In This Issue :

Ronald Wolfe describes the experience of being a Montreux judge
Ken Rock offers some advice on better writing
We share BSCW Members successes


COMING UP ROSES

(This article was initially published in 'The Stage' magazine. Thanks to BSCW subscriber and supporter, Ronald Wolfe for his permission to re-use it.)

A golden rose from Montreaux is a sought after award, but how exactly do you qualify for the comedy gong? Ronald Wolfe gives an insiders view on what makes the judging panel laugh.

Let's face it. As a nation we have had problems. We were not sure what to do about foot-and-mouth disease, our railways are in a state of chaos and we have a new bridge across the Thames that we cannot use because it wobbles dangerously. But once again, we have been hugely successful at the Montreux Comedy Festival - isn't it nice to know that somehow, somewhere, we manage to do something right.

We have done well at Montreux since the very beginning. The Rose d'Or - the Golden Rose - was created in 1961. The Swiss idea was simple: "Why don't we put together a really good international variety programme in Switzerland, then swap it for productions from other countries within the framework of a competition?" They did, and the BBC was awarded the first ever Rosed'Or de Montreux for The Black and White Minstrel Show.

The competition developed. In 2001, Silver and Bronze Roses are now awarded for Comedy, Sitcom, Variety, Music and Gameshows, from which five categories the winner of the Golden Rose itself is chosen. This year the Golden Rose was won by Lenny Henry in Pieces, made by Tiger Aspect, one of our most experienced independents whose previous Montreux successes were triple-winner Hariy Enfield and Mr Bean.

This year 241 programmes were entered, and of the 89 nominations, more than a third - 29 - were British. Of the 11 major awards, six went to UK productions. These awards were not made by fellow Brits, but by an international jury. Out of the 20 jury members, there were only two from the United Kingdom, and I was one of them.

This year I was invited to be on the sitcom jury. The three other members were Terry Hughes, US producer/director of shows such as The Golden Girls, Third Rock From the Sun and Friends; Jacqueline de Rosnay, a leading French producer; and Charles Lewinsky, a top Swiss-German comedy writer.

What was the voting procedure? There was a suggested method whereby we allocated points for direction, conception and appreciation, or else the jury president (Hughes) could decide on his own system, provided the other members agreed. As Hughes wisely opined: 'This jury is to judge sitcoms: we have to decide on two shows to win the Silver Rose and the Bronze Rose. Let's watch the shows [16 altogether] and decide which ones make us laugh the most. Then each of us, individually and without consultation with the others,should write down our top two."

And so we carefully watched each show, did not discuss them, and then wrote down our top two. The results were unanimous - complete agreement. Number one was Coupling, and second Black Books. Both of these shows were traditional sitcoms, that is done with thee or four sets and recorded before a live audience.

BBC 2's Coupling features six friends - involved, formerly involved, or looking to become more intimately involved with each other -and was made by Hartswood Films, Beryl Vertue's company responsible for the hit show Men Behaving Badly.

Beryl is Coupling's executive producer, her daughter Sue Vertue is producer, and the script is by Steven Moffatt who is married to Sue. As Beryl says, "this show is a family affair" (but with programmes as good as this, I am not complaining). The show's director Martin Dennis is not a relative, but he has worked with Beryl for so long and on so many of her successes that he is practically family.

None of us could remember a single gag line from Coupling - the laughs came,as they should, from the characters acting in the situation.

There was a firmness and confidence in the direction that we found impressive. Coupling is a bit like Friends, yet it isn't Friends. It is finding its own audience, overseas sales are healthy and it has been nominated for the TV Festival at Banff.

Getting a sitcom on the screen is never easy. Black Books started life at, and is the sole survivor of, the 1998 Channel 4 Sitcom Festival at the Riverside Studios. Eccentric bookshop owner Bernard Black is played by Dylan Moran, who also writes the show with Graham Linehan, perhaps best known as the co-writer of Father Ted. We, the juxy, found it very funny, full of laughs and so many good, original visuals.

One of the problems at Montreux is that some shows do not neatly fit into a definite category. In the sitcom category there were two shows which in no way could be regarded as sitcoms. A Many Splintered Thing did not get one laugh from us, but it was so good. Excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed it. Really it was a half hour film with Alan Davies, as charming and as loveable as ever. The filming, especially the scenes done in London by night, was beautifully done. This was a classy, stylish, sophisticated half hour - but not funny. We could not consider it a sitcom but it really deserved a special mention. It had everything but a category.

The thing about Vince was a 50-minute comedy drama starring Timothy Spall, Sheila Hancock and Peter Vaughan, which showed three generations and three different stages of marriage. This show was given the UNDA prize (a Catholic organisation for promoting family relationships). Hardly an award that would be given to A Many Splintered Thing, as that showed Davies as a married man having an affair with a bisexual mistress who is also having a lesbian affair.

Some of us veterans thought that Ali G would be too parochial, too much of a cult to appeal outside of the UK, but we were wrong. It was awarded the Bronze Rose for Comedy from a jury made up of German, Canadian and German-speaking Swiss members. Something new also appealed to the Variety jury - Popstars, following the pop group's formation from nail-biting audition to the release of their first single.

