The Comedy Writers Group

This week on the podcast I'm joined by the Director of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Susan Provan. Susan is an icon of the Australian comedy scene and it was great to get to chat with her. It's my first guest with an Order of Australia! Susan and I talk about the history of the Comedy Festival, how it's evolved over the years, programming, scouting, judging Raw Comedy, marketing, AI...

NYC comedian Myq Kaplan returns to the podcast this week to talk all about his new special RINI now available on Youtube . Myq Kaplan is an absolutely profilic comedian boasting more than 20 years of experiences and with appearances on Conan, Letterman, and Last Comic Standing (just to name a few.) We have a great chat about co-authoring a special, creating the perfect title for a show, promotion...

I'm joined by the brilliant Dave Thornton. Dave has been crushing it in comedy for more than twenty years. You might know Dave from stand-up stages around the world, and all the iconic shows over the years from Rove Live to The Project . We chat about what motivated Dave to get into stand-up, the challenges of self-promotion, celebrating the wins, and his new stand-up special Nothing's Unpossible...

This week I'm joined by the brilliant Claire Robin from the multi-award winning show, Nun Slut. I chat to Claire about the development of the show, her relationship with clowning, acting school, keeping the show fresh, and what it's like to get recognition in the form of AWARDS! We also discuss the value of The Comedy Writers Group and the upcoming Comedy Writers Group Retreat coming up in January...

This week we're talking web-series with the creators of 'Til You Make It which has recently dropped on Youtube. I'm joined by actor Emma Choy, writer / actor Phillip Hayden, and producer Riley Sugars. We chat about how the show emerged, evolved, and how satisfying it is to put it out into the world. We also discuss the challenges of juggling work and parent life, and the hopes for the future of th...

This week I'm joined by actor, writer, producer, director, Casey Feigh all the way from LA. We chat about his hit show Holy Shit Improv and it's upcoming Australian tour. We get into Casey's surprising comedy origins, his passion for improv, his relationship with feedback, and what motivates him to produce shows. Follow Holy Shit Improv and get tickets to upcoming shows. Follow Casey . Follow your...

My guest this week is the brilliant Tim Batt. Tim is a comedian, podcaster, and producer. Podcast fans will know him from his cult-hit podcast The Worst Idea of All Time that he co-hosts alongside Guy Montgomery. We discuss making stuff for money versus making stuff for fun, the origins of his podcast, shooting a pilot in a sewer, and the preciousness of time as parent. Follow Tim Batt . Follow yo...

It's time for another Group Workshop episode! I'm joined by Comedy Writers Group members: Mema, Phil, and Christopher to workshop some new material and tackle some challenging scenarios. We chat about how to approach performing outside, turning sandwiches into a story, and how boring sobriety can be. We also discuss the pre-show ritual and how we prepare for a show. Follow Mema . Follow Phil . Fo...

This week I'm joined by the great Ray O'Leary (Thank God You're Here, Have You Been Paying Attention, Taskmaster NZ). We chat about how things changed when Ray put on the suit, starting out in Wellington, being stopped in the street, the value of setting goals, and the importance of persona. Follow Ray . Follow your host, Marcel Blanch-de Wilt . Follow The Comedy Writers Group on instagram and joi...

This week I'm joined by John Glover who you might know from the Sydney comedy scene, or from the world-wide phenomenon, Breaking The Musical . We chat about John leaving his full-time job for comedy, explore the Japanese philosophy of ikigai (the reason for being), his stand-up special , and how he plans to make the most of the next twelve months in his comedy career. Follow John . Follow your hos...

This week I'm joined by the iconic Roz Hammond. You might know Roz from every brilliant Australian comedy from the past thirty years like The Dish, Muriel's Wedding, Mad as Hell, The Librarians, Full Frontal, or The Eric Bana Sketch Show. We chat about Roz's career, how she got started, how she persevered, and what led her to running public speaking workshops . I also gather the courage to tell Ro...

This week I'm joined by comedian, musician, actor, Blake Everett. We chat about his latest project The Wham Bam Thankyou Jam, his children's theatre company, meeting his comedy heroes, and the value of having fun. Follow Blake . Follow The Wham Bam Thankyou Jam . Follow your host, Marcel Blanch-de Wilt . Follow The Comedy Writers Group on instagram and join the patreon to get weekly bonus episodes...

