Thursday 29 November 2012

Sci Fi Sitcom Trials video



From the Sci Fi Sitcom Trials, held at the Camden Head London on Weds Nov 28th 2012, here is a video capturing a taste of the night. As ever you really had to be there, but hopefully this gives you a feeling of what you missed.

See a full report and photos here.

Thoughts on the Sci Fi Sitcom Trials

Tonight's was an excellent show, with the highest standard of scripts, equalled by the quality of the productions. I can safely say there have never been this many sound cues used in a production of The Sitcom Trials, and as far as I could tell not a single one was missed. All hail the iPad, and occasional use of an iPod, it's the future kids.

The quantity (and, arguably quality) of props was also at a high, with Myles McLeod's team on Starship Impossible supplying the most. There was, at one point, a wig moment, a beard moment, a moose moment, and recurring appearances of a plague doctor / Venatian masque mask. Top marks. Best use of a sound cue goes to Event Horizon Crescent's "I'm not your Mum" line, and most self-effacing casting goes to Nick Ewans who was the unseen yet titular Burrax Bringer Of Desserts.

Usually with the Trials we have a "Sacrificial Lamb" syndrome with the first sitcom of the night faring poorly as the audience gets to grips with the style of the evening. This show had the opposite situation, with the early sitcoms having such an impact that by the time Not From Round Here hit the stage, its props and sound effects seemed less novel than they might have done. And the science fiction brief resulted in the unusual situation of space-time conflux and every other permutation of alien being a bit passe by the end of the night. Other shows would be jealous of our variety.

The victor of the night defied many odds. Alice and The Genie was a stonking script, blessed by a stonking Chris Fitchew as the Genie and Emma Packer as Alice. But, and I'm being honest here, the Sitcom Trials on-the-night voting system might normally have squashed it like a bug. Why, you ask? Because you can only fit fifty people in that room, and a good few are the writers, the actors and their friends. Which can sometimes result in the sitcom with the most popular writer (or, worst case scenario, the sitcom with the biggest cast) getting most votes and winning.

So it was the proudest result of the night that the only sitcom whose writer wasn't in the audience, and which had the smallest cast of all (just two), won. Hallelujah for comedy lovers, their good taste and honesty. Image

Sci Fi Sitcom Trials report & photos

The Sci Fi Sitcom Trials at the Camden Head in London on Weds Nov 28th was a tremendous success, showcasing five new sitcom scripts of the highest quality in the tightest of contests.


Starship Impossible: Susan Husband, Alexander Perkins, Rachel Perkins, Myles McLeod

The sitcoms, in order of appearance, were Starship Impossible written, directed by and co-starring Myles McLeod (above in rehearsal); Event Horizon Crescent by Jeremy Limb, directed by Louisa Gummer; Burrax: Bringer Of Desserts by Andy Gittins, directed by and co-starring Nick Ewans; Alice & The Genie by Neil Tollfree, directed by and co-starring Chris Fitchew; and Not From Round Here by Ben Lole, directed by & co-starring Sarit Chen. See the video here.

As always the audience saw the 5 sitcoms up to a cliffhanger moment then voted for their favourite, only seeing the ending of the winner. And that winner was ... Alice and the Genie by Neil Tollfree. Congratulations to Neil and all the writers, it was a splendid show, a video of which will be following soon.


Alice and The Genie: Chris Fitchew, Emma Packer

The Sci Fi Sitcom Trials was performed by Myles McLeod, Louisa Gummer, Nick Ewans, Chris Fitchew, and Sarit Chen (all also directed), with Emma Packer, Andrew Scott Butler, Simon Balcon, Nicola Redmond, Alexander Perkins, Susan Husband, Rachel Perkins, Annabel Bashford and Jenny Collier, with sound by Gavin Heaney (Starship Impossible) and the various directors. The producer and host was series creator Kev F Sutherland.

The audience had the chance to win a prize by coming up with their own ideas in The Pitch Fest, the prize being a poster from tonight's show signed by the cast & directors (see photo below). The winning suggestion was "Chairs - A similar concept to Cheers, but all the characters are played by inanimate furniture. Ernie 'Bench' Pantusso and Frasier Cane Chair are already two characters. But the possibilities are endless." Er, I'm not claiming the competition was as stiff in the Pitch Fest as it was in the rest of the show. Watch this space for video of this show and details of the next.


