Writing Funny in London

Back by Popular Demand!
Back by Popular Demand!
Date: Mon 9 – 13 November
Time: 10.30am – 4.30 pm
Cost: Individual practitioners: £550
2 x practitioners joining together or as part of an ensemble: £1050
We have a fee for attending as an individual and a fee for those wanting to come in a pair. We are happy for people to come as individual practitioners or as part of ensemble groups
Venue: Longfield Hall, 50 Knatchbull Rd, London SE5 9QY
Led by : Toby Park, Spymonkey Co-Artistic Director & Carl Grose Playwright & Spymonkey’s Associate Artist
Suitable for all levels of experience, from novice to seasoned professional.
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Ever wondered how to write a Spymonkey show?
Yes! Us too!
Join playwright and associate artist Carl Grose and Spymonkey founder and co-artistic director Toby Park as they attempt to crack open the mysterious, maddening and utterly marvelous process of how to go about writing a show for Spymonkey.
Who’s it for:
- Actors, Clowns and performers keen to develop their writing skills
- Solo artists and performer-led companies looking to kick start a new project
- Directors and dramaturgs who facilitate collaborations between performers and write
- Writers interested in devising, adaptation and other collaborative creative processes
- Writers interested in Clown and Comedy
Why we think it is important:
Spymonkey worked for many years as a devising company. We took a huge step forwards in our creative process when we began working with a writer, and as it happens the first writer we ever worked with was Carl, for Oedipussy. It was a revelation, and we couldn’t understand why we hadn’t done it sooner! The writer brings so much to our intensely collaborative process: provocations for improvisation exercises, hot-seating, taking on the task of dramaturgical structure, of character arc, sifting and compressing the hours of improvisation, creative meetings with designers and directors and ridiculous conversations over tea breaks. And of course for the actual nuts-and-bolts of script-writing. Since then we’ve worked with a load of writers, but we keep coming back to working with Carl because he is brilliant and he understands Clown and our Theatre of the Funny.
What will be explored:
- We’ll open up the bonnet of the Theatre of the Funny creative process, and give you a tour of the workings of our creative engine. We’ll get our hands dirty. There will be cleaning products available!
- An exploration of past collaborations (how we took Greek Tragedy and turned It into a Spymonkey Show)
- Finding the ideal starting points and the right source material for original shows and adaptations.
- Mining humour, physicality and theatricality in your ideas.
- Writing exercises to liberate source material.
- Key improvising and devising exercises which we’ve developed over the years.
- How to listen to improv (what to run with and what to drop).
- How to prepare, how to play, how to polish.
- And much more besides!
Please note: There will be writing involved, but we also find it essential to explore writing practically and on its feet. All participants will be encouraged to join in the work and support the development of others so writers come expecting to get up and play, and performers ready with their pen (or laptop).