Danielle Krage interviews Pilar Alessandra, who is a Hollywood script consultant, author of the top-selling screenwriting book, The Coffee Break Screenwriter, and host of the On the Page Podcast (now in its 16th year). Pilar is known as one of Los Angeles’s leading story instructors, and she has travelled the world teaching screenwriting and television writing. In this episode, she shares really practical advice to help comedy writers think about character, stakes, sequences, structures, their writer perspective and effective dialogue. You can find out more about Pilar and her work (including her classes) at: https://www.onthepage.tv   And follow her here: https://www.instagram.com/onthepage https://twitter.com/onthepage   You can find the transcript at: https://comedymasterclass.com   And Danielle’s socials here: https://twitter.com/daniellekrage https://www.instagram.com/dekrage

Danielle Krage interviews Lucy Lumsden about commissioning and producing comedy. Lucy was the first Controller of Comedy Commissioning for the BBC and was then Head of Comedy for Sky for 6 years. She now run Yellow Door Productions, an independent TV and film production company specialising in comedy and comedy drama.   All these perspectives means that Lucy is able to share a wealth of practical advice for writers who are trying to navigate the industry, and get their work made. You can find out more about Lucy and her work here: https://www.yellowdoorprods.com https://www.instagram.com/yellowdoorprods   You can find the transcript at: https://comedymasterclass.com/   Other guests mentioned: Sherice Griffiths: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enJVaAWpW_U&t=1008s Chris Head: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIk5C52vMEA&t=6s   And Danielle’s socials here: https://twitter.com/daniellekrage https://www.instagram.com/dekrage/

Danielle Krage interviews John Truby, the founder and director of Truby’s Writers Studio. The conversation is a deep dive into the comedy chapter in John’s most recent book, ‘The Anatomy of Genres’. John shares so many practical storytelling strategies as they relate to comedy - its beats, themes, tonal considerations, character types, and power. Plus, where it fits in relationship to other genres. You can find out more about John Truby’s books, classes and story software at: https://anatomyofgenres.com https://truby.com   You can find the transcript at: https://comedymasterclass.com/   And Danielle’s socials here: https://twitter.com/daniellekrage https://www.instagram.com/dekrage/

Danielle Krage interviews the writer, Andrew Kaufman, whose books include All My Friends Are Superheroes, The Waterproof Bible, and The Ticking Heart. Andrew’s work is known for being both incredibly funny and incredibly sad, and he shares some beautiful insights into the creative process that produces this brilliant and distinctive blend. Including, how humour, for him, is like oven mitts. You’ll have to listen/watch to hear just how touching and accurate this analogy is!   You can find out more about Andrew and his work here: https://chbooks.com/Authors/K/Kaufman-Andrew https://www.instagram.com/manualtypewriterforever/   You can find the transcript at: https://comedymasterclass.com/   And Danielle’s socials here: https://twitter.com/daniellekrage https://www.instagram.com/dekrage/

Danielle Krage interviews Zanandi Botes, who has so much fun experience writing for theatre, TV, comics and her own film. She has written articles for cracked.com since 2016, with a particular love for horror comedy as a genre! All this makes for a lively discussion about excellent comedy shows, and areas where there's still a lot of room to do better.  You can find out more about Zanandi and her work here: https://twitter.com/ZaNandi https://www.cracked.com/members/Zanandi 2 fun articles to start with are: https://www.cracked.com/article_37408_each-succession-characters-funniest-moment.html https://www.cracked.com/article_35860_ranking-jason-stathams-funniest-movie-moments.html You can find the transcript at: https://comedymasterclass.com/ And Danielle’s socials here:  https://twitter.com/daniellekrage  https://www.instagram.com/dekrage/

Danielle Krage interviews Juliet Giglio and Keith Giglio about their co-writing process. This includes for their delightful rom-com novel, The Summer of Christmas. Plus their next book, The Trouble With Tinsel (out this autumn). Juliet and Keith also share so many practical tips from their numerous screenwriting projects, taking us behind the scenes into what it takes to write a really great Christmas movie. They also dig into some of the key concepts from Keith's craft book, The Comedy Blockbuster, and how they apply them. It's a fun conversation, stacked with hard-earned tips and advice for comedy writers. You can find out more about Juliet and Keith's work here: https://jkgiglio.com https://www.instagram.com/julietagiglio https://www.instagram.com/keithgig   You can find the transcript at: https://comedymasterclass.com   And Danielle’s socials here: https://twitter.com/daniellekrage https://www.instagram.com/dekrage