(above) Andrew Scott Butler, Nicola Redmond, Nick Ewans, Louisa Gummer, Sarit Chen, Simon Balcon; (below) that Pitch Fest prize in its full glory


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Monday 26 November 2012

At Last, the Bristol Sitcom Trials (June 2012) video

It's been a bit of a wait, but here at last is the video of the highlights of the June 2012 Bristol Sitcom Trials hosted by James Dowdeswell.



This show, which I wasn't able to make myself, has hung around on a rogue DV tape until now, waited to be edited and uploaded, and I must say has managed the unusual task of being funny even if you weren't there in the first place. Do please enjoy.

Read the full details of the show here, and a 4 star review here. The next Sitcom Trials is the Sci Fi Special in London on Nov 28th, and then you might care to stay tuned for the announcement of 2013's plans.


Thursday 22 November 2012

Sci Fi Sitcom Trials Nov 28

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The Sitcom Trials Sci Fi Special takes place at the Camden Head, 100 Camden High Street, London NW1 0LU at Weds 28th November - book now to avoid disappointment!*

5 sitcoms compete head to head, the audience vote for their favourite, only one can win. And this week the theme is Science Fiction. Have we found the new Red Dwarf? The new 3rd Rock From The Sun? The new Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy? Only You Can Decide.

The five competing sitcoms are
Alice and the Genie by Neil Tollfree, directed by Chris Fitchew
The Bringer Of Desserts by anon, directed by Nick Ewans
Event Horizon Crescent By Jeremy Limb, directed by Louisa Gummer
Not From Round Here by Ben Lawler, directed by Sarit Chen
Starship Impossible written & directed by Myles McLeod

There's also the chance for the audience to win prizes by coming up with their own sitcom ideas in The Sitcom Trials Pitch Fest. Tickets for the show are only £3, doors open 7.30pm.

Writers, performers and sitcom fans can keep in touch with the Sitcom Trials at sitcomtrials.co.uk and on Facebook. And make yourself known at the show, you're always welcome. Retweet this: http://tinyurl.com/SFsitcom

The Sitcom Trials Sci Fi Special
Weds Nov 28th, 7.30pm doors
The Camden Head, 100 Camden High Street Camden London NW1 0LU Phone: 02074854019
Tickets £3, book now*.




* NB: Update - ticket booking does now work

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Sitcom Trials meeting Sunday - you are invited

Vince Stadon writes:

Hello!

Just to let you know that the next meeting of the Bristol Sitcom Trials will be this Sunday at the Oxford pub, Oxford Street, Totterdown, Bristol, at roughly 3pm.  I say roughly because this eccentric boozer has its own special relationship with time, and you never know when it'll open its doors.  I keep telling the landlord we'll be meeting, and receive enthusiastic assurances that yes, we'll be able to get in, but many's the time I've been stood outside the locked doors, in the rain, musing on why author Raymond Chandler never bothered to explain who bumped-off the ill-fated chauffeur in "The Big Sleep", his seminal detective book from 1939. 


At the meeting we'll be reading a few archive Sitcom Trials scripts to get us all back in the groove, discussing plans for the next show (Friday Feb 22nd at the Wardrobe Theatre) and beyond, and we'll also try to definitively sort out a date for the Christmas Party thing, hopefully without it coming to blows.

Please do come along if you've the afternoon free,

Monday 19 November 2012

The final five sitcoms going into the Sci Fi Sitcom Trials on Nov 28th are:

Alice and the Genie
Burrax: Bringer Of Desserts
Event Horizon Crescent
Not From Round Here
Starship Impossible

Congratulations to all those successful writers, who may feel free to contact me now for their freebie tickets (+1) to the show. Commiserations to the writers whose scripts ended up not being chosen this time.

Here were the 8 scripts read at the table reading on Sunday and the votes cast by the directors and actors based on how well the scripts sounded.

