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New Comedy Podcast made by Women

Character Building is a new character comedy podcast with collaborations from women.

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New Comedy Podcast made by Women

New Comedy Podcast made by Women

New Comedy Podcast made by Women

New Comedy Podcast made by Women

New Comedy Podcast made by Women

Character Building is a new character comedy podcast with collaborations from women.

Character Building is a new character comedy podcast with collaborations from women.

Character Building is a new character comedy podcast with collaborations from women.

Character Building is a new character comedy podcast with collaborations from women.

Jane Postlethwaite
Jane Postlethwaite
Jane Postlethwaite
Jane Postlethwaite
2 Campaigns |
Cumbria, United Kingdom
$2,935 USD $2,935 USD 117 backers
60% of $4,871 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
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Highlights
Mountain Filled 2 Projects Mountain Filled 2 Projects
Overview
Character Building is a character & sketch comedy podcast that showcases the work of women produced by Jane Postlethwaite & Steph Bradshaw. Funding will mean round 20-25 women will get FREE training in sketch writing, voice acting & putting together a comedy podcast. Jane will also be re-writing & recording her previous fringe comedy shows for the podcast. These shows include, 'Made in Cumbria', The House & the latest Brighton Fringe show with Steph called 'HAUNTED'.

“I want to be around people that do things. I don’t want to be around people anymore that judge or talk about what people