Open door radio show for Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent writers
- Deaf, Disabled or Neurodivergent comedy writers are invited to submit sketches for a new audio comedy pilot script
- Writey Funny is a show being devised by Mighty Bunny producers Lyndsay Fenner and Victoria Lloyd
- A Zoom Q&A takes place on 21st September, and the deadline to apply is 5th October
Writey Funny, a new talent search targeting comedy writers who are Deaf, Disabled or Neurodivergent, has been launched by the production company Mighty Bunny, supported by the BBC Radio Indie Development Fund.
Award-winning comedy producers Lyndsay Fenner and Victoria Lloyd (who have previously produced the BBC New Comedy Awards, the open-door sketch show Newsjack, the BBC competition Witty & Twisted alongside a long list of Radio 4 comedies including shows by Nick Mohammed, Isy Suttie, Alice Lowe and James Acaster) are looking for writers to initially contribute sketches to a half hour sketch show pilot.
A series of accessible online workshops are planned, where the chosen writers will learn from and be mentored by experienced writers, script editors and producers, receiving feedback on their sketches, the opportunity for a paid sketch commission as well as the support to develop their own long-form ideas.
Mighty Bunny says: "Writers with disabilities are massively underrepresented - according to the The Creative Diversity Network, only 3.5% of screenwriters have a disability, compared to 21% of working-age adults. This means that audiences are missing out on loads of great talent and stories, and we're really looking forward to finding a big old pile of both".
Head of Business and Change at BBC Radio & Music, Tony Pilgrim, comments: "The BBC Radio Indie Development Fund is intended to support the audio production community to champion new talent, increase diversity and be more representative of audiences - this project does exactly that and I look forward to seeing what talent is unearthed".
A Zoom Q&A will be taking place on Wednesday 21st September at 12:30pm, where you can find out more about the process before you submit your application.
Writers can access additional information and find the application form (which involves submitting two sketches) via
mightybunny.co.uk
The deadline to submit is Wednesday 5th October 2022.
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