Chris Cantrill is part of our Comedy Room writer development group for 2018/19. He recently attended our introduction to writing for Children's day which is run at Media City in Salford in conjunction with the Drama Room writer development group.
Hello! Iâm Chris, one of the 2018 Comedy Room intake*. My background is in live performance and I write and perform as one half of Yorkshireâs finest, meat-themed double act, . Weâve been described as a âCannon & Ballâ meets âHellraiserâ - itâs safe to say, weâre niche**.
At the time of writing, weâve had three Comedy Room sessions***. The first was about writing topical comedy, the second looked at the world of sitcom and todayâs session focused on writing for younger audiences.
As the really tired dad of a two-year-old, I know their minds are terrifying, snack-fuelled chaos machines. A typical conversation with my son will go like this:
âGood morning!â
âDinosaur! Does Mummy have a bottom? Snack!â
So, writing for children was a definitely a daunting prospect but after today itâs one Iâm very excited about.
The schedule for the day was packed with speakers working in the different departments involved in producing ±«Óătv content for children. The Scripted Development team took us through the shows they make and how they develop the concepts. We heard about the exciting new ways in which Digital Content is changing how we tell and consume stories. We also learnt about the extra precautions youâll need to consider when writing for a pre-school audience.
Pitching 101
After lunch we split into groups and had to pitch an idea for a scripted show to John Knowles and Hannah Smith from the ±«Óătv Animation Department.
Iâm sure to most rational folk, this is a truly chilling prospect****. However, itâs a skill youâll need in the wheelhouse. Being able to clearly articulate your vision for a project is the difference between it getting made or being quietly added to the dreaded C-drive mausoleum of unseen scripts.
Here are my tips:
Do
- Be creative! A pitch sits in a weird space between performance and business presentation. On one hand, youâre trying to sell a creative idea which should be exciting. The flipside being, itâs still a commercial proposal, so avoid making it a cringe comedy routine.
- Define your audience. 6 - 12 years old is a huge developmental chasm and finding something that pleases both ends of the spectrum is unlikely.
- Be concise and read the commissioning requirements. You should be able to define your idea in a couple of sentences.
- Listen to feedback. Being able to collaborate is essential and itâs the production teamâs job to make sure your idea is as polished as possible before they sink a stack of cash. It doesnât mean that you have to agree on everything but if a note is being made itâs most likely highlighting an issue which needs fixing.
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- Download an air horn app to signal your presentation has ended.
- Respond to feedback by screaming, âthis interview is over!â
- Interrupt the pitch with a fake call from the head of ITV in a futile attempt to initiate a bidding war.
Overall, it was a really fun and interesting day. Being part of the Comedy Room has been a fantastic experience. Iâve had amazing opportunities, learnt from masters of the craft and been introduced to a peer group of hard-working, very funny oddballs.
That said, the ±«Óătv is a public body and there are many opportunities for everyone to submit work or learn more. It was either Pablo Picasso or Syd Little who said, âInspiration exists, but it has to find you workingâ and thatâs probably the most valuable lesson Iâm taking from the Comedy Room. You have to be working on stuff all the time and sometimes it really is as simple as sending an email and saying, âhelloâ.
Now, I've got to get back to some top-notch dadding as itâs just dawned on me I havenât seen the lad in over an hour.
* The other Comedy Roomers call me âThe Cool Beatboxing Oneâ. Yeah? Guys?!
**Or in the words of an audience member in Cardiff, âcease and desist.â
****Scared of speaking aloud and failure? Iâd recommend the immersive therapy of stand up comedy!