Writing Comedy for the Small Screen

Writing Comedy for the Small Screen

Sep 18 - Nov 06
6:00pm - 9:00pm

Instructor: Mary Ruth Clarke

Television comedy is not just sit coms anymore, in this third Golden Age of Television. This class is for anyone who has an idea that could make a great comedy series or limited series and who wants to learn the crucial basics of how to write it.

We will study successful pilots. We will tease out/explore the inherent possibilities in your idea, where it fits in the vast TV landscape, what makes for a great comedic character, visual storytelling, proper story structure and proper formatting. And you will write and rewrite.

You will leave the workshop with:

• The makings of a pitch document
• A grasp of the show template, structure, core cast, and the ongoing character revelations as opposed to character developmen
• A grasp of the process of creation that optioned shows go through
• A better grasp of the language that writers/producers/agents speak
• A rough draft of a television pilot