Danielle Krage interviews comedian Aalex Mandel-Dallal, about the process of creating and developing her solo comedy Edinburgh show. This includes how Aalex works with the audio recording of her 'lockdown breakdown' onstage, in a way that gives the audience permission to laugh, and 'a sense of relief for their own wobblies'. You can find out more about Aalex and her work here: https://linktr.ee/aalexmandeldallal https://www.instagram.com/aalexmandeldallal   You can find the transcript of this interview at: https://comedymasterclass.com   And Danielle’s socials here: https://twitter.com/daniellekrage https://www.instagram.com/dekrage

Danielle Krage interviews Kyle Mazer about music, comedy and collaboration. Kyle is a playwright, composer, stand-up comic and web3 creative strategist. They explore the practical example of his comedic musical, The SS Cancelled - including creating the tone, characters, and the development process. You can find more about Kyle and his work at: https://www.thesscancelled.com https://kmazer15.wixsite.com/mysite https://www.instagram.com/kmaze19 https://adimverse.com   You can find the transcript at: https://comedymasterclass.com/   And Danielle's socials here: https://twitter.com/daniellekrage https://www.instagram.com/dekrage/

Danielle Krage interviews Australian actress, filmmaker, and philanthropist Kelly Pantaleoni. They dig into self-generating comedy characters and projects - from developing your own short film in lockdown, to new opportunities in Web3.  You can find the transcript at: https://comedymasterclass.com/   You can find out more about Kelly's projects here: https://www.instagram.com/kellypantaleoni/ https://twitter.com/KellyPantaleoni https://www.kellypantaleoni.com/ https://www.40secondsfilm.com/ https://www.50shadesOfQuarantine.com   And Danielle’s socials here: https://twitter.com/daniellekrage https://www.instagram.com/dekrage/

Danielle Krage interviews Stuart Laws.   Stuart is a writer, director, actor and stand-up comedian. He also runs a production company, Turtle Canyon Comedy. He brings all these sensibilities to his work, and in this interview Danielle asks him about the creative process for his play, The Journey (a break-up on a spaceship!) And how playing with surreality, reality and audience expectations has continued to be part of his comedy, from satire (Grave New World) to his latest stand-up show.   You can find Stuart and his work here: https://linktr.ee/stuartlawscomedy  https://www.instagram.com/stuartlawscomedy https://twitter.com/thisstuartlaws   And from April 20th 2023 his special will be at: https://800pgr.lnk.to/StuartLawsIsAllInPR    You can find the transcript at: https://comedymasterclass.com/   And Danielle’s socials here: https://twitter.com/daniellekrage https://www.instagram.com/dekrage/

Danielle Krage interviews writer and director Sherice Griffiths about writing and making her short film, a mockumentary featuring a household of assassins, called Killing for a Living. She shares advice for others who may way want to submit to festivals. Sherice also takes us through the creative process of writing her pilot, The Big Three O, which won the BAFTA Rocliffe new writing competition. Plus what she has learned practically from her roles in production, including on commercials and music videos. You can find out more about Sherice and her work here: https://shericegriffiths.com/ https://twitter.com/Sherice_G   You can find the transcript at: https://comedymasterclass.com/   And Danielle’s socials here: https://twitter.com/daniellekrage https://www.instagram.com/dekrage/ https://www.youtube.com/@comedymasterclassDK    

Danielle Krage interviews John Vorhaus about his fun and practical approach to creating comedy. John is the author of The Comic Toolbox, The Little Book of Sitcom, and more. This masterclass includes tips and tools for: bringing comic characters to life; key questions for driving story; and strategies for increasing your creative output and failure tolerance. You can find out more about John’s work here: https://johnvorhaus.com/ https://amazon.com/author/jv   You can find the transcript at: https://comedymasterclass.com/   And Danielle’s socials here: Danielle Krage     Twitter      Instagram    YouTube

Danielle Krage interviews actor, writer and comedian Holly Hall about her comedy creation process. Holly won BBC New Comedy Award’s Digital Comedian of the Year award in 2021, with her sketch ‘When podcasts go wrong.’ And as part of the award Holly received a commission from the BBC to write and star in a short film, ‘It’s what she would have wanted.’  This interview digs into the tools and approaches that Holly used to make these, including improvisation. Plus how improv plays a part in Holly’s current live solo comedy show, ‘You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.’ You can find Holly and her work at: Instagram         Twitter       TikTok     YouTube   You can find the transcript at: https://comedymasterclass.com/   And Danielle’s socials here: Danielle Krage     Twitter      Instagram    YouTube