Are you a closet performer or writer? Do you secretly crave an audience but not yet plucked up enough courage to perform to anybody beyond your friends and family? Then it’s time to make a stand – or Stand Up to Stand Out!
We have two great tried and tested workshops coming up over the next few weeks at our regular central London venue, the Leicester Square Theatre, designed to get the creative juices flowing and the best performances out of you.
If you have already attended one of our Introductory Workshops and caught the comedy bug enough to take it a stage further as a performer or writer, you may have even taken the next step and entered the Funny Women Awards, then we have two great workshops in June and July to really help you along the way.
We have an Advanced Workshop coming up fast this coming Saturday 7th June which is a three-hour session with intense coaching, advise and direction from our producers and mentors. This is ideal if you have either already taken part in an introductory workshop or have already taken your first steps into performing live, either in comedy or speaking in public. We will help review your progress, develop new material, explore presentation style, and hone your act.
Don’t just take our word for it – here are some of the comments we’ve received:
“The feedback was incredibly helpful and it was brilliant to be able to work and learn with the other girls. So inspired was I, that skipped back and I re wrote half my stuff as soon as I got home!”
“I found the session and feedback from you and the participants very useful and has made me think about doing things in a different way, both in content and performance. I needed a 'shake up'. I confess I had become rather stale and bored with my set as it currently is.”
Whether you want to perform or just write, you can get some expert advice and guidance at our next Comedy Writing Workshop on Saturday 19th July, just in time to get your entry optimised for the Comedy Writing Award. Our last event was a sell-out success so we have invited back Gavin Smith of the Comedy Unit, to run another of his wonderful sessions.
Gavin, who sits on the judging panel for the Comedy Writing Award, will cover structure, content, what pitfalls to look out for and what commissioners are looking for in a script. Well worth three hours of your time as it could save you hours of wasted effort. Plus, even if your goal is to perform, getting some insights into good writing practice can really up your game.
Speaking about the success of the Workshops over the last few years, founder and executive producer of Funny Women, Lynne Parker, says, “Talent is inherent and we are just here to help coax it out of people. I personally believe that everybody is funny, whether they realise it or not! Knowing how and when to use humour is an amazing skill even if you don’t want to be a performer.”
You can also read Lynne's latest Huffington Post Blog about how Funny Women is dealing with 'everyday sexism' and helping to even up the odds in the comedy industry HERE.
Details of all our workshops are listed HERE. To reserve your place please email info@funnywomen.com putting the title and date of the workshop that you wish to attend in the header.
If you have already registered for this year's Funny Women Awards you will get £15 off the cost of both workshops – please email awards2014@funnywomen.com and ask for your discount codes.
Pictured top to bottom: winners of 2013 Funny Women Awards, performer and writers; workshop in progress at Leicester Square Theatre Lounge.