Alice/Genie. Yes 8 maybe 1 no 0 total 17
Burrax Bringer of desserts Yes 5 maybe 3 no 0 total 13
Event Horizon Yes 5 maybe 3 No 1 total 12
Not from round here Yes 4 Maybe 3 No 1 total 10
Starship Impossible Yes 3 maybe 3 no 3 total 6
Space vets yes 1 maybe 4 no 2 total 4
FaceTime Yes 0 Maybe 4 no 4 total 0
Chimps Yes 0 maybe 4 No 5 total -1

I realise the verdicts reached by people hearing a script read around a table by actors can, and in this case do, vary wildly from the consensus reached by people reading the scripts on the page. I would defend these conclusions as they are based on a judgement of something much closer to how a performed version will come across than otherwise is possible, but I bet I'd feel disgruntled if I was the author of online favourite FaceTime.

So, we have the line-up for the Sci Fi Sitcom Trials. Who's coming?

Kev F

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Vote now in the Sci Fi Sitcom Trials

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Keep those votes coming in in the Sci Fi Sitcom Trials online script selection (deadline Saturday). With the most recent sets of votes counted the table's looking properly indecisive with five scripts tying for 8th place and, in the middle of the table, six scripts sitting on zero points.

An exciting contest this time around, and I hope we're all feeling the benefit of the constructive feedback from all the reviewers.

Face-Time 16
Starship Impossible 10
Our Mutual Friend 9
Them & Us 8
Clarice 7
Space Vets 7
Country Rock 6
Alice & The Genie 5
Burrax/Bringer of 5
Chimps 5
Event Horizon Crescent 5
Not From Round Here 5
Where No MAN Has Gone Before 4
Aliens 3
Apocalypse Cake Sale 3
King Chicken 3
Stanburg 3
Time Travel Tours 2
Great Space 1
BFF 3000 0
Bunk 0
Men In Brown 0
Nova FM 0
Space Cowgirl 0
The Princess of Darkness 0
Chaos -1
Dome Sweet Dome -1
The Crew -1
Area 47a -2
51 Roswell Rd -4
A Womb With A View -4
Apocalypse -5
Inconceivable -5
Hey Human -6
SU -6
Sky Level -7
The Time Travels of Dr Choo -8

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How do I Vote in the Sitcom Trials?

Read the scripts in the Files here:
http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/SitsVac/files/Sitcom%20Trials%20SF%20Special%202012/

And post your votes either in the Sits Vac Forum or in the BCG Forum.

Monday 5 November 2012

Halloween Bristol - 5 videos. Count em, Dracula.

From the recent Halloween Sitcom Trials in Bristol, Vince and the team are proud to present not one, not two, not three, not four, but five full videos of the sitcoms in contention. Check em out.



Far from the tiny snippets I've uploaded from previous shows (for fear you couldn't stand any more), Vince with the assistance of Matt Gillett and Kev Page have put all five competing sitcoms up in their entirety. They are:

The Brides Of Pete-Enstein
Here Comes The Science Part
The Princess Of Darkness Wants A Tan
Mid Afternoon of the Dead
Three In Tow (above)

Do please enjoy, and share. And while you're feeling so involved, please vote in the Sci Fi Sitcom Trials. Cheers.


Sunday 4 November 2012

Entries are in*, time to vote



So, the scripts are in* for the Sci Fi Sitcom Trials and it's time to read, review, and vote on them all.

"The scripts are in?*" you cry? "Then why is there a suspicious asterisk beside the phrase 'the scripts are in'* every time you mention it?"

Well spotted. There's an asterisk beside the phrase "the scripts are in*" because someone, mentioning no names, made a cock-up when he, or she, announced the deadline for the script entries. I, or rather he, announced the deadline as midnight Saturday 4th November. I know.


On the subject of Sci Fi comedy, check out our sister show The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre's 2013 calendar. 13 brand new images of the Socks in sci fi settings, the ideal gift from Christmas.

