A thing that’s working for me: A weekly to-do list
Of course I love a to-do list! I love the feeling of accomplishment, I love structure and I love the satisfying feeling of crossing items off my list.
But one to-do list was not enough! I craved more accomplishment, satisfaction and crossings-out. So now I have a weekly and a daily list. The weekly means it’s a bit easier to see how I’m getting on with multiple writing projects and gives me a bit more of a sense of progress.
Soon I may add a Gantt chart.
A thing I’ve been working on: Making a list of production companies who might be interested in Steak Out.
The pilot of Steak Out has wrapped! That means we come to my least-favourite part of the writing process…pitching the work in the hopes that someone will pay for me to make more.
This reminds me of Joz Norris’s excellent recent video about how making social media content is now viewed as an integral part of being a creative, even if the thing you are trying to create has nothing to do with social media. At best, social media is a funnel to direct audiences to your stuff. At worst, it is a soul-destroying, time-consuming, anxiety-inducing energy suck.
This is how I feel about pitching. I just want to write and make the thing! Why must I also have to sell it? It’s a completely different skill and an activity which I hate – but if I want to write and make the thing, I must do it.
And as part of that, I need to make a list of production companies who make similar stuff. I already have three in mind but there’s a whole wide world out there.
Let me know if you (or anyone you vaguely know) wants to help me make a true crime spoof about a stolen sandwich.
A thing I’m enjoying: I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue
When I was nine, one of my uncles suffered a sudden brain injury (about fifteen years after a different uncle also suffered from a similar sudden brain injury). For the next five years or so, I spent half of my weekends in the car making the six-hour round trip from Essex to Bristol and back.
That meant a lot of radio.
A lot of it, from my perspective, was complete crap. Cricket on Five Live was a particular low. It went on forever and I understood none of it.
But there were two highs: Just a Minute and I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue.
I once laughed so hard at I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue that I snorted hot chocolate from my spot in the backseat, over the headrest and onto my mother’s head. This story is repeated often.
Thankfully, both of these shows are still on. When I was holidaying in the New Forest recently, my husband and I spent some lazy afternoons in the garden listening to I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue, and it very much stands the test of time.
Joe Lycett singing the Bee Gees was a highlight – mostly because he sang very badly with a lot of confidence.
It’s one of the things that makes improv so funny. Seeing people doing things badly with confidence is often better than watching people do things well. We want to see the joyful struggle. People being shit and feeling shit = awful. People not giving a shit = awful. People trying hard but still being shit and having a great time = maximum great time.
Did I do the thing from before to build connection? YES.
I sent an email thank you after attending a talk. Am I the nicest person in all of comedy? Almost certainly.
A thing I’m doing to build connections: Going to The Skewer wrap drinks
After every series of The Skewer, Jon Holmes puts on a wrap party for everyone who has contributed at any point throughout The Skewer’s tenure. This usually involves him hiring a room at a pub and putting his own money behind the bar – it’s a very kind gesture. It’s lovely to catch up with people whose work I know by ear and also bitch about people we don’t like. Is there anything more bonding?
Things I’m doing that you should come to:
Monday 10 August – 7.30pm – Kerfuffle present Scenes from a Hat with Hats! – The Water Rats, 328 Gray’s Inn Rd, King’s Cross, London, WC1X 8BZ – an hour of silly improv games, much like Comedy Store Players.
Saturday 15 August – 3pm – ZomBeebies – Bridewell Theatre, 14 Bridewell Lane, Blackfriars, London EC4Y 8EQ – the kids’ show version of Improv the Dead – which is exactly the same as the adult show apart from we don’t say ‘fuck’.
Saturday 15 August – 7pm – Improv the Dead – Bridewell Theatre, 14 Bridewell Lane, Blackfriars, London, EC4Y 8EQ – a full hour of zombie-themed improv, this time with the word ‘fuck’.