Following the success of the last two years, Sunday for Sammy and the Laffalang Gang are proud to present the return of A Sketch for Sammy, a competition for new comedy writers.
The competition will officially open on Sunday 25th June when Ed Waugh, writer of Dirty Dusting, Hadaway Harry and Mr Corvan’s Music Hall, will host a public event at Newcastle’s Stand Comedy Club where he will discuss the art of sketch writing, the pointers to a really great sketch and how to avoid the pitfalls. This event is free and open to anyone who is interested, you don’t need to be a writer or comedian. No tickets are required, just turn up on the day. We would love a full house to get the competition off to a flying start.
Following the launch, new comedy writers from the region will be invited to submit sketches for consideration, the theme for the sketches is ‘North East Culture’. When all the submissions are in a short list of four will be chosen by Jason Cook, comedian and writer of TV’s Hebburn, along with Sunday for Sammy producer, Ray Laidlaw.
The four short-listed writers will then benefit from mentoring sessions with Ed Waugh to polish the scripts. The final will be held at the Stand Comedy Club in Newcastle on Sunday 1st October where the sketches will be performed by a professional cast to an enthusiastic and supportive audience. A panel of celebrity judges will choose the winning sketch and the successful writer will then be presented with the 2017 Phil Richardson Comedy Award by Phil’s mother Pat. Tickets for the final are free and can be obtained by contacting julieclay@blueyonder.co.uk
The winning sketch will be considered for inclusion in the forthcoming Sunday for Sammy show at Newcastle Metro Radio Arena on 18th Feb 2018.
The timeline looks like this.
Sunday 25th June at 11am – Comedy writer Ed Waugh will host a workshop on comedy writing at the Stand Comedy Club. Free entry.
The competition is declared open. Scripts to be sent to info@sundayforsammy.org
Friday 4th August – Deadline for all entries.
Thursday 10th August – Four finalists informed and mentoring begins.
Sunday 1st October – Grand Final at the Stand Comedy Club.
Four finalist sketches performed, (plus some old ones) lots of hilarity and the winner chosen.
Chairman of the Sunday for Sammy Trust and Tyneside Legend Tim Healy said,
“As an actor I know the value of good writing and this competition has discovered some really good new comedy writers. I’m looking forward to seeing the new sketches.”
Sunday for Sammy Trustee Jason Cook said, “One of the most difficult challenges for a novice comedy writer is getting your work performed. A Sketch for Sammy gives the opportunity for new writers to see their work brought to life by an experienced cast in front of an enthusiastic audience. This can be truly inspirational and also a right laugh.”