The Comedy Writers Group

I'm joined by Patrick Lenton on the podcast this week to talk about his debut novel! We get stuck into the behind-the-scenes of how the novel came to be, the realities life as a freelance writer, romantic comedies, the development process, and the emotions that come with the novel's impending release. Patrick's novel, In Spite of You will hit shelves in early August. Follow Patrick on instagram. F...

On this week's episode I'm joined by the brilliant Janty Blair AKA Aunty Janty. We chat about the importance of gratitude and Janty's astounding story of coming to comedy in her fifties. We also talk about going on tour, the value of collaboration, and there's a celebrity cameo or two! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I'm joined by CWG members Roisin, Freddie, and Andy to workshop some new material. This episode goes places! Dark and racy ones! You won't want to play this one with the kids in the car. We chat about "bringer" shows, what it's like to perform nude, before getting into new jokes ranging from shower caddy politics to mental health honesty on dating apps. Follow Andy . Follow Roisin . Foll...

This week I'm joined by Maddy Weeks (Best Newcomer Nominee 2024) to chat about how they came to comedy, circus school, props, and how what you wear on stage can say a lot about your act. We also chat a lot about the value of hobbies outside of comedy, thanks to my mum for the great listener-submitted question! Follow Maddy Weeks . Follow your host, Marcel Blanch-de Wilt . Follow The Comedy Writers...

On this week's episode I'm joined by Ethan Cavanagh (In Pour Taste, The Late Nite PowerPoint Showcase, MICF Best Newcomer Nominee 2025) to chat how he approaches putting on a show, how he started comedy in high school, how to hook an audience, and navigating full-time comedy. Follow Ethan . Follow your host, Marcel Blanch-de Wilt . Follow The Comedy Writers Group on instagram and join the patreon...

This week I've invited my mates Fiona Cox and Steph Broadbridge to come swap some jokes. We chat ear wax, legroom, and the perils of fame. We also get stuck into how to manage leaving full-time work for comedy. Follow Fiona Cox . Follow Steph Broadbridge . Donate to Breaking The Musical's crowdfund campaign . Follow your host, Marcel Blanch-de Wilt . Follow The Comedy Writers Group on instagram an...

This week I'm joined by stand-up, improviser, actor, and beautiful weirdo, Ben Russell. We chat about how the American and Australian comedy scenes compare, his relationship with improv, comedy classes, how it all began, and what's next. Follow Ben Russell . Follow your host, Marcel Blanch-de Wilt . Follow The Comedy Writers Group on instagram and join the patreon to get weekly bonus episodes, 90+...

This week I'm joined by Lana Walters (Billy T Award Winner, 7 Days, The Project NZ) to workshop some new bits! Before we get into chatting new material, we discuss what it's like to be a comedy judge, winning awards, and how Lana got into stand-up. Follow Lana on instagram. Follow The Comedy Writers Group on instagram and join the patreon to get weekly bonus episodes, 90+ episodes behind the paywa...

This week I'm joined by musical comedian and viral sensation, Emerson Brophy to chat about his experience making music on the world wide web! Emerson has millions of views across the various platforms. We chat about the early days, lockdown, social commentary, and the move to live shows. Become a member to get this week's bonus episode with EXTRA EMERSON where we talk about building a song from sc...

It's our final episode of our live series recorded at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. I'm joined by special guest co-host Amy Hetherington (award-winning comedian and Queen of Darwin comedy) and cult-fave David Quirk ( Rosehaven , Please Like Me ). We chat about the challenges around festivals, tackling tough subject matter, the ambition required to maintain a career, and finding your...

On this week's episode I'm joined by the brilliant David Correos! We chat about David's unusual route to comedy, what he learned on Taskmaster, outsider art, and how his latest show combines stand-up and a rave. David is currently on tour so make sure you catch him when he's in your neighbourhood. Follow The Comedy Writers Group on instagram and join the patreon to get weekly bonus episodes, 90+ e...

This week we have our second LIVE episode from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. I'm joined by guest co-host Bron Lewis (Have You Been Paying Attention? Thank God You're Here) and Laura Davis (twice nominated Most Outstanding Show and cult-favourite). We cover a lot of ground from crowdwork's oversaturation, ticket sales, and different approaches to writing and editing. Bron and Laura h...

