workshops
Belszki Presents:
DROP-IN ONLINE
Comedy Writing Course
Mondays 8pm £10
Long form prompts – develop narrative – use callbacks
Want to create new material? Ready to move beyond short form?
For those with some experience of writing short form comedy
(rule of 3, comparisons)
Develop your skills to write longer form/narrative
Objectives
To use long form comedy writing structures such as repetition and callbacks to create a thematic set.
To develop narrative/story telling
To develop writing from prompts eg historical, scientific, current affairs
To use advertising/’pointless product’ formats
To apply short-form techniques of one liners/rule of three to use as a punchline within long form structures.
Course Prerequisites
To have some experience of writing/performing short-form comedy
Why do the course?
To develop comedy writing techniques beyond rule of three which can be applied to a variety of scenarios/topics
To develop audience interaction skills of asking questions and how to respond to audience contributions
To have fun and work as part of a supportive group
To hone comedic techniques which can be applied in narrative/fiction writing through description or dialogue
To pep up your workplace/student presentations
BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW!
EMAIL ME ON:
annabelszki@gmail.com
BEGINNERS DROP-IN
COMEDY WRITING
Never written comedy?
Want to make people laugh?
We can help!
Escape - create - laugh!
An introduction to comedy writing for the beginner. Learn how to write short-form material, ideal for those working towards their first five minutes of a stand-up set.
Experience the pleasure and enjoyment of being fully present, as you engage with the prompt in hand. Many people find that the creative process helps them to re-connect with themselves.
Benefits of being fully present/creative:
- reduced heart rate and perception of anxiety/stress
- increased sense of well-being and relaxation
- improved mood
- provides essential ‘me’ time
- escape the daily grind
It’s all about the process of engaging with a prompt, following a given structure. See where your creativity takes you! No need to stick to the structure if your creative mind takes you off on a tangent; follow your own unique creative flow. We love it when someone goes off-piste!
I model a writing device; we deconstruct it, then each participant creates their own versions. Opportunity to share work and receive feedback. Ideas shared in a nurturing and supportive environment, it's lots of fun! There are also optional homework tasks. Bring pen, paper and an open mind!
Comedy Writing Devices
- one-liners
- the rule of three
- 3x3 matrix
- comparing two seemingly dissimilar items
- giving advice (always, sometimes, never)
- repetition/callbacks
- puns
THE FACILITATOR
Belszki is a writer and performance artist who delivers a fusion of spoken word, stand-up, sketch comedy, improv and cabaret. Her work is political and feminist, taken from a lesbian perspective. She has performed internationally.
Belszki has over twenty years’ experience as an educator. Her workshops have run successfully IRL in Brighton since October 2018 and online since the start of lockdown.
Write a Tight Five
6 Week Workshop
£120
Got material? Need structure? We can help!
- Bring your material
- Follow example structures
- Receive feedback
Openers - closers - callbacks
- Safe, supportive and non-judgemental space
- Perform your set to the group
- Video your set, to reflect on, across the week
PERFORM your Tight Five as part of on online showcase comedy night on week 6!
Register your interest in the course by clicking here
IRL CLASSES
6 WEEK PERFORMANCE SKILLS WORKSHOP
NEXT COURSE DATES TBC - get in touch if you're interested in signing up!
Performance Skills Workshops (beginners)
Present yourself with confidence, in front of any audience
Mondays - 7-9pm - £200
@ Caroline of Brunswick, Ditchling Road, Brighton.
TAKE UP SPACE - SPEAK OUT - BE HEARD!
We will learn how to use verbal, physical and facial expression, pauses, eye contact with the audience, and how to ask and respond to, audience questions.
SESSIONS
Immersive, hands-on and lots of fun! We will use partner work and peer feedback to develop our pieces. At the end of each session, we will video your creation so far, for you to reflect on and develop, that evening.
AIMS
To create a 5min+ performance or presentation (subject/genre of your choice) which will be performed to a private audience of friends and family, on week 6.
Click here to read an article about the course.
https://broadwaybaby.com/features/can-performance-skills-help-everyone/2112
The Facilitator
Belszki is a writer and performance artist who delivers a fusion of spoken word, stand-up, sketch comedy, improv and cabaret.
She has run Performance Skills Workshops (Beginner and Intermediate) in Brighton, since Oct 2018 (see https://www.annabelszki.com/testimonials). She has written three solo shows, of which ‘Smashing’ received a five-star review in March 2020.
“Annabelszki’s creative mind has once again created a piece that needs to be acknowledged for her strong performance skills and original writing, with insight and sensitivity” *****
(Broadway Baby)
Testimonials
“My friend had previously taken the course run by Annabel and had so much fun, she suggested that I have a go too, as she knew I had confidence issues when speaking to a room.”
“On this course I learnt to put mechanisms in place to help me push through the anxiety I feel when presenting to people. It has greatly increased my confidence in allowing silence (pauses), using physical and facial expression to convey the message, and improved my memory capability. It has been the boost I needed to get through my recent wedding speech.”
“Annabel has a wealth of knowledge, patience and enthusiasm to help and see others succeed. Each workshop was well structured, each week building on techniques.”
“I can honestly say that attending the workshops has helped me. Its made me slow down, gather composure and focus far better. You have been a brilliant teacher. For that I thank you greatly.”
To register your interest in the course click here
Adeel recommends the course
Get in touch if you'd like to join the course.
Sandy wants to do more!
1:1 coaching also available
IRL CLASS
INTERMEDIATE PERFORMANCE SKILLS WORKSHOP (8 weeks)
NEXT COURSE DATES TBC - GET IN TOUCH IF YOU ARE INTERESTED!
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
This course is for people who already have some experience of performing; ideally they will have a ten minute set which they’ve performed on a number of occasions, and are comfortable with.
You may have previously attended the 6 Week Performance Skills Workshop (beginners) and have acquired the skills of: verbal, physical and facial expression, use of pauses, eye contact with the audience, asking the audience questions. Alternatively, you may already possess these skills, from your previous experience of performance.
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
This course will enable you to hone these skills, in addition to developing the use of:
- different structures for mapping out initial ideas
- using current affairs/a topic of choice, as a way in
- callbacks
- technical skills (see below)
SESSIONS
Sessions will be immersive, hands-on and lots of fun! Feel free to bring your material/ideas, plus any props/items you’d like to use in your piece. We will use partner work and peer feedback to develop our pieces. At the end of each session, we will video your creation so far, for you to reflect on and develop, across the week.
AIMS
To create a 20min+ set, which may be used to develop into a show for Brighton Fringe 2020. You may wish to join up with other course members, to create a two-hander show, where you both perform a 30 minute set each. Alternatively, you may be ready to develop your own one hour solo show.
PERFORMANCE GENRES
We will draw on elements of stand-up, spoken word, storytelling/monologue, audience interaction/improv, cabaret, burlesque/boi-lesque/drag.
TECHNICAL SKILLS
We will develop your ability to choose backing music snippets which compliment the message/story you intend to convey, look at basic audio mixing to create a backing track, in addition to the use of visuals and props to create a persona/narrative.
FINAL WEEK SHOWCASE PERFORMANCE
We will perform our 20min pieces to a ticket-paying audience in week 8.