Comedy Masterclass

Chris Head (How to structure your 30 min comedy or comedy-drama script)

Danielle Krage interviews comedy director, coach and mentor, Chris Head.
This episode is a deep dive into how to structure your 30 min comedy or comedy-drama script. Then Chris and Danielle play with using the structure to brainstorm a new show.
Tactics covered include:
Breaking down the 3 main beats that shape your story.
Ways to keep your protagonist active.
How to navigate phases of play and structuring when writing.
Brainstorming a show in real time, using practical frameworks for character dynamics and story beats.
Bringing in a B and a C story.
You can find out more about Chris’ work here:
https://www.chrishead.com
 
You can find the blog post referenced here (including links to scripts):
https://www.comedy.co.uk/pro/inside_track/structuring-your-30-minute-script
 
You can find the transcript at:
https://comedymasterclass.com
 
And Danielle’s socials here:
https://twitter.com/daniellekrage
https://www.instagram.com/dekrage
https://bsky.app/profile/daniellekrage.bsky.social
 
 
 

Johnny Smith (writing screenplays for animation)

Danielle Krage interviews Johnny Smith, animation and live-action screenwriter and script consultant. His work spans books, TV and film, including Dragon Rider, and co-writer for The Queen’s Corgi, and Gnomeo and Juliet.
This conversation includes:
Creating rules for your world, using setting, and telling the story visually.
Considerations for writing physical comedy.
Lessons learned from working with studios and production companies.
Ways to approach writing in a partnership.
Self-esteem and mental health challenges for writers and creative people.
The importance of finding your voice, and writing for you.
Advice for having and changing agents.
You can find out more about Johnny Smith and his work here:
https://www.johnnysmith.co.uk/
 
You can find the transcript at:
https://comedymasterclass.com
 
And Danielle’s socials here:
https://twitter.com/daniellekrage
https://www.instagram.com/dekrage
https://bsky.app/profile/daniellekrage.bsky.social

Jane Lovering and Jeevani Charika (How to Write Romantic Comedy)

Danielle Krage interviews writers Jane Lovering and Jeevani Charika. They are shortlisted and award-winning romantic novelists in their individual careers, and together they wrote How to Write a Romantic Comedy.
This conversation includes:
Having pen names and marketing your funny books.
Juxtaposition and the unexpected in comedy.
Tropes, heroines and diversifying the genre.
Memorable endings and twists.
The editing process.
 
You can find out more about their work here:
https://books2read.com/u/4AQBgk - How to Write Romantic Comedy https://books2read.com/IPBook - Getting Published is Just the Beginning www.fictiontutors.co.uk Jeevani Charika’s non-fiction site https://www.janelovering.co.uk/ Jane Lovering’s website
https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Jane-Lovering/author/B003NYBX9M?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true Jane’s Amazon page
www.Jeevanicharika.com Jeevani Charika’s website
https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Jeevani-Charika/author/B07C6W8Z88?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true Jeevani's Amazon page
 
You can find the transcript at:
https://comedymasterclass.com
 
And Danielle’s socials here:
https://twitter.com/daniellekrage
https://www.instagram.com/dekrage
https://bsky.app/profile/daniellekrage.bsky.social
 

Dave Cohen (The Complete Comedy Writer)

Danielle Krage interviews Dave Cohen - Broadcaster, BBC TV writer, BAFTA winner for his Horrible Histories songs, and novelist (Stand Up, Barry Goldman, and soon to be released, Barry Goldman: The Wilderness Years).
Dave is the author of The Complete Comedy Writer: Make your Sitcom, Stand-Up, Screenplay, Sketches and Stories 62% funnier. He brings his extensive comedy writing experience to this conversation.
Topics covered include:
Ways into comedy writing (including children’s TV and radio).
The number one requirement for being a comedy writer.
Creating comedic characters – the first questions you should ask.
Balancing ‘emotional truths’ with ‘permission to lie’.
Adding funny to fiction.
 
You can find out more about Dave and his work here:
https://davidjcohenauthor.com/
https://www.davecohen.org.uk/
https://www.waterstones.com/book/stand-up-barry-goldman/david-j-cohen/9781999313821
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BLZXRG5G
You can find the transcript at:
https://comedymasterclass.com
 
And Danielle’s socials here:
https://twitter.com/daniellekrage
https://www.instagram.com/dekrage
https://bsky.app/profile/daniellekrage.bsky.social
 

Aaron Starmer (author of Spontaneous)

Danielle Krage interviews writer Aaron Starmer, whose young adult and middle-grade novels you can find on so many best-of-year lists, from Time Magazine to the Wall Street Journal.  
He’s the author of Spontaneous, also adapted into a romantic black comedy horror film, produced and directed by Brian Duffield (Underwater, Love and Monsters, No One Will Save You).
Spontaneous was one of Danielle’s top picks in episode 30 (comedy horror for Halloween).
In the interview with Aaron, the conversation covers:
Humour and its relationship to tragedy and trauma.
Navigating the sensibilities of voice and humour.
Non-visual entrances into characters.
High concepts and hooks.
Writing humour for different age groups.
Characters as vessels for jokes.
You can find out more about Aaron Starmer and his work here:
https://www.aaronstarmer.com
https://twitter.com/aaronstarmer
https://bsky.app/profile/aaronstarmer.bsky.social
 
