Writing comedy is not easy.
In our mindset, comedies are connected to humour and funny stories with a granted happy ending. On the other side, dramas would be dark, deep, and bound to end badly. But is it really like that?
According to Aristotle and his Poetics, comedies have more to do with plot and character than with lightness and happiness, and this will be the starting point for our work. When it comes to a comedy screenplay, it’s more important to have well-developed characters and a solid structure, rather than a collection of hilarious but unrelated jokes.
Right now, there are lots of opportunities and a great need for new comedy stories. TorinoFilmLab wants to equip new and emergent comedy writers with the tools which will push their projects to the top of the commissioning editors’ pile.
Comedy will move towards 3 steps: at first, we will define together the basis of comedy storytelling; then the participants, with the help of high-level tutors, will rewrite their stories; at the end the participants will present their projects in a virtual pitching session, where their tutors will give feedback on the new material.
Writers will learn the tools professional comedy writers use to create comedy screenplays, and how to use those tools to get started on their own scripts.
The workshop will start with a first 5 day-long session where participants will join plenary meetings with experts and do very specific writing exercises. Participants will study the work of renowned writers and directors, to learn the tools needed to create successful screenplays and how to use them on their own scripts.
A variety of topics will be addressed during the session; among other things, we will discuss the different declinations of the comic tone and the importance of genres and subgenres; in addition, we will open a reflection on professional trends and market opportunities. At the end of this first part, the participants will revise their material with their tutors and start rewriting it.
Then, participants will have 2 weeks to rework their materials, which will be discussed in a second 5 day-long session. During the second session, participants will exclusively work on the treatment and on writing some of their scenes, with the support of their experienced tutors and colleagues.
After the development training, all the participants will meet again in a virtual pitching session, where tutors and industry guests will give feedback on their projects. The aim of this session is to test the first reactions to the project and receive additional inputs and suggestions from high-qualified professionals.