Funny Women Behind the Scenes

Scarlett Kefford sits down with Funny Women Awards 2021 finalist Abby Wambaugh to chat about entering the comedy industry as a non binary person and how that might affect their performance and material. Mariana Feijó chats to Justine Sless about her book Mistress of Mirth’s Comedy Tour, a tale of what goes on in those first open mics all comedians have to go through. Carmen Mackey tells us all about the British stand up comedy archive at the University of Kent.Think of it as a peak behind the curtain, into their staff room where they curate interviews with comedians, spotlight live gigs, and tell you a little bit of the history of comedy.Find out more about the British British Stand Up Comedy Archive on their website, and the Bishopsgate Institute Archives here.Hosts Carmen Mackey & Mariana FeijóContributor Scarlett KeffordGuests Abby Wambaugh & Justine SlessSound Mixing and Editing James BurnsProducer Mariana FeijóFunny Women is the top Woman-led Comedy Community, amplifying voices from underrepresented genders in the industry, since 2002.Follow Funny Women on IG T TTFollow and support our team, contributors and guests on:Abby WambaughIG: @abbywambaughT: @AbbyWambaughTT: @abbywambaughJustine SlessIG: @justineslessT: @JustineslessScarlett KeffordIG: @crybabykeffT: @crybabykeffTT: @crybabykeffCarmen MackeyIG: @carmenmackey_Mariana FeijóIG: @marianasbitsT: @MarianasBitsTT: @marianasbitsJames BurnsIG: @burns.jpegT: @jamessburns

Ivy Paige talks to comedy writer and performer Nikola McMurtrie about winning awards and what comes next. In 2020 Nikola won the Funny Women Comedy Shorts Award with her offbeat take on karaoke and she went on to win the British Comedy Guide Pro video competition.  Nikola talks to Ivy about the reality of writing and creating comedy sketches, her inspiration and gives some insights into using the resources around us to make comedy content. Plus Funny Women Founder Lynne Parker and Ivy talk about how to tackle stage fright as we return to live performance post lockdown.

Ivy Paige explores the world of media multi-tasking with Jen Ives, Funny Women Stage Award finalist 2019, writer, creator and podcaster. Recently featured in The New York Times, Jen was also a finalist in the 2020 Funny Women Best Web Series Award and has received a whole host of industry accolades. Jen discusses her approach to writing and performing comedy, the inspiration behind her new live stage show ‘Peak Trans’ and a truly unique insight into what it takes to make comedy a full time career. Plus Funny Women founder Lynne Parker talks to Ivy about what it takes to become a full-time comedy professional and give up the day job.

Ivy Paige explores the world of commissioning, developing and producing comedy with Morwenna Gordon, former Comedy Commissioning Editor for Sky and now Executive Producer for award-winning production company, Expectation. Morwenna and Ivy discuss what it really takes to get a fully fledged comedy series on the screen! From script development to finding talent and filming pilot episodes, Morwenna gives a truly unique insight into the world of television production and how she got there. Plus Funny Women founder Lynne Parker talks to Ivy about the incredible development package on offer with Sky Studios as part of this year’s Funny Women Awards.

Ivy Paige explores the world of online comedy content creation with comedian, writer and influencer Sophie McCartney, aka ‘Tired and Tested’, and winner of the  2020 Funny Women Awards Best Web Series in our extraordinary lockdown year. With over 25 million views for her comedy parody song “Smell of You” Sophie took the online world by storm as much to her own amazement as the public’s!  From Tik Tok and Twitter to Instagram and Facebook Ivy and Sophie discuss how to make the most out of these platforms to create a comedy career online. Plus Funny Women founder Lynne Parker talks to Ivy about how social media helps to reach a global audience and the all new Funny Women heat Content Creator Award. 

Ivy Paige explores what it's like to be a professional comedy writer with Christine Rose, recipient of the 2020 Funny Women Best Comedy Writer Award with Comedy 50:50. Christine has written funny stuff for The BAFTA Film and Television Awards, The BRITS, The Royal Variety Show, Comic Relief, Live at The Apollo and put words into the mouths of Graham Norton, Frankie Boyle, Sara Pascoe, Jimmy Carr, Samuel L. Jackson and even Robert De Niro!  And that’s literally the tip of a very big talent iceberg! Ivy and Christine discuss how to write for other people and what it really means to write jokes for a living. Plus Funny Women founder Lynne Parker talks to Ivy about the importance of being recognised by your industry peers. 

Ivy Paige explores what it means to win an award, the power of competing and what happens next. She does this with the help of 2020 Funny Women Stage Award winner, Izzy Askwith and her runners up Eryn Tett and Mary O’Connell. They discuss how it feels to get back to live gigs, getting signed by management and how social media does (or doesn’t) play a part in the next stage of their comedy careers. Plus Funny Women founder Lynne Parker talks to Ivy about the different ways to enter the Awards this year, deadline 30th June 2021.

Ivy Paige talks to the hilarious and self-confessed princess of comedy video content, Anna Morris. How do you create and write a comedy character with only 30 seconds screen time? And how do you get people to hit the illustrious share button? From hashtags to the creative process Anna gives an honest and unique insight into the world of online comedy. Plus, Funny Women founder Lynne Parker tells us more about the Funny Women Awards including the Comedy Shorts Award and the brand new Comedy Content Creator Award.