Write Your TV Comedy Script with Chris Head

• Writing
• Online
• £135
• Next: 5 x 2 hour sessions on Zoom from Monday 17 February, 7pm - 9pm (UK time)

Course leader

Chris Head

In this video Chris describes how the course works...

Here's the blog I talk about in the video.

WRITE YOUR TV COMEDY SCRIPT

 "This is the best comedy writing course I've done. Chris’ course was organised, incredibly thorough and well designed. Every week we were writing pages for our sitcoms, reading other course attendees' homework and reading professional scripts. I particularly liked that every week he would choose a few scripts to go through in class, this meant that if your script was chosen, you received a lot of feedback from not only him but others on the course. It was a great incentive to hand in homework on time, write using the tools you learnt that week so that you could hear your scripts read out loud. Hearing others’ work and giving them feedback was also very fun. This felt like an intensive course, I managed to complete my first draft of my sitcom in 5 weeks which I didn’t think was possible. The course was very intentional and focused, so it felt like you learnt a lot in a short burst of time. Chris’ feedback was also very positive, encouraging and specific. During the last session, Chris went through some information about the industry itself, which was very helpful as that information can be difficult to find alone. I absolutely loved this course and I got a lot of value out of it. I highly recommend doing this course!" Alya Soliman

This live and interactive Zoom course is a great opportunity to (a) get your script done and (b) to make sure it is clear, well structured, funny and in a form that will best serve your idea, whether you are looking to submit it to producers or enter it into competitions. Chris mentors TV writers and develops scripts with Lucy Lumsden, former BBC Comedy Commissioner and TV comedy producer and founder of Yellow Door Productions.

Weekly live Zoom sessions led by Chris Head with a friendly group.
Each session is recorded so you can catch up with the video if you have to miss a class.
You submit your developing script each week for notes and feedback.

"This course gave me all the support I needed to develop my characters and scenes into a first draft pilot. Approaching the three-act structure gradually over a few weeks was really helpful - it helped me to iron out any problems with Act 1 before thinking about Act 2 and so-on. The group feedback was very constructive and it really helped to get a general consensus of what went well and where I could improve. By the end of the course I had a completed script and plenty of notes to guide my next draft. My group found the course so useful that we talked Chris into setting up a follow on course!" CR

About the course

On this course, you'll produce a 30 minute television script (and radio can be accommodated if that's what you're working on). You will be taken through a structured approach to producing your script and will be given deadlines to complete each phase of the work. You can join this course without doing any previous courses with me but you will need to come in with a clear idea and characters to work with - you might already have a draft of a script, or a few scenes or nothing written yet but you do have a clear idea of what you want to write. 

You can:

- complete a pilot script 

- or rewrite a script you have previously written to get it on more of a sound footing.

Whatever you decide to do, the course provides a supportive group and deadlines with feedback and coaching from Chris to get the job done over 5 weeks. (Alternatively you will have everything you need to complete the script in the weeks after the course).

There will also be lots of illustrative clips from Catastrophe, Ghosts, Friends, Black Books, Hacks, Mo, Alma's Not Normal and more...

Across 5 weeks, be taken through the process of writing an artfully structured and plotted comedy script. Across the sessions you'll get your script written and you will learn structural and plotting skills that will serve you for all your future scripts.

The course follows the classic script structure of: TURNING POINT/ MIDPOINT/ CRUNCH POINT. In Act 1 of your script you want to hit a 'turning point' for your protagonist (often at the end of Act 1 but it can fall earlier). In the middle of the script is the 'midpoint' and at the end of your Act 2 you reach a 'crunch point'. Then you're into Act 3 and into the home straight.

And these beats of the story create a series of steps that the course follows, enabling you to get your script written in 5 weeks.

Each week features example clips from sitcoms and comedy drama shows, writing tips and insights as well as discussion and analysis of your work. Lots of examples from TV sitcoms and comedy dramas, both clips and scripts, are given of these different beats of your script and we closely anaylse how to make a script work. These techniques are not limited to a particular style - we will see examples from classic studio audience sitcoms and contemprorary comedy dramas, from very broad comedy to emotional and dramatic comedy. So whatever style you're writing, you will be able to apply the learning to your script. 

A video of the live class will be shared in case of absence or to refer back to. And you will share your work on a Trello board where there will be discussion and feedback. 

"I came to Chris's course knowing how to write but never having written comedy. I've been stretched, challenged and had crushing moments of self-doubt but his sitcom writing courses have been the highlight of my year. The courses are well-structured, clear and packed full of useful tips and Chris provides insightful feedback on weekly homework assignments which helped me progress. Looking forward to more!" KP