This week I'm joined by the brilliant Gen Fricker! We chat about Gen's return to stand-up, her love for Maria Bamford, her first directing experience, and what she has learned (and unlearned) from her fifteen years in comedy. It's a fantastic chat. Follow Gen . Follow your host, Marcel Blanch-de Wilt . Follow The Comedy Writers Group on instagram and join the patreon to get weekly bonus episodes,...

It's time for a Group Workshop episode! I'm joined by up-and-coming comedians (and CWG members) Maggie Baker, Marnie Mills, and Freya Morton for a comedy roundtable. We swap jokes, stories, and advice. We cover a lot of ground in this episode from how to end a story, dealing with heavy subject matter, structuring a show, and a whole lot of ADULTS ONLY content that will sound too strange outside of...

On this week's bonus episode I'm joined by Chris McAllister AKA The Trans Comedian (boasting 49.1K followers on instagram!) to chat about going into comedy full-time. We talk about the first gig, making stuff for the internet, we workshop a new joke, and more. Chris is a member of the CWG and I always love platforming our members. Catch Chris and a line-up of gender-diverse comedians at the Sydney...

This week I'm joined by the brilliant Daniel Connell (Have You Been Paying Attention, MICF Gala) to chat about his latest special Little Aussie Battler available to watch now on Youtube . We chat about Dan's fifteen years in stand-up, his relationship with bells and whistles, the value of management, and how he approaches filming his work. Follow Dan here . Follow your host, Marcel Blanch-de Wilt...

On this week's bonus episode I'm joined by Bahaa Dabbagh to talk about turning his story as a refugee into a comedy show premiering at the Melbourne Fringe Festival. We chat about the gig that started it all, show development, the Melbourne open mic scene, community events and much more. Buy tickets to My Refugee Disorder here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week I'm joined by returning guest Emma Leonard to chat about the premiere of her movie Zombucha at the Melbourne International Film Festival. We chatted about the writing of the screenplay way back on Episode 49! I'm also lucky to be joined by special guest co-host Eleanor Stankiewicz. We chat about how it feels to see your vision on the big screen, the development process, early reviews, cr...

This week I'm joined by Ece, Beray, and Esma from comedy collective: The Migration Office. We talk about what it's like to come to comedy from a Muslim background, joining improv to help with conversational Turkish, variety nights, character comedy, and how open mics compare to community-led events. Follow Esma , Beray , and Ece . Follow The Seeker's Stage . Follow The Migration Office for upcomin...

This week on the podcast I'm joined by the great Oliver Hunter. We chat about the fun-side and not-so-fun side of stand-up comedy, cracking jokes about living with a disability, the first bomb, and his new show that dares to get a bit darker and angrier. Follow Oliver Hunter . Follow your host, Marcel Blanch-de Wilt . Follow The Comedy Writers Group on instagram and join the patreon to get weekly...

This week I'm joined by Andy, Jack, and Jess from Weird Neighbour , filmmakers and sketch creators. We talk about how Weird Neighbour got started, the value of collaboration, why short-form, how to approach a sketch, branding, and the goals for the future. We also get a cameo from their new intern, Malcolm. I think you'll leave just as inspired as I was. Follow Weird Neighbour here . Follow your h...

This week I'm joined by the brilliant Mark Humphries to talk about his new documentary SOLD! Who Broke The Australian Dream? We chat about how Mark came to comedy, his brush with stand-up, the importance of collaboration, how to make serious topics funny, and the not-so-fun-parts of making stuff like getting called out by Media Watch. Follow Mark Humphries on instagram . Watch the documentary avai...

This week I'm joined by the great Peter Jones! Originally from Melbourne, now residing in London, I wanted to pick Pete's brain about the move and adapting to a new scene. We chat about Edinburgh Fringe, the comedy "middle-class", and how he came to put out his first special. You can watch Pete's first special here . Follow Pete . Follow your host, Marcel Blanch-de Wilt . Follow The Comedy Writers...

Free to listen for a limited time only. On this week's bonus episode you get to be a fly on the wall in one of our online Comedy Workshop Sessions. Hear what it's like to come along to one of our weekly sessions with new material from Laura Bruce and Kirsty Carr. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The great Bec Hill makes her triumphant return to the podcast to chat about her new show coming to the Edinburgh Fringe... at least that was the intention. We ended up talking a great deal about writers block, the nervous system, and the value of BREATHING. It's an excellent chat that should leave you feeling totally inspired. Expect a lot of shout-outs of folks to check out at the Edinburgh Fring...