On this week's episode I'm joined by the brilliant Blake Freeman (Question Everything, The MICF Gala, Best Newcomer Winner) to chat about his move to New York. We get into the highs and the lows of moving to a new scene before digging into a chunk from his new show. If you're in Melbourne there's one more week to catch Blake at MICF. Follow Blake on instagram and be sure to grab tickets. Follow Th...

A special live episode recorded at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival featuring Olga Koch (Live at the Apollo, QI), Kate Dolan (award-winning cult favourite), and Dane Simpson (MICF Gala, The Emu War). We chat about the Australian comedy scene, making money, the value of public speaking skills, and workshop a new joke from Dane Simpson. We have one more LIVE episode coming up on the 13th...

Something a little different this week! The phone lines are open to members of Comedy Writers Group community performing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. I wanted to give members an opportunity to tell listeners about their show and to talk about what was on their mind like a good old fashioned advice line.\ Across the episode we chat healthy habits, pacing yourself, finding the fun...

This week I'm joined by the brilliant Anirban Dasgupta to chat about pursuing comedy in India. We chat about the beginning of the Indian stand-up scene, doing comedy in Australia, producing gigs, and we discuss Anirban's latest show Cry Daddy coming to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Follow Anirban and go see his show when he comes to your town. Follow The Comedy Writers Group  o...

This week I'm joined by the magnificent Emma Holland! You might know Emma from Have You Been Paying Attention  and Thank God You're Here . She's also on the upcoming season of Taskmaster Australia . I chat to Emma about her Raw Comedy experience, building community, writing for TV, and managing a hefty work schedule. Forgive this episode being recorded out of the studio - fortunately the cont...

Stephanie Hare returns as we continue the journey of developing a show for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. I wanted to give listeners a sense of how I direct a show, and to let you be a fly-on-the-wall as a stand-up show comes to life . Make sure you listen to Part 1 first! Follow Stephanie  and grab tickets to her show. Follow The Comedy Writers Group  on instagram  an...

The brilliant Kate Dolan returns to the podcast to chat about all the ups and downs since we last talked. We talk about content creation, the fear of rejection, developing a show, shooting a special, making comedy a viable enterprise, and much more. It's also a very silly episode. Go see Kate Dolan  when she comes to your city. Follow The Comedy Writers Group on instagram  and sign...

I'm joined by expert one-liner comedian, Mark Simmons, all the way from the UK. We chat about Mark's love affair with the one-liner, how he came to comedy (via a member of the CWG), branding, joke competitions, and being accused of joke thievery. Mark has a new special out called Quip Off The Mark that you can check out on Youtube. He's also on tour so make sure you follow Mark so you can see him...

The magnificent Steph Broadbridge returns to the podcast to chat about Breaking The Musical , a show that has already taken the world by storm despite the fact it hasn't even opened yet. We talk about the origin of the idea, rehearsal, and what is going through Steph's mind this close to the debut at the Adelaide Fringe. We also chat about Steph's experience as a judge for the Raw Comedy competiti...

This week we're joined by the brilliant Han Arbuthnott. We chat about starting comedy in High School, neurodiversity, coming out, identity, and more. It's a great chat and you should go see Han at the Adelaide Fringe and Melbourne Comedy Festival. Follow Han here . Follow The Comedy Writers Group on instagram  and sign up for the patreon  to unlock the back catalogue and bonus episo...

On this week's episode I'm joined by improviser and actor Jason Geary. We chat about Jason's thirty year career from his appearances in shows like Thank God You're Here, Skithouse, Neighbours, and Fisk, to his first love of improv. Follow Jason here . Follow The Comedy Writers Group  on instagram  and sign up for the patreon  to unlock the back catalogue and bonus episodes. Hosted o...

I wanted to give you insight into what's involved in directing a show from scratch. This week I'm joined by Stephanie Hare (Raw Comedy National Finalist 2024) for our first directing session. I wanted this episode to emulate a one-on-one as closely as possible. We'll check back in with Stephanie in the bonus feed so sign up to the Podcast Fan tier if you want to go on the journey together. We also...

This week I'm joined by special guest Jasmine Ellis all the way from LA. We talk about what it takes to make it as a comedian in LA, getting attention online, the hustle, ADHD comedy, and her new special Black Girl Panic . Follow Jasmine here  and find links to all her brilliant content. Follow The Comedy Writers Group  on instagram and sign up on patreon  to unlock bonus episodes....