Comedy Masterclass

Danielle Krage

Where Danielle Krage interviews creators about the craft of writing comedy. read less
ComedyComedy

Episodes

Suchandrika Chakrabarti and Nerine Skinner (Creating Topical Comedy)
May 15 2024
Suchandrika Chakrabarti and Nerine Skinner (Creating Topical Comedy)
Danielle Krage interviews Suchandrika Chakrabarti and Nerine Skinner. Suchandrika is a stand-up, who runs the monthly night Good News / Bad News in north London and writes for BBC One's Have I Got News For You. She is taking her second solo show Doomscrolling to Edinburgh Fringe this summer. Nerine is an actress, comedian, improviser and deviser whose parodies of Liz Truss have gone viral. She was a finalist in the Funny Women Awards for Content Creator and reached the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent with comedy cabaret trio, The Dots. She’s currently creating her debut show for the Edinburgh Festival.   Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 03:07 The Joint Project: Liz Truss’ The Traitors 06:20 Balancing Structure and Improvisation 09:21 Finding Inspiration in the News 13:42 Character Comedy: Tips and Experiences 19:59 The Joy of Character Comedy 21:01 Collaboration and Selecting Guests for a Comedy Show 24:38 Navigating Boundaries in Topical Comedy 33:22 Preparing for the Edinburgh Festival 36:27 Creating a Supportive and Inclusive Comedy Environment   You can find Suchandrika and Nerine here: Their joint show - Liz Truss’ The Traitors https://www.acesandeightssaloonbar.com/events/liz-trusss-the-traitors/   Suchandrika: https://twitter.com/SuchandrikaC https://www.instagram.com/suchandrika https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/suchandrika-chakrabarti-doomscrolling   Nerine: https://twitter.com/nerineskinner https://www.instagram.com/nerineskinner https://www.youtube.com/@nerineskinner   You can find the Lynne Parker Funny Women episode here: https://youtu.be/q4vB86BGCZY   You can find the transcript at: https://comedymasterclass.com   And Danielle’s socials here: https://twitter.com/daniellekrage https://www.instagram.com/dekrage
John Derevlany: (Super Narrative - Storytelling Across Platforms)
Apr 17 2024
John Derevlany: (Super Narrative - Storytelling Across Platforms)
Danielle Krage interviews writer, creator, and brand builder John Derevlany. John is an award-winning writer, animator, and showrunner who has written or produced hundreds of hours of TV (including for the Jim Henson Company and LEGO). John has also been a game designer, street artist, investigative journalist and played Crackers the Corporate Crime Fighting Chicken for Michael Moore’s TV Nation! In this episode John shares learnings from his creative career, and how he now thinks about Super Narrative – his approach to planning a story across multiple media platforms.   Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 02:05 Founding a Comedy Newspaper 03:09 Using Comedy as a Defense Mechanism 04:12 Transition to TV Comedy 05:40 Working with National Lampoon 07:25 Creating Crackers, the Corporate Crime Fighting Chicken 08:47 The Power of Reaction Shots in Comedy 09:56 Transition to Animation and Children's Shows 10:38 The Concept of Super Narrative 15:08 Understanding Super Narrative 16:00 Differentiating Super Narrative from Transmedia 24:02 The Need for Innovation in Hollywood 24:49 Adapting and Pivoting in Creative Projects 25:15 Navigating Humour and Broad Appeal 26:04 Considerations for International Audiences 26:34 Keeping Content Broad and Timeless 27:02 Challenges with Technological Advancements 27:49 Creating Characters and Expanding Worlds 28:18 Using AI for Idea Generation 28:57 Simplifying Stories and Layering Content 29:25 Creating a Multitude of Characters 29:58 The Challenges of Naming Characters 30:25 The Role of AI in Joke Generation 31:26 Using AI as a Tool for Creativity 32:09 The Increasing Speed of Content Production 33:21 The Importance of Trying New Things 34:19 The Uncertainty of the Entertainment Industry 35:28 Take Risks and Embrace Ignorance 36:36 Being Playful and Creative in All Aspects 37:35 Finding Inspiration in Comedy and Entertainment 38:16 John's Website and Projects 40:01 The Resurrection of 'Squish' 41:21 Dealing with Fan Obsession   You can find more about John’s work here: https://johnderevlany.com/ Videos - https://johnderevlany.com/video-trailers-episodes/ (Including Squish, Legends of Chima, Crackers the Corporate Crime Fighting Chicken, Uke Til U Puke.)   