Redman Greenman in Concert

A few weeks ago in this post I talked about the 50th birthday party of my old friend, the poet and performer Simon Pitt.

Simon threw a great party for friends and family in a Birmingham pub. And as part of this he organised a night of cabaret-style entertainment, headlined by himself and guitarist Tony Wille, in their long-standing partnership Redman Greenman.

I was there with my video camera and recorded the whole of Simon and Tony's set. It's taken me a while (I'm new to this video lark), but I finally got the footage I shot uploaded to YouTube. So here - as promised back in January - is a taste of the entertainment we enjoyed that night. This is Redman Greenman's opening number. I thought it was a good one to post for an audience of writers, as it's called Cliches...



If you are receiving this post by email, you will need to visit my blog to watch the video.

Sorry the video is a bit dark, by the way. The pub was chock-a-block with guitars, amplifiers and who knows what, but nobody thought to bring any extra lighting...

Also, in case you're wondering, I couldn't just post the whole set on YouTube, as it was half an hour long, and the maximum duration for a YouTube video is 10 minutes. So I ended up chopping the set into eight short videos, one for each of the numbers Simon and Tony performed. If you'd like to see them all, I've created a special Redman Greenman page on my website and put them there.

And finally, just in case you're interested in booking Redman Greenman or want to offer them a multi-million dollar recording contract, you can contact them via the web page of Tony Wille (Redman). Or, of course, I'll be more than happy to pass any messages on.

Review: How to be Funny

In my recent review of Draw Cartoons Today from WCCL, I mentioned the company's brand new course How to be Funny. Well, I've now managed to get my hands on a review copy!

How to be Funny is intended for anyone who would like to develop their sense of humour. The author, Max Matterson, has worked in the world of comedy for the past 20 years. He has been a headlining stand-up comedian in Los Angeles, and taught comedy to writers across the globe. He has also had eleven comedy productions commissioned by the BBC.

How to be Funny is sold as an instant download. The file is a quite substantial 101MB, so you really do need a broadband/DSL connection to download it in this form. If you only have dial-up access, you might want to ask WCCL's helpdesk service if the course is also available on CD-ROM. I couldn't see anything about this on the sales page, but I might have missed it.

One other point to bear in mind is that How to be Funny is password-protected. You will find the password in the email you receive from WCCL when you purchase the course, so don't delete this.

How to be Funny arrives as a compressed Zip file. When you unzip this - perhaps using an application such as WinZip - you will find that it contains three items: a comedy screensaver, including one-liners from the course set against attractive backgrounds (I love this, by the way!); a "comedy confidence" hypnosis session, designed to build your confidence before performing to an audience; and the main How to be Funny manual in PDF format.

The manual is obviously the centrepiece of the course, so let's look at this in detail. It comprises 95 single-spaced pages of advice from Max Matterson in an attractive, readable font. You are free to print out any or all of the pages if you wish, and I was pleased to see a detailed table of contents at the front (though not hyperlinked, unfortunately).

Following a short introduction, the manual is divided into three main sections. Part One, How to be Funny, explains the basic rules of comedy, and shows how you can use them to make up your own jokes. This section also covers comedic timing and delivery, how to memorize jokes, and so on. It includes plenty of practical exercises to help you come up with your own comedy ideas.

Part Two, Enhance Your Humor, goes into much more detail about jokes and humour generally. It discusses the different types of humour, and how to use humour in a range of situations: the workplace, business presentations, with friends, and so on. Dealing with put-downs and heckles is discussed, as is being sensitive to the needs and expectations of different types of audience.

Finally, Part Three is a collection of resources from the Web. Over 50 sites are listed here, under a range of headings including Jokes, How to Use Humor in the Workplace, How to Use Humor in Presentations, and so on. Following on from Part Three, you also get some additional bonus items, including a large collection of favourite jokes and one-liners.

Overall, I was impressed with the manual, which is well written and comprehensive. It provides some real insights into the art of writing and performing comedy, and the many exercises it includes are a great way to flex your comedic muscles.

In my view, the manual will be of most use to people who actually want to perform comedy - from aspiring stand-ups to those who want to use comedy more effectively in business presentations and such like. It would also be great for anyone who wants to improve their comedic skills in social situations.

There is no doubt, also, that the techniques taught in the manual would be highly relevant to comedy writers. That applies especially to people who want to write gags for comedians, or short comedy items for greeting cards, TV sketch shows, cartoons, and so on. The manual isn't aimed primarily at writers, however, and you will need to look elsewhere for advice on the correct format for writing (say) TV comedy, where to submit your work, and so on. Dare I say it, my course Quick Cash Writing includes plenty of advice on this type of thing.

Finally, I should mention that How to be Funny is currently available at a special offer price of just $29.95 (around 14.95 UK pounds or 21.95 euro). For that money, and when you take into account the screensaver and self-hypnosis script also included, I reckon it represents amazing value for any aspiring comedian or comedy writer.

Online Sitcom Seeks Writers

If you're a budding scriptwriter, here's an opportunity that might interest you.

Where are the Joneses? is made by Baby Cow, the TV and film production company founded by Steve Coogan. It's described as the world's first interactive daily online sitcom.

The show follows the adventures of Dawn Jones (pictured below), a young woman who finds out that her father was a sperm donor. She sets off on a trip around Europe to find her 27 siblings, but what happens in each episode is decided by contributions from the public.



The project uses the latest Wikidot technology, which allows online communities to add, remove and edit content. Suggestions for storylines or complete scripts can be uploaded to the Where are the Joneses? wiki. You can also suggest ideas for new characters, volunteer to appear in an episode yourself, or offer your house as a location. And, of course, you can help to develop ideas submitted by other people. As it says on the Baby Cow website, the possibilities are endless.

The best ideas are turned into scripts by the Baby Cow team and filmed as episodes of the comedy; a new episode appears online every day. Where are the Joneses? stars Emma Fryer and Neil Edmond.

Unfortunately there's no money on offer, but this is a good opportunity to get some scriptwriting credits for your CV/resumee. It's also an interesting chance to work collaboratively on a writing project using cutting-edge methods and technology.

New Website for Comedy Writers and Performers

Aspiring comedy writers and performers might like to check out a brand new website from the BBC. Comedy Soup lets users create a portfolio on the site to which they can link their own comedy material, including videos, animations, audio and images.

You can also include information about yourself on your profile page. This could include links to sample comedy scripts you have written, though as far as I can tell you will have to arrange hosting for these elsewhere on the web. Comedy Soup isn't really set up as a scripts archive.

Comedy Soup is probably going to be of most interest to comedy writers who also perform their own work, and to writers who have the skills to create videos, animations and so on. Even if that doesn't apply to you, however, don't be put off. If all else fails you could simply read out your work and record it as an audio file, then upload it to your portfolio page (full instructions are on the site). Once it's there, your work will be viewed (or heard) by talent-spotters, comedy professionals and fans. If comedy is your thing, Comedy Soup could provide a world-wide shop window for your talents.