The last day of the festival was Writers and Devisors Day - dedicated to the creators of gameshows, sitcoms and other entertainment programmes. One of the highlights was the Format Clinic by Finton Coyle, codevisor of BBC's international hit, The Weakest Link. Coyle, with his team, is a prolific divisor of gameshows and he told me that The Weakest Link took only a few months from development to the sale and to the screen.

One of the speakers was Harris Katleman, an ex-president of Fox Television who said that Americans will always follow a trend, and since Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, they have started buying all their gameshows from the UK and Europe. He said that if you have a gameshow and you have not sold it to the Americans you must be doing something wrong.

There were, however, words of warning from one of the legal advisors. Because of the similarity between various gameshows, it is very difficult to protect your idea. It was suggested, quite seriously, that when making a pitch, you go in with a camera and record the entire meeting. This will help protect your product.

And at the end of the last day at Montreux, is there anything I learned; is there anything I specially remember? Without doubt it is the words of Herman Vaske, the all-round European creative guru. "My advice is to look at what everybody else is doing, go away and do something different. Dont try to copy - instead push the frontiers, be prepared to take risks. be curious about everything, stuff your brain with seeds and they may sprout into things you never imagined"

That's it. Thats all you have to do. Good luck


BETTER WRITING
By Ken Rock

Writing comedy is regarded as the most difficult form of writing there is. That's because comedy is a personal thing - what makes one person laugh wouldn't raise a smile in someone else. Anyone can be funny occasionally, but to be consistently amusing can sometimes prove to be a very daunting task indeed. Yet if you have the ability and determination, it can be a most lucrative business. You will be contributing to a market which is constantly searching for fresh material and ever on the lookout for new writers.

There are no hard and fast rules of comedy and often the most original comedy is written by someone who breaks conventions. There is an insatiable market for scripts but there are not enough good writers to go round. Producers are desperately trying to find writers they can work with and commission with confidence.

MAKING THE EFFORT

To be successful you have to take it seriously. It is a serious business and you are dealing with professional people. You have deadlines to meet so you must put the time and effort into it.

How many times do we say we haven't got time? Everyone has the same number of hours in the day and we should all use them in the best possible way. Getting up an hour earlier is no great hardship. The birds have already been awake for several hours and it can be a time for quiet thoughts. Other people are at their most creative at the end of the day and prefer to work into the early hours. Some can work during their lunch break, others sit in the park. There is no set time for writing. It is up to you to use your time wisely and decide which is your most creative period.

WHERE DO I START?

Firstly, decide what kind of comedy it is going to be. Are you good at writing short pieces like sketches and quickies with strong and surprising tag lines? Does your strength lie in creating characters and situations? Maybe you prefer to write jokes for stand-up comedians? Perhaps you are better at developing visual ideas? Is it for children? Is it for the whole family or is it for an adult audience?

Every comedy sets its own tone - the important thing is for the writer to be consistent. That way the audience knows what they are watching. What is plausible and funny to an audience in one show may seem stupid and inconceivable to the same audience in another show.

WHERE DO IDEAS COME FROM?

The standard question everyone asks is "Where do ideas come from?" The standard answer is "From everywhere and anywhere". Of course, it is not quite as simple as that. You must look around you, listen, observe and read. Life is full of comedy. Look for it

You will find it everywhere - in bus queues, in supermarkets, in the street, at home, etc. ... Always carry a notebook with you wherever you go. Ideas can strike at any time. Jot down conversations and situations you come across. Not the whole scene, just a few key words will do. These will help you later on when you come to develop the situation. Humour is based on human reactions to situations and circumstances. Ideas must be based on truth. You can exaggerate like Red Dwarf, be wild like The Young Ones or outrageous like Absolutely Fabulous, but the initial idea must have a relationship to reality.

Another good source for ideas is the letters pages of newspapers and magazines. Read them thoroughly for snippets from real life which would make good stories. They can be a mine of inspiration. Take the basic idea and imagine what happened next.

Study the market; assess the performers and their styles; choose your targets; tailor your output to their needs. Then, and only then, do you stand a reasonable chance of having your work accepted. Watch as much TV as possible. Regardless of your writing ambitions, watch everything at every opportunity. It will increase your knowledge of sound plot construction, character relationships and good dialogue. If you see a comedy programme which doesn't make you laugh, ask yourself why not. Then rewrite it and see if it is any better.

HOW TO SUCCEED

You are dealing with professional people so make sure you approach your writing in a professional way. Your chances of success will improve if the producer knows you are reliable and always deliver your work on time.

Get into the habit of writing even if there isn't an immediate market for your work. If you cannot think of anything to write about then look in the daily papers. There are sure to be a few articles that can be twisted round into something funny. If you only write one joke a day, this time next year you will have 365 jokes.

