A Morpeth man who found himself the winner of a comedy writing competition is urging others to take part and experience part of the limelight that he did.
Kevin Wilkinson entered the Sketch for Sammy competition and found his sketch chosen as the winner and performed at the recent Sunday For Sammy concerts at Newcastle City Hall.
Sunday for Sammy, the North East-based charity that helps people get a foot up on the entertainment ladder is now once again looking for anyone who wants to write a three-minute comedy skit.
Tim Healy, who is a trustee of Sunday for Sammy, explained: “We launched Sketch for Sammy last year and got a tremendous response from dozens of people in the region. Kevin’s winning sketch was performed at the recent sold-out Sunday for Sammy concerts at Newcastle City Hall.”
The theme for the sketch this year is Autumn and participants will have until Friday, May 29, to get their entries in. Professional actors from the Laffalang Gang at The Stand, Newcastle, will perform the best six on Sunday, August 7, at 1pm.
Tim added: “Sketch for Sammy is a fantastic opportunity for anyone wanting to take a step on the comedy writing ladder.”
Kevin’s sketch was set in a cafe that sold hundreds of kinds of coffee and was performed by newsreaders Pam Royle and Ian Payne with Emmerdale’s Laura Norton. After the sketch, Kevin was brought onto the stage to have the Sketch for Sammy 2015 Philip Richardson Comedy Award presented by Sunday for Sammy Trustee Tim Healy assisted by Jeff Brown and Sharon Barbour.
Kevin, a business manager, said: “I was given a lot of support once I wrote the original sketch. Playwright Ed Waugh brought endless support and many ideas on things like structure, practical points like ‘you need 10 more laughs’ or ‘think about your audience’ and also honest feedback on the characters in the sketch. There isn’t a lot of time left to get your sketch in but I would say do it as the experience was fantastic.”