Generally, I try not to be late, but there are some times where double booking conspires against you and Saturday 8th February was one such date. 1.45pm saw me running, in a rather ungainly fashion, across Soho in London, eating an apple and checking my live location on my phone whilst trying not to slam into wandering tourists. This was achieved with varying success, but soon I arrived at the Union Club for the remainder of the Funny Women Workshop Weekend that I had got a whopping £100 discount on as being the winner of the Christmas Caption Competition – and the winner of a Funny Women BFF title.
All worries of being the new girl soon disappeared as I was greeted by the wonderful Lynne Parker, the other attendees, coffee and biscuits – in that exact order. Even though I had missed the fantastic morning session by Gavin, I was filled in by all the others and we began the afternoon character generation session with Alex Maher where we channelled our inner eccentrics. We laughed. A lot.
Day two and I was nervous again. Stand up beckoned with the fantastic Lucy Frederick and I sat down wishing I had thought about what I was going to talk about. Talking – not a problem. Talking and being funny? Ah. Um. Yes.
Glancing around I saw the same panic, but with lots of guidance and a few techniques, we all had the bones of stuff to stand up with, from skydiving to Spanish waiters, and honestly? Everyone was funny. Again. Because, as Lucy pointed out, everyone can make someone else laugh…
The afternoon session, 'How to Produce and Promote a Show', with Lynne focussed on the logistics of planning an actual event and it was fascinating to see everyone working in very different collaborative roles from the rest of the weekend to create a proposal.
Wrapping up the weekend, Twisted Loaf, the 2013 Funny Women Awards Winners, arrived for a question and answer session before their incredible show at the Leicester Theatre which, slightly inebriated, we excitedly attended. It was fabulous. Full of energy, full of unexpected directions and with the most beautifully alive characters. Truly worthy winners.
And as a BFF I am delighted to be a tiny part of it all – supporting and enjoying – the wonderful world of Funny Women. And even though I never thought it possible, I have been inspired to write a bit of stand up material myself, proudly wearing my BFF badge. ‘I like pretending I’m French’ – possibly coming soon…
Claire Potter, you can follow Claire on Twitter @clairepotter
Pictured below: Claire Potter's winning entry photo, take a look at the Workshop fun HERE!
