Announcing the dates for The Sitcom Trials – So You Think You Write
Funny 2013
The Sitcom Trials
returns in force in 2013, with the ultimate competition to find the best new
situation comedy talent in Britain. And this year we have joined forces with The Gilded Balloon, producers of
the UK’s longest running comedy new talent competition – So You Think
You’re Funny.
The dates for the heats are:
Fri May 3 - Manchester Heat 1 (Lass O'Gowrie)
Fri May 10 - London Heat 1 (Camden Head)
Fri May 31 - Bristol Heat 1 (Wardrobe Theatre)
Fri June 7 - Manchester Heat 2 (Lass O'Gowrie)
Thu June 13 - Bristol Heat 2 (Wardrobe Theatre)
Fri June 14 - London Heat 2 (Camden Head
Fri July 19 - London Semi Final 1 (Camden Head)
Mon July 22 - London Semi Final 2 (Camden Head)
Final August 2013 (The Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh Fringe)
The deadline for entries is March 31st. Read on for details...
Since it began in 1988, So You Think You’re Funny? has kick-started the careers of dozens of the country’s top stand-up comedians including Peter Kay, Dylan Moran, Lee Mack, Tommy Tiernan, Sarah Millican, Rhod Gilbert to name a few, with heats held across the country and a grand final at the Edinburgh Fringe. Now the Sitcom Trials are offering that same opportunity to sitcom creators.
Fri May 3 - Manchester Heat 1 (Lass O'Gowrie)
Fri May 10 - London Heat 1 (Camden Head)
Fri May 31 - Bristol Heat 1 (Wardrobe Theatre)
Fri June 7 - Manchester Heat 2 (Lass O'Gowrie)
Thu June 13 - Bristol Heat 2 (Wardrobe Theatre)
Fri June 14 - London Heat 2 (Camden Head
Fri July 19 - London Semi Final 1 (Camden Head)
Mon July 22 - London Semi Final 2 (Camden Head)
Final August 2013 (The Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh Fringe)
The deadline for entries is March 31st. Read on for details...
Since it began in 1988, So You Think You’re Funny? has kick-started the careers of dozens of the country’s top stand-up comedians including Peter Kay, Dylan Moran, Lee Mack, Tommy Tiernan, Sarah Millican, Rhod Gilbert to name a few, with heats held across the country and a grand final at the Edinburgh Fringe. Now the Sitcom Trials are offering that same opportunity to sitcom creators.
The Sitcom Trials has been running since 1999, showcasing
brand new sitcoms in a competition format. Its first Edinburgh Fringe show in
2001 at the Gilded Balloon starred Miranda Hart in a self-penned sitcom set in
a joke shop, with a little blonde-haired sidekick and a fanciable chap in the
café next door (sound familiar). The following year’s show starred future
Perrier-winner Laura Solon. If you think you could follow in those illustrious
footsteps, now is your chance.
The Sitcom Trials – So You Think You Write Funny is open to
writers and writer-performers whose comedy writing has never before been
broadcast on national TV or radio.
You are invited to submit a 10-minute sitcom script (to
guidelines, below). The entries
will be selected by our panel of script reading judges, and the lucky shortlist
will be showcased on stage, by our teams of professional actors, and voted for
by the audience and a panel of judges from the comedy industry. The 5 scripts
that prove most popular in the heats will be performed in the grand final at
the Edinburgh Fringe where one sitcom will win their own show at the Gilded Balloon in Edinburgh and a development
deal with Gilded Balloon Productions.
If you are a writer-performer, whether an actor, a comedian,
or a sketch-team, and you wish to perform the competing sitcom yourself, then
that is fine. You’re asked to submit a YouTube demo of your performers along
with your script entry, it’s as easy as that.
Oh, and did we mention The Sitcom Trials - So You Think You Write Funny is
completely free to enter?
The deadline for script & video submissions is midnight
March 31st 2013 and all details can be found at the website
sitcomtrials.co.uk
The Sitcom Trials 2013 Script Guidelines:
Sitcom Trials scripts need to be written for a maximum of 4
actors, with no more than 3 of the same sex. This can be varied only if you are
performing your own script & can supply the entire cast.
The format needs to be a script of approx 10 minutes
duration ending in a “cliff-hanger” moment (e.g. the ad-break moment, leaving
the audience wanting more). The script then needs a denouement scene of no more
than 3 minutes max. What will happen is the audience with see the first “half”
of all the sitcoms in contention, then only see the ending of the winner (of
the audience vote on the night). That way the audience never get bored by
anything they don’t like, and they’re never more than 10 minutes away from
something they might prefer.
Scripts can be laid out as TV, radio, stage or movie
scripts, whichever the author prefers.
They can be sent as word document or pdf document. Please
avoid other formats if at all possible.
Top tip: These scripts are to be performed on a minimal
theatre stage, with few if any props, so it is best not to enter scripts that
rely heavily on visuals, or on a filmic treatment. Scripts written with radio
production in mind would work best in this limited stage environment. For
examples of how previous Sitcom Trials performances have worked, see the many
video clips at sitcomtrials.co.uk
Submission:
Scripts can be laid out as TV, radio, stage or movie
scripts, whichever the author prefers.
They can be sent as word document or pdf document to
scripts@sitcomtrials.co.uk
Include your name, mailing address, contact email, and which
location you could best attend if your script is shortlisted for performance:
Manchester, Bristol or London.
If you intend performing your own script, include a link to
a YouTube (or other online) clip that shows the performers in question. If they
are performing the script that’s entered, that may be more helpful (but not
essential).
The deadline for script & video submissions is midnight March 31st 2013. Any questions, ask at the Forum.
Kev F Sutherland
Producer
The Sitcom Trials
