also involved.

The team was completed by Alex MJ Smith, who wrote the songs, and Katie Butler, who devised our theme tune.

Every one of my connections came about through online networking and social media and, incredibly, lots of talented people, all with comedy experience, credits and awards, wanted make something with me; to volunteer their creativity and time to create something funny. This just shows how important social media is for creating networks and meeting like-minded people in what can be a lonely world.

After putting out the call for material, I received around 50 sketches which we ended up whittling down to 13 for the final show. That meant between myself and Rebecca Bain, the script editor, we had to agree on which sketches we wanted to take to the record. You quickly realise how hard it is to find the right mix. You might have 2 sketches that are incredibly funny, but have similar themes or settings. You might have too many sketches set in offices. It's all about balance and just demonstrates how hard the script editors and producers on open door shows like DMs Are Open have it. Your sketch might be more than good enough for the show but perhaps just too similar to another one they already have. It's not simply a case of 'funny' and 'not funny'; it's about the alchemy of the sketches. How they fit together in the final show.

What was the biggest challenge beyond 'making it so funny you feel ill'? Production quality. It was something I became almost obsessive about. If the quality was bad it would take away from the quality of the sketches and performances. The first consideration was making sure we all had reasonable quality external microphones, and dampening the sound as we recorded from our respective locations. We had to chuck blankets and cushions around (so we were both hilarious and nicely cosy) before we recorded to give the audio that extra bit of quality. It was so much easier than I thought to get a really good level of production and it just shows how a basic mic and a few blankets can elevate the sound.

One of the most eye-opening lessons we learned from the readthrough was when it came to apportioning the roles to the performers and how worryingly easily you make assumptions on gender. Fortunately, Rhiannon made sure we remained honest. Why do we assume the security guard or IT support are male? I was so keen to try and get the gender balance right and I was genuinely alarmed when it seemed like I hadn't. You have to be so alert when finding that mix, to the point where I had to make a little chart making sure everyone got equal time in the scripts.

The most positive lesson was learning that a huge part of making your own content is just doing it. 90% is just showing up. Organising everything was tricky: shortlisting sketches, co-ordinating diaries, editing - it was all a huge challenge. But I think this little pilot has shown it's doable with essentially no money, beyond a month's subscription to Zencastr, a high quality web-based podcast recording platform.

Right now, this is a one-off. Everyone involved volunteered their sketches and their time because it's just a small pilot show to see if it was possible to produce some high-quality audio sketches from our respective homes. Could it be a recurring project? Could we do more? Like everything, it comes down to money. It remains to be seen whether this could grow into something bigger.

Is it possible to make audio content in a way that's affordable, but more importantly so that the contributors and performers can get paid? It's one thing asking people to dig out sketches from their archives or borrowing performers without taking up too much of their time (in total with readthrough and record sessions it was around 3 hours) but you can't make 4 or 6 half hours without a budget. Is there a funding model out there so we can make an open-door sketch show where sketch writers get paid something, even just a token amount?

At this stage we're all just proud to have pulled together to make some comedy; writers and performers from across the UK brought together to try something new. Scripted podcasts seem like a small market right now, presumably because of the time and budget constraints compared to unscripted means people just aren't attempting it. So if Shared Drive works and people enjoy it, perhaps we can explore where we can go next? It'll be interesting to find out...

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Shared Drive is available wherever you get your podcasts from. Listen on Acast