Funny Women

Funny Women is the UK's leading female comedy community and has been helping women to perform, write and do business with humour[1] since 2002. It was founded by Lynne Parker [2] as a ‘knee jerk’ reaction to a misogynistic comedy promoter she worked with in 2000 who claimed that ‘women aren’t funny.’ At the heart of Funny Women’s philosophy is a desire to help women find their voice, whether that be through performing, writing or using humour in business and every-day life, and not only promotes female comedians, but also raises funds and awareness for various women's charities.

Stand Up to Stand Out

Funny Women’s unique ‘Stand Up to Stand Out’ comedy workshops are designed to help women utilise stand-up comedy techniques not only on-stage, but also in business and every-day life. These workshops take place on a monthly basis, as well as tailored training for corporate clients and individuals on request. Funny Women also hold 'Workshop Weekends' with some of the industry’s top writers and performers helping participants hone their craft.

Comedy Showcases

Funny Women also hosts regular comedy showcases in London and Brighton, with residencies at top comedy venues the Leicester Square Theatre and Komedia. Following a successful trial at the Richmond Literature Festival, Funny Women is now also branching out into literary festivals with a new format discussing writing female comedy with a panel of top writers and performers.

Website

Funny Women’s website helps foster a unique online community, as the company actively encourages submissions from budding writers wanting to sharpen their comedy writing skills and get invaluable online presence for their work. The Funny Women team offer constructive feedback and help develop the writers of the future.

The Funny Women Awards

The Funny Women Awards were launched in 2003 and are now the benchmark for women breaking into comedy, nurturing female talents such as Bridget Christie, Susan Calman, Katherine Ryan, Andi Osho, Kerry Godliman, Sara Pascoe, Zoe Lyons and Holly Walsh as well as the hugely successful Sarah Millican.

The Awards are continuously diversifying with categories including the Comedy Writing Award for scriptwriters, Stage Award for performers, and Comedy Shorts Award for short film makers. The various winners receive agency introductions, script options and mentoring as part of the prizes.

The Awards have attracted national television and radio coverage (Richard & Judy, This Morning, The Culture Show), and national press (The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph). The Awards have also been featured as a series of podcasts with The Sun (semi final, final), and footage from the 2007 final at the Comedy Store, London is featured on the Paramount Comedy website.

The 2014 winner Jayde Adams was featured in a two page article in the London Evening Standard, Daily Express and The Daily Mail.

Prizes

Stage Award

Prizes include £2,000, £500 Worth of Benefit Cosmetics, mentoring with a former winner, one to one training session with a prestigious social media agency to help maximise your social media presence, two spots at a Funny Women Brighton Nights showcase, studio time to create your own showreel, the chance to appear at events and promotions.

Comedy Writing Award

Prizes include £500 script option and mentoring from the Comedy Unit, 3 weeks intensive mentoring to complete the 30 minute script with dedicated access to a professional script editor, £250 of Benefit Cosmetics.

Comedy Shorts Award

Prizes include £500 cash, winning film posted on Funny Women homepage, YouTube channel and Huffington Post Comedy UK, £250 of Benefit Cosmetics, 2 days shadowing an industry expert.

Winners and finalists

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

Professional Workshops

Funny Women also provide introductory and advanced comedy workshops which are hosted by Lynne Parker, who has over ten years of experience in coaching women. These workshops are held monthly at different London venues. [3]

In 2013, Funny Women hosted the first Workshop Weekend at the women-only business club B.Hive in Covent Garden. This comprised two days of intensive comedy and confidence training, including a Stand-Up to Stand Out comedy workshop run by Lynne Parker, an improvisation workshop facilitated by Courtney Cornfield, writing for radio hosted by Paul Dodgson and character creation with Hattie Naylor.

Charity

Funny Women likes to work with organisations that represent all aspects of women’s wellbeing – laughing about life to help and heal women. Through comedy, Funny Women has raised awareness and over £70,000 for the following charities:

2013

2012

2007

2006

2004

2003

References

  1. ↑ http://www.funnywomen.com'' http://www.funnywomen.com. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ Funny Women bintmagazine.com
  3. ↑ http://www.funnywomen.com/workshops

External links