So, though I clearly intended the deadline to be Saturday 3rd November, I wrote what I wrote and we have to stick with it. So I realise there may be more scripts still to come in. But for the time being there are 31 entries in the Files, and I urge you all to begin the process of reading, reviewing and voting on them. Here are the 31 entries that came in by the intended / stroke / phoney deadline:

51 Roswell Rd  - David Tellett
A Womb With A View - Andrew Blair
Alice & The Genie  - Neil Tollfree
Aliens - Jim Spiers
Apocalypse - Pollard & Blair
Apocalypse Cake Sale - Vic Gore
Area 47a - David Hawke
Burrax - anon
Chaos = Noel Mulcahy
Chimps - Eoin Carney
Clarice - Jonathan Kirby
Country Rock - Neil Tollfree
Dome Sweet Dome - Tom Pinnock
Event Horizon Crescent - Jeremy Limb
Face-Time - Brian Teles
Great Space - Robin Wiggs
Hey Human Get Out Of My Wife - Elliot Loon
King Chicken & The Ning Nings - Kev Page
Men In Brown - Andrew Tucker
Not From Round Here - anon
Our Mutual Friend - Alan O'Brien
SU - Thomas Smith
Space Vets - Jonathan Clark
Stanburg - Pollard & Blair
Starship Impossible - Myles McLeod
The Crew - Kieron Moore
The Princess of Darkness Wants A Tan - Oliver Ley
The Time Travels of Dr Choo - anon
Them & Us - Adrian Maitra
Time Travel Tours - Carter John
Where No MAN Has Gone Before -  Robin Brown

And my award for best titles go to Hey Human Get Out Of My Wife and King Chicken & The Ning Nings. Let's hope the scripts are as good as their titles. I look forward to reading these, and to seeing what else comes in by tonight's "as announced" deadline.

Happy reading everyone.

Kev F Sutherland
Producer
The Sitcom Trials

Sci Fi Sitcom Trials script entries


How to vote

Friday 2 November 2012

Your new favourite Sci Fi Sitcom - Outland

It's always a treat to discover a new sitcom. Sometimes you stumble across them on TV, sometime they're recommended to you by a friend, and sometimes, very rarely, the creator of the show sends you, out of the blue, a DVD of it. All the way from Australia. Then, as if that weren't enough, you realise you know someone who's in it. Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to your new favourite sitcom, Outland.



The way it happened was, before we announced the Sci Fi Sitcom Trials, the Scottish Falsetto Socks had decided their next show will be a Sci Fi themed show and put out the call for subject matter they should tackle. Many films & TV shows were suggested, a dozen of which have made it into the Socks 2013 Calender (order it now, ideal for Christmas). And one suggestion came up that I hadn't heard of, namely Outland.

And no sooner had I said "I don't know what that is" on Facebook, then up popped none other than the co-author himself, John Richards, who offered, totally unbidden, to send me a DVD. From Australia. Which he then did, and which I just received. I'm only one episode in and it's already got me.

It's a sitcom about a bunch of geeks who are fans of sci fi shows, in particular Doctor Who. And they're Australian. And gay. Is there any part of it not to like yet? And it gets better. Because I realised from the cover that the co-star and co-author Adam Richard was in The Sitcom Trials, back in 2002. Only briefly but, by golly, he was, making him an official Sitcom Trials alumnus. (The tale of the legendary 2002 Edinburgh Fringe Sitcom Trials is a tale for another day, but don't worry, it will be told.)

So, your new favourite Sci Fi Sitcom is Outland, okay?



And, while we're on the subject, on Weds Nov 28th The Sitcom Trials presents a Sci Fi Special at the Camden Head in London, and you are invited to submit a script now.



As always scripts are invited to the Sitcom Trials format of a 10 minute opening act ending in a cliffhanger with a short payoff scene. We then perform the sitcoms up to the cliffhanger, the audience votes for their favourite and only sees the ending of the winner.

With this being a Science Fiction Special, we will be taking advantage of our "radio style" presentation, encouraging writers to tailor their sitcom entries for radio production. This enables you to include any special effect you can imagine, as long as they can be incorporated into the dialogue or very simple sound effects.

Writers are invited to upload their scripts to the SitsVac Files, where you will also find the guidelines regarding style, cast numbers etc. The deadline for uploading scripts is midnight Sat Nov 4th.

These scripts will then be voted on online by anyone who wishes to participate. The deadline for voting is Sat Nov 17th. The London team will then choose two or three of the most popular scripts to perform as part of the show, the other items in the show being created in house.

So if you want to have your sci-fi sitcom tested in front of a live paying audience, get on board now and enter The Sitcom Trials. Any questions, please ask at the Sits Vac Forum, or the British Comedy Guide Forum, or the Sitcom Trials Facebook page.

Kev F Sutherland
Producer
The Sitcom Trials

Nov 28 - Sitcom Trials Sci Fi Special, Camden Head, London

Great Sci Fi Sitcoms: Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

The Sitcom Trials presents Great Sci Fi Sitcoms of Our Time: The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy



As Wikipedia, very much the Hitchhiker's Guide of today, so kindly explains:

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy radio series written by Douglas Adams (with some material in the first series provided by John Lloyd).[1] It was originally broadcast in the United Kingdom by BBC Radio 4 in 1978, and afterwards on global short wave radio on the BBC World Service, National Public Radio in the U.S. and CBC Radio in Canada. The series was the first radio comedy programme to be produced in stereo, and was innovative in its use of music and sound effects, winning a number of awards.[2]

Which is a perfect way of making a great comedy sound really boring. Possibly the most influential science fiction comedy, its fingerprints can be seen in the work of Russell T Davies, Steven Moffat, Alan Moore, Terry Pratchett and most university comedy since. Had Douglas Adams lived, he'd probably be close to almost nearly just about finishing another volume, if you just give him a bit longer.

And, while we're on the subject, on Weds Nov 28th The Sitcom Trials presents a Sci Fi Special at the Camden Head in London, and you are invited to submit a script now.



As always scripts are invited to the Sitcom Trials format of a 10 minute opening act ending in a cliffhanger with a short payoff scene. We then perform the sitcoms up to the cliffhanger, the audience votes for their favourite and only sees the ending of the winner.

With this being a Science Fiction Special, we will be taking advantage of our "radio style" presentation, encouraging writers to tailor their sitcom entries for radio production. This enables you to include any special effect you can imagine, as long as they can be incorporated into the dialogue or very simple sound effects.

Writers are invited to upload their scripts to the SitsVac Files, where you will also find the guidelines regarding style, cast numbers etc. The deadline for uploading scripts is midnight Sat Nov 4th.

These scripts will then be voted on online by anyone who wishes to participate. The deadline for voting is Sat Nov 17th. The London team will then choose two or three of the most popular scripts to perform as part of the show, the other items in the show being created in house.

So if you want to have your sci-fi sitcom tested in front of a live paying audience, get on board now and enter The Sitcom Trials. Any questions, please ask at the Sits Vac Forum, or the British Comedy Guide Forum, or the Sitcom Trials Facebook page.

Kev F Sutherland
Producer
The Sitcom Trials

Nov 28 - Sitcom Trials Sci Fi Special, Camden Head, London

Thursday 1 November 2012

Sci Fi Sitcom Trials deadline approaches

Entries are coming in to the Sci Fi Sitcom Trials, I hope we're all remembering the deadline's on Nov 4th at midnight?


The Sci Fi Sitcom Trials - The Camden Head, London Nov 28th 2012.



A top tip everyone, when you're uploading your scripts, don't bother clicking the button which notifies the rest of the egroup that a script has been uploaded. It just means people getting sent the same message over and over. And with 17 scripts currently entered, I'm expecting a deluge in the next three days.

If you want, why not start reading and reviewing the scripts that are already up there? You can't vote yet, not until they're all up and the deadline's passed. But you could break the back of the script reading and get a head start on the process.

Remember, we're asking you to Read, Review & Vote on as many scripts as you can (and I'd certainly think we could all manage those first 17 entries). If you can, please post a Twitter length review for each script (to prove you've read it and to benefit the writers) and give it a Yes, Maybe or No vote as to whether it should be showcased in The Sitcom Trials.


The Sci Fi Sitcom Trials Files - here be scripts.

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