Writing is a craft one learns by trial and error. You learn from your mistakes. And you will make some of those. Do not worry about your idea being done before. Chances are it has. But not by you. The way you approach the idea, plan and structure it will give it a different slant altogether. You will stamp your own authority on it.

REJECTIONS

The biggest hurdle new writers have to overcome is rejections. Most scripts get turned down, no matter how professionally they are written. There are still more writers than there are slots to fill. Script writing is more than just a hobby. It is hard work which requires commitment from the writer. Don't be disheartened or angry about rejections. The most experienced professionals have scripts turned down. Stamina therefore is also important, along with a thick skin.

Don't take rejections personally. It is only someone's opinion. There are many reasons why comedy material is turned down. The producer may not think it is funny enough, or it might not fit into that show's requirements. You can eliminate some of the major causes straight away. Handwritten material, incorrect layout, many crossings out, atrocious spelling, bad typing, dreary dialogue, obvious stories, all these things show that the writer just could not be bothered, and shows a lack of professionalism which will not impress a producer.

If you have overcome all these faults and your work is still rejected, don't be disheartened. Accept it because rejections are part of a writer's job. If you can write a script that is workable, enjoyable to read, the right length, and with the right characters, then you are already more than half the way towards success. The opportunities are there but there are obstacles to be overcome. You need perseverance, discipline, professionalism, to have a love of words, interest in people and be able to research, use your imagination, accept criticism, and be optimistic.

Comedy material is used up at an alarming rate. Once it's on the airwaves, it's gone. Because you can't recycle comedy, people who buy it always need a fresh source. Comics, television hosts and other comedy consumers work constantly yet can't use the same material, so they need someone who can always bring them fresh ideas. This creates a tremendous need for comedy minds.

WHY NEW WRITERS BREAK IN

Demand for humour writers far exceeds supply. One reason is that more people want to tell jokes than write them; another is that television is a joke-eating shark. It chews up more humour material in a month than all the other forms use in a year. Writers are only as good as their last joke/script, and fatigue causes many of them to burn out after a year. The main quality shared by all successful comedy writers is consistency. This means that the ability to write funny isn't an occasional thing and the writer doesn't waste precious time preparing the wrong material for the wrong performer to be delivered to the wrong audience.

Don't be frightened off by all these seemingly complicated skills that are required for comedy writing. With practice, all these techniques come easily. But remember, you must take it seriously. Comedy writing carries no passengers.



SUCCESS STORIES

Terry Adlam has a long list of successes recently - fortunately, he found time between them to share them:

"While working on the second series of S4C's LLWYTH O DOCS as a member of the small team of writers (currently being transmitted Thursday nights 8:30pm on S4C), I was given the    opportunity to write a complete one off episode which will be transmitted in late July on S4C.

I won a short play competition at Windsor with a black comedy called 'AIM'. The play was performed over three nights at the Windsor Arts Centre. I am currently writing a new play set in a zoo.

I have had sketches preformed on Barvos 'IDIOTBOX'.

I have had a sketch accepted for SMACK THE PONY.

I have contributed a number of sketches for another S4C programme. This time a children's show called 'THAT SILLY SHOW.' I was recommend this job by the producer of LLWYTH O DOCS.

I have sent scripts to LUCKY BAG - A BBC WALES sketch show - and awaiting feedback

Thanks to the contact with LLWYTH O DOC I am now writing a treatment for a film based on one of the characters with the hope that the first draft script will be ready by September.

Althoug my sitcom doesn't look like it is going to be picked up by BBC SCOTLAND, I was told it was a very good 'Calling Card' script and there could be work on the way. I shan't hold my breath.

I have also been accepted into the WRITERS' GUILD OF GREAT BRITIAN.

Keeping busy, but always looking for new ventures and hopefully give up the day job!"


John O'Bryne also reports a busy time:

"Just to let you know that my surrealistic joke about a sociologist and two penguins was read out by Professor Laurie Taylor on "Room for Improvement", BBC Radio 4, on Thursday evening, 31 May.

I was also shortlisted for The Globe and Mail (Toronto) anagram competition on 2 June: Change the title of a well-known book, movie or play by making an anagram of one of the words and give a brief synopsis of the new work). Intact I: The story of the Titanic from the point of view of the iceberg.

Also runner-up in the New Statesman "neologism" competition of 28 May. hague v. to drive at 60mph knowing one's petrol tank is almost empty. bryson v. to belittle with caustic wit a foreign country one has visited for a relatively short period of time. vaz v. to vacillate on a subject until the media lose interest and move on.

Also runner-up in The Oldie definition competition, May issue. Home is where the @ is."


Finally, apologies to any of you who have tried to share your successes with us, but had your e-mails returned to you. As mentioned in the Mailbox, the BSCW have been suffering problems on the internet, and I believe that mail to gill@bscw.co.uk may have been going astray. (All those articles you were eagerly sending...)

This e-mail address and the website will soon be back to normal. However, if you need to e-mail the BSCW management team in the meantime, feel free to use my personal e-mail address gill@oikade.co.uk - do put BSCW in the subject line, and I will make sure it gets to whoever is best to deal with your e-mail.