Screenscribbler

Wednesday 6 April 2011

A Grand Day Out

Twelve miles west of Central London lies the beautiful leafy suburb of Sunbury-on-Thames, home to the Riverside Arts Centre the venue for  Jan Etherington's Comedy Writing Course - Spring Workshop (click on the link for details).
Jan, a successful comedy screenwriter who has penned many sit-coms for ITV and BBC, and her associates Frankie and Heather ensured everybody had a warm welcome and was made completely at ease in what was an intentionally small group.
Small is beautiful and because each one of us were able to get personal attention from Jan and her invited guests,  television actor John Bowler and Comedy Screenwriting agent Dominic Lord.
Jan gave us a useful talk on the ingredients necessary to construct a successful situation comedy.
I had submitted part of my script Ushabti prior to the course and this was superbly brought to life by a reading from members of the group. I can't describe how it felt to see my main characters brought to life for the first time, an experience I will never forget. This was followed up by a critique from members of the group and from the people who know, Jan and Dominic.
I found the day inspiring motivational and most of all enlightening for me in how to pitch and who to pitch to.
A grand day out and I most certainly will return. The next spring workshop is on May 15th for anyone who is interested.