The "Give me a job LEGO” animation  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZznS4Y06_Cc   The big, outdoor board game:  https://culverland.johnderevlany.com/ You can find the transcript at: https://comedymasterclass.com   And Danielle’s socials here: https://twitter.com/daniellekrage https://www.instagram.com/dekrage
Caleb Warren (What Makes Things Funny)
Apr 3 2024
Caleb Warren (What Makes Things Funny)
Danielle Krage interviews Caleb Warren, Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Arizona. Caleb researches and writes about what makes things funny, what makes things cool, and what helps people reach their goals. In this conversation, Caleb shares some of his key findings about humour and how it works.     00:00 Introduction to Consumer Psychology and Humour 01:20 How Caleb Got into the Study of Humour 04:01 Physical Comedy and Empathy 06:00 Psychological Distance and Humour 07:27 The Role of Absurdity in Comedy 08:21 Psychological Distance and Animation 09:08 The Difference Between Comedy and Serious Settings 09:39 The Flawed Theory of Surprise in Humour 10:40 The Relationship Between Surprise and Humour 11:36 The Benign Violation Experiment 13:19 The Difference Between Humour and Coolness 14:18 Coolness as a Positive Deviation from the Norm 15:10 How Coolness and Humour Overlap 16:00 The Importance of Autonomy and Enjoyment in Goal Pursuit 18:27 The Importance of Product in Marketing 19:54 The Role of Humour in Marketing 20:20 The Benefits of Humour in Enjoyment and Happiness 21:46 How Humour Translates and Changes with Distance 22:44 How Sense of Humour Changes with Age 23:46 The Evolution of Humour and Cultural Norms 26:56 Research on Coolness Across Different Cultures 28:57 The Personality Traits of Cool People 30:06 The Role of Effort in Coolness and Status 32:27 The Tension Between Marketing and Coolness 35:23 The Importance of Being Good vs. Being Cool 36:54 Caleb's Band and Songwriting   You can find Caleb here: Research website: https://www.calebwarrenresearch.com/ TedX talks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jxh-ispLUmA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z7hkfkCEno Band website: https://bandoftownies.com/   You can find the transcript at: https://comedymasterclass.com   And Danielle’s socials here: https://twitter.com/daniellekrage https://www.instagram.com/dekrage https://bsky.app/profile/daniellekrage.bsky.social
Joanna Penn (Writing the Shadow)
Mar 20 2024
Joanna Penn (Writing the Shadow)
Danielle Krage interviews Joanna Penn. Joanna is an award-nominated New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with more than 40 books across multiple genres – non-fiction and fiction (under J.F.Penn). Joanna is also a podcaster, international speaker, and award-winning creative entrepreneur. This conversation dives into Joanna’s recent book, ‘Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness into Words’. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 01:38 Understanding the Shadow 05:11 Embracing Your Weirdness 07:52 Pushing Boundaries in Writing 09:26 Exploring Family and Relationships 11:17 The Shadow in Relationships and Writing 15:09 Continuing Journey of Integration 19:24 Percolating the Shadow into Writing 21:27 Exploring the Shadow in Characters 23:26 The Shadow in Professional Lives 26:11 Tackling Fear and Judgment 27:07 Unpublished Work and Building an Author Platform 29:10 Using Email Lists for Fiction 31:49 Showing Elements of Yourself as a Creator 33:51 Examples of Memorable Characters and Their Shadows 38:12 Where to Find More About Joanna's Work   You can find Joanna’s work here: https://www.thecreativepenn.com/the-creative-penn-podcast-for-authors https://www.youtube.com/@thecreativepenn https://jfpenn.com https://www.thecreativepenn.com/writing-the-shadow   You can find the transcript at: https://comedymasterclass.com   And Danielle’s socials here: https://twitter.com/daniellekrage https://www.instagram.com/dekrage https://bsky.app/profile/daniellekrage.bsky.social
Rosie Wilby (Using humour to unpack challenging questions)
Mar 13 2024
Rosie Wilby (Using humour to unpack challenging questions)
Danielle Krage interviews Rosie Wilby. Rosie is an award-winning comedian and creator of the global hit podcast and book The Breakup Monologues. She is also the author of ‘Is Monogamy Dead?’ and toured a trilogy of solo shows investigating the psychology of love. In this interview, Rosie shares insights for how we can use humour to unpack challenging questions.   Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 01:04 Using Humour to Explore Love and Relationships 04:08 The Structure and Themes of the Book 05:20 Writing Non-Fiction vs Fiction 06:17 The Ethics of Comedy and Vulnerability 07:42 Navigating Comedy Clubs and Diverse Voices 09:15 Balancing Personal Stories and Boundaries 09:50 Writing During the Pandemic and Self-Care 11:20 Exploring Breakups and Identity 12:17 The Challenges of Diverse Voices in Comedy 13:33 Finding Voice on the Page 14:25 Translating Humour to the Page 15:58 Seeking Out Unusual Experiences for Writing 19:27 Crafting Engaging Scenes and Details 20:40 Listening and Observing 21:27 Structural Formats in Writing 22:24 Writing Dialogue 23:14 Writing Non-Fiction vs Fiction 24:06 Writing Challenges 25:12 Exploring Identity and Relationships 26:11 The Discomfort of Comedy 27:09 Writing Endings 28:17 Using Science in Comedy 29:43 Testing and Organizing Work 31:35 Comedy Recommendations 34:47 Where to find Rosie Wilby’s work   You can find Rosie Wilby here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1472982282 https://breakupmonologues.wordpress.com https://twitter.com/rosiewilby https://www.instagram.com/breakupmonologues https://www.threads.net/@breakupmonologues https://www.tiktok.com/@rosiewilbyauthor   You can find the transcript at: https://comedymasterclass.com   And Danielle’s socials here: https://twitter.com/daniellekrage https://www.instagram.com/dekrage https://bsky.app/profile/daniellekrage.bsky.social
Lynne Parker (Founder of Funny Women)
Jan 24 2024
Lynne Parker (Founder of Funny Women)
Danielle Krage interviews Lynne Parker, Founder and Chief Executive of Funny Women. She created the organisation over 20 years ago now and has made such a contribution to the comedy community, including producing the Funny Women Awards. In this conversation, Lynne shares invaluable advice for women building their careers and networks in comedy.    Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 03:10 The Creation of Funny Women 09:45 The Importance of Funny Women 12:24 Supporting Women in Comedy 17:48 Challenges in the Comedy Industry 23:47 Mentorship and Networking 30:18 Taking Comedy into the Workplace 37:10 The Value of Remote Work and Social Interaction 38:29 Creating Fun and Engaging Work Environments 39:52 Running Events for Women in the Workplace 41:46 The Power of Comedy in the Workplace 43:31 Overcoming Gender Stereotypes in the Workplace 45:13 Representation of Women in Comedy 46:42 Challenging Age Stereotypes 48:38 Being Independent Thinkers 49:22 Finding More Information   You can find out more about Lynne Parker and her work here: https://funnywomen.com https://www.herlarious.co.uk https://twitter.com/funnywomen https://twitter.com/FunnyWomenLynne https://www.instagram.com/funny_women 20 years of Funny Women: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001qszl   You can find the transcript at: https://comedymasterclass.com   And Danielle’s socials here: https://twitter.com/daniellekrage https://www.instagram.com/dekrage https://bsky.app/profile/daniellekrage.bsky.social