Podcasts, tea with Jo Brand and the art of comedy

2023 is going out on a podcast high for me!  I’ve recorded two guest appearances this week and have featured on two others over the last month. I’ve loved being a part of all of them and really miss hosting my own podcast HOW TO HAVE FUN AT WORK – which will make a comeback next year for sure.

It’s great to have the opportunity to talk about how I created Funny Women, particularly as 2023 has been such a challenging year. I’ve had to put some of my personal creative projects on hold and prioritise applying for funding, seeking sponsorship and developing corporate work. As the leader of a non-profit community, financial survival is always at the top of the agenda, especially in the arts.

Despite losing sponsors and clients not spending as much with us this year, there have been some amazing ‘wins’. I am proud that we were able to celebrate 20 years of the Funny Women Awards with an incredible final at the Bloomsbury Theatre which you can still listen to on BBC Sounds here along with the documentary 20 Years of Funny Women narrated by Kerry Godliman.

Our generous and brilliant ‘Matron’ Jo Brand not only hosted this year’s Awards final, but also took time out to have tea with our 2023 Funny Women Awards winners (pictured above) and her guidance is an inspiration to us all. The Awards really are the ‘beating heart’ of everything we do at Funny Women and provide a unique platform for thousands of new performers, writers and creators to showcase their work.

The talent that comes through our Awards every year forms the basis of an incredible creative workforce and for those of you making commercial creative work looking for new writing, scripts, casting, film makers, directors and producers don’t forget to talk to us, particularly if you are marketing products and services for women.

And if you want to improve diversity in your organisation, we can provide workshops, special events and bespoke comedy shows for your workplace. You can then revel in the fact that everything Funny Women earns out of this work goes back into supporting the next generation of talent. Our outreach programmes provide opportunities for women to explore their creativity through comedy.  

I talk a bit more about this in Katie Street’s Marketing in the Madness podcast on the Art Of Comedy in Marketing: How to Make Your Brand Stand Out.

The art of comedy is also a great way to improve your wellbeing and explore creativity.  I have a lot to say about this on the Creative Health Podcast with Laura Bailey when we talked about the benefits of comedy for women and in everyday life.

Watch this space for new podcasts incoming and in the meantime, have a wonderful festive season!