Square Peg? Round Hole? Where's the Joke?
How about a comedy writing course with a difference? This one is actually presented by someone who is a successful comedy writer and stand-up comedian in her own right!
Square Peg Workshops are offering a two day, residential comedy writing course this September, and you too can enjoy a hands-on approach to comedy writing and get inspired by your host for the weekend - comedian Victoria Cook (pictured).
Victoria ‘Jordy’ Cook (no prizes for guessing which part of the country she hails from) began her life as a stand-up and sketch comedian immediately after graduating with a degree in Media and Performance from Salford University. She currently performs with an all female comedy sketch show – ‘Kooky Babooshka’; which, like her previous show – ‘4 Blondes and a Blackhead’, tours extensively and has found critical acclaim at both theatres and festivals alike.
Jordy was also a finalist in ‘Nivea Funny Woman of the Year 2007’, performing at the Comedy Store in London, is a regular voice on BBC Radio Manchester, and has had television success on Channel M presenting several programmes ‘Gloves Off’, ‘The Basement’, and ‘Interference’. She has also recently finished filming for Channel 4’s ‘The Comedy Lab’, and is making quite a name for herself as a television comedy writer.
All this prompted Jordy to start her own, very successful company – ‘Missing Rib Ticklers’, which offers stand-up comedy classes, particularly to women and young people.
On this two-day course Jordy hopes to show people how to write comedy, she says: “As a comedian I know the best way to generate comedy and material is to be up on your feet laughing and playing with ideas - in order to show people the best way to write comedy I will be warming up their comedy muscles with a comedy workout. We'll be having a 'Who's Line Is It Anyway' type improvisation session - fun comedy improvisation games, getting people laughing, relaxed and thinking in a comical way. We'll be looking at how to formulate a joke, simple one liners to start with and then moving onto the joke structure - how to build comical scenario and characters.
The course is very practical for people that want to volunteer to explore comedy, if others feel more comfortable observing that is also fine! We also cover simple sketch writing and writing for stand-up, so hopefully there is something for everybody.”
By the end of the course the aim is that you will have written and ‘joke formulated’ a piece of material to read to the others and receive feedback from. The whole weekend is very relaxed and the focus is having fun and immersing yourself in comedy.
“We're hoping the course will mix pleasure with learning”, says Jordy, “which is why we have decided to run in a beautiful hotel in Ramsbottom - it's really picturesque and relaxing and after class people can explore the local area or maybe head to The Rock in Bury (a new shopping/eating/cinema complex) for a night out.”
The two-day course runs on Saturday, 18th and Sunday, 19th September 2010, at The Old Mill and Leisure Club on Springwood Street in Ramsbottom near Bury; and the very reasonable price of just £200 covers not only your tuition, but also your accommodation and all your meals.
The course is one of many comedy courses run by Square Peg Workshops, for instance -they also run a course called 'Missing Rib Ticklers' which is a 10 week comedy course for women only with a graduation gig for ‘Laughing Cows’ comedy night. You can find out more about their other workshops on the Square Peg website at: www.squarepegworkshops.com
To book a place on this particular course you can telephone either Sarah Birch on +44(0)7757 437392 or Vic Cook on +44(0)07515 893296, or send an email to: squarepegworkshops@hotmail.co.uk