You can find the transcript at:
https://comedymasterclass.com
 
And Danielle’s socials here:
https://twitter.com/daniellekrage
https://www.instagram.com/dekrage
https://bsky.app/profile/daniellekrage.bsky.social
 
 

Isaac Marion (author of Warm Bodies)

Danielle Krage interviews writer and creative, Isaac Marion.
Isaac is the author of the Warm Bodies series. (Warm Bodies became a New York Times Bestseller, inspired a major film, and was translated into 25 languages.)
This conversation about weaving humour with darker themes includes:
1) Exploring different writing perspectives and viewpoints. Where do we set our zoom level?
2) Deadpan and dark humour.
3) What does creativity give us?
AND there’s a bonus appearance from Bob the cat.
 
You can find out more about Isaac Marion and his work here:
https://isaacmarion.com
https://www.youtube.com/@OuterEdgeOutpost2
 
You can find the transcript at:
https://comedymasterclass.com
 
And Danielle’s socials here:
https://twitter.com/daniellekrage
https://www.instagram.com/dekrage
https://bsky.app/profile/daniellekrage.bsky.social

Zanandi Botes (comedy-horror for Halloween)

Zanandi Botes, writer and comedy horror expert, is the special guest for this Halloween show. Zanandi and Danielle share 3 picks each, to give you 6 comedy-horror recommendations, just in time for Spooky Season. They span zombies, mockumentary, anthology and more.
You can find Zanandi at:
https://www.cracked.com/members/Zanandi
https://twitter.com/ZaNandi
https://bsky.app/profile/zanandi.bsky.social
 
You can listen to our previous episode about comedy-horror here:
https://comedymasterclass.com/podcast/12-zanandi-botes-comedy-horror-and-twisting-tropes/
 
You can find the transcript at:
https://comedymasterclass.com
 
And Danielle’s socials here:
https://twitter.com/daniellekrage
https://www.instagram.com/dekrage
https://bsky.app/profile/daniellekrage.bsky.social
 

Short autumn break and a quick request

Comedy Masterclass will be back on October 25th (with a special Halloween episode!)
In the meantime, I would love it if you could help me share the show, in a way that makes sense for wherever you listen/watch - rate, review, leave a comment. Or share with comedy-loving friends, or on social media. 
 
And if you want to message me directly, you can find how to do so at https://comedymasterclass.com
I love hearing what's resonating with you, and how you're applying it to your own writing. 
Back soon! 
Danielle

The Blaine Brothers (directing comedy)

Danielle Krage interviews The Blaine Brothers (Chris and Ben) about their work as filmmakers and particularly their approaches to directing comedy.
They directed Sara Pascoe’s ‘Out of Her Mind’ series for BBC2 and Sony TV (through Simon Pegg’s production company Stolen Picture) and received both awards and brilliant reviews for their debut feature Nina Forever.
In this interview, they share practical lessons learned from their highly creative careers.
You can find out more about their work here:
https://www.blainebrothers.co.uk
https://www.instagram.com/theblainebrothers
https://twitter.com/blainebrothers
You can find details for Ben’s course (Find Your Voice in TV and Film), and his Substack about stories here:
https://thefreeassociation.culmas.io/class/gKYOkrLHFZ6r2GINYJgO?from=component-api
https://themidpoint.substack.com 
 
You can find the transcript at:
https://comedymasterclass.com
 
And Danielle’s socials here:
https://twitter.com/daniellekrage
https://www.instagram.com/dekrage

Lynne Murphy (humour in non-fiction writing)

Danielle Krage interviews Lynne Murphy, Professor of Linguistics at the University of Sussex. Lynne has a fabulous alter-ego as Lynneguist, with an award-winning blog ‘Separated by a Common Language’.
Lynne is also the author of ‘The Prodigal Tongue: The Love-Hate Relationship between British and American English’. In this interview, she generously shares a lot of the tools and approaches that helped her develop the voice of the book, get useful feedback, and make the writing funny and memorable. Plus practical recommendations for other writers who want to bring more humour to their non-fiction work.
You can find out more about Lynne Murphy at:
https://theprodigaltongue.com/
https://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/lynneguist
https://www.facebook.com/lynneguist/
https://staging.bsky.app/profile/lynneguist.bsky.social
 
And you can sign up for her newsletter here:
https://mailchi.mp/30d0ffd3a48e/separated-by-a-common-newsletter
Or by following the links in her Twitter bio.
 
You can find the transcript at:
https://comedymasterclass.com
 
And Danielle’s socials here:
https://twitter.com/daniellekrage
https://www.instagram.com/dekrage