Comedy Writing Area - Writing Comedy For Overseas Markets

Our area for comedy writers is very much geared towards the British market however there are plenty of other opportunities out there! Jenny Roche has provided us with this article which outlines what is out there and the important things to remember when writing for foreign markets.

Jenny Roche is the author of 'Teach Yourself Comedy Writing' and runs comedy writing courses as Manchester University. She has sold gags and sketches to BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4 and TV shows including 'The Brian Conley Show' and 'The 11 O'clock Show'. Jenny is a former Chairperson and Market Information Officer of the Comedy Writers Association UK. Jenny's Directory Listing

Writing comedy for overseas markets is not limited to English speaking countries. British TV comedy sketch writers are highly regarded in European countries and many production companies are more than willing to translate material. Although not a 'foreign' market, some Welsh language TV programmes will accept sketches written in English.

Not neglecting English speaking countries, comedy and humour material is required in USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa etc; in addition to the ever increasing demand for online humour and comedy.

Taking comedy sketch material first: avoid writing sketches that rely on puns, words plays, slang, colloquial expressions, ambiguous words or other subtleties of language which won't translate. Eating 'pub grub' could be translated as eating maggots if you're not careful.

Foreign producers love dialogue-free visual sketches and if you have good artistic skills and know how to draw up a storyboard, you could submit in that format. Make sure this is acceptable first.

As with any kind of writing it's always wise to research your market first and if you would like to know more about a country's culture this can be gained from holidays, or try travel books, magazines and TV holiday programmes. Schools TV language programmes are very good at showing every day life in different countries.

If you want to know whether a particular country has traffic wardens, school uniforms or the same trouble with buses, trains, road works and traffic jams that we have, speak to someone who knows the country. I know of one enterprising writer who rang his local German consulate with a list of things we have in this country and asked if they had the same things in their country. They did, almost without exception.

Writing sketches for another country should not feel as though you are stepping into an unknown void. Basically it is about being sensible. They may not have branches of Burger King or Kwik Save in the country you are writing for but they will have fast food outlets and supermarkets. If you're not sure, 'Internationalise' your sketch by being generic rather than specific.

Think also about the premise of your sketch, ask yourself, 'what is the joke in this sketch?' Avoid sketches with subtleties or 'in' jokes pertaining to something particularly British.

Sketches that work best on an international level are those concerned with basic human character and situation. No matter what their nationality, people have the same concerns, the same relationships to their fellow human beings, and the same idiosyncracies and foibles.

Don't get yourself tied in too many knots trying to fit a sketch into some uneasily defined mould of another nationality or try to double guess what you think will make people in that country laugh, in the end you can only submit what you believe will work.

You can't, for instance, take account of unexpected misunderstandings and misinterpretations made by producers. One writer submitted a sketch in which a road sweeper lifted up a pavement slab and swept the dirt under. A European producer said the sketch wouldn't work in his country as they don't have pavements that lift up!

As with writing sketches for British TV, submissions are only required when requested for a particular show. You can find information and contact details for foreign TV broadcasters and production companies by using the internet or consulting reference books and writers markets publications in your local library.

Alternatively, you could join an organisation such as the Comedy Writers Association UK or the British Society of Comedy Writers. Both have various categories of membership according to levels of ability and have members only information on foreign comedy requirements.

Outside of Europe there are currently few opportunities for TV sketch material, although there are many markets for humour material in print and online publications, in addition to miscellaneous markets in greetings cards and slogans for T-shirts, tea towels, badges and other so called 'fun stuff'.

The internet is an invaluable tool for finding these markets, for submitting material quickly and easily by email, and perhaps more importantly, contacting an editor first to ask if they are willing to accept submissions from abroad.

If submitting material to a USA market 'Americanise' spellings where you can, but don't worry about this excessively. If a joke or piece of humour is liked, it's fairly easy for an editor to put things through an American spellchecker.

Take care not to be patronising or stereotypical about English in another country. Americans don't always call each other 'buddy' or 'honey' and Australians will sometimes have a meal or a beer instead of 'tucker' or a 'tinny'.

Foreign markets will enable you to extend the range of your work and may bring in extra money with very little extra effort. They are not competing with British markets and you will be able to sell the same material to a different country without it causing problems. Just check with the producer or editor to make sure the programme or publication will not be distributed in other countries.