Comedy Writing 2
Short Courses – 10 Week – Online
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Overview
This class will be taught online using a mixture of MS Teams – you can take part from the comfort of your own home from anywhere in the world!
This online course will offer a unique, hands-on, opportunity to take your comedy writing journey to the next level, building on the foundations of the knowledge, experience and skills acquired in Comedy Writing.
Using Zoom, participants from across the country can become involved in a Sit-Com Writers Room. Over ten weeks, students will work in a group to devise a completely new Sit-com, all under the direction of BAFTA winning course tutor, David Cosgrove.
The course will cover the creation of a premise, development of characters, designing of a series “bible,” and the actual writing of a Pilot Episode, and synopses for future episodes.
Everyone will get the chance to act as head writer within their group, and the tutor (working as show-runner) will allocate roles and tasks, set deadlines and provide overall guidance to the creative process.
It will be the participants themselves who will develop and write the project, fully immersed in the creation of a completely new comedy. This will also include practice of pitching the sitcom once completed.
Although participation in Comedy Writing would be useful, the course is open to anyone with a love of sit-com, and who has an understanding of its form and structure.
Course learning outcomes include:
- In-depth understanding of the processes required to create a sit-com from a blank screen to final delivery
- Awareness of the roles and responsibilities of being part of a Writers Room
- Experience in real time of working under pressure to deadlines, both within class, and from week to week
- Development and improvement of the skills required to create long form comedy
- Learning how to deal with notes and how to implement them into subsequent drafts
- Development of pitching skills
For more information about how our online courses work please see our FAQs. Please note, on application you will be asked to confirm that you have read and understood our Online Teaching Policy – please read this in advance of applying.
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Contact us
If you have any questions about this course before you book it, please get in touch with us at shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk.
FAQs
Please see our FAQs for more information about all aspects of choosing, booking and attending your course.
The important details
Age:
16+
Cost:
£195
Date:
17 April - 19 June 2025
Time:
Thursdays, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Venue:
Online
Course Information
The course is open access, and designed so that motivated students will benefit from the training. We expect you to undertake a certain amount of self-directed study and preparation out with class times.
Students should be open, honest, generous, respectful, hard-working and willing to work as part of a team.
You will need access to a device such as a desktop computer, laptop or tablet which allows you to access the internet with a screen large enough to see the group members during online sessions. You will need internet connection which is fast enough to take part in video sessions on MS Teams and to watch film footage.
You may also want to consider whether you have a space you can use where you can work without interruption. Please keep in mind that the other students taking part in the course will be able to see what’s behind you when you are online.
- Friends – Series 1 Ep 1
- Frasier – Series 1 Ep 1
- The Thick of It – Series 3 Ep 1
- Plan and prepare to attend all classes
- Dress comfortably in clothes which are suitable for the activity you are taking part in.
- Bring a notepad and pen/pencil in case you wish to make notes.
- Please bring a bottle of water to stay hydrated during your class.
David Cosgrove
As a writer David has worked onover 30 episodes of children’s television, including the creation of Butterfingers and Uncle Dad for CITV – the latter winning a Scottish BAFTA. David was co-writer on two series of King of The Road, starring Bradley Walsh, for Radio 2 and has over 2000 commissioned minutes of sketch comedy for Radio Scotland and Radio 4. His hit musical 3 Steps To Heaven has had over a dozen professional productions including three Number One UK tours (produced by Gateway Theatre, Chester, and Perth Theatre). Other work includes over 20 commissioned plays (Mull Theatre, Borderline, Peninsula Theatre, Arden Entertainment, Pavilion Glasgow, The Royal Blind School, Govan Initiative, Craigmillar Festival, Scottish Youth Theatre, The Buzz Project, Oran Mor). His first feature film, Elemental Fear, is in post-production, and he has scripted several short films for Barnardos and NHS Scotland.
In addition to his skills as a writer, dramaturg and script editor, he has been engaged by the BBC as a script reader, comedy consultant, stand-up judge, and writing tutor.
Corporate clients have included: Barnardos, British Airways, British Telecom, Cairn Energy, Diageo, N.H.S Scotland, Greater Glasgow Health Board, Scottish Media Group, Scottish Enterprise, and The World Health Organization.
He led the last two Young Writers Courses for Scottish Youth Theatre and in 2013 curated a Festival of New Writing for participants of these courses. He has delivered writing workshops in the U.K. and Australia, and has been a guest lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University and City University, New York.
Since 2014 he has been a Short Course Lecturer in Screen Writing at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. As a full voting member of BAFTA he has both chaired and been a member of juries for BAFTA Scotland, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
This course will run online on Thursday evenings for 10-weeks from 17 April – 19 June 2025, 6:30pm – 8:30pm.
The course fee is £195 which is the equivalent to £19.50 per session, and can be paid in full or in instalments before the course end date.
Further Information
We want to ensure as many children, young people and adult learners as possible can access the performing and production arts education that is offered through Short Courses at RCS. Financial support options available for Short Courses include:
Agnes Allan Bursary
Agnes Allan was a teacher, passionate about inclusion, and this bursary scheme exists to offer support to students to participate in the performing or production arts.
The Agnes Allan Bursary provides some support to students who may require financial assistance to take part in a short course in dance, drama, music, production or screen.
Anyone who wishes to take part in our Short Courses and faces a financial barrier can apply for bursary support to help meet the cost of tuition fees.
James McAvoy Drama Scholarships
BAFTA-winning and Golden Globe nominated actor James McAvoy is committed to nurturing the creative potential of young Scots who experience barriers to access and participate in drama at RCS Short Courses.
James is a graduate of the BA Acting programme at RCS and Patron of the Junior Conservatoire of Drama. The Glasgow-born actor has funded the new James McAvoy Drama Scholarships to enable young people to experience the world-class drama training at RCS as he did.
The scholarship aims to support applicants who would otherwise find meeting the cost of tuition fees at RCS a barrier to accessing pre-Higher Education drama training at the Royal Conservatoire.
You can find more information about these funds on our Financial Support page.
We run various promotional offers for our Short Courses and Summer Schools. You can view our current offers on our Promotional Offers page.
You should contact us at shortcourses@rcs.ac.uk to request your discount code before booking a course.
Please note, only one promotional offer can be applied per course and should be used at the time of booking as we are unable to apply a discounts retrospectively.
Please see our Short Course FAQs for more information about all aspects of choosing, booking and attending your course.
Please see our Short Courses – Terms and Conditions for more information about your contract with Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and Cancellation and Refund policies.
Sign up to our mailing list to receive the latest updates of courses, offers and news from Short Courses. You can do this by completing this short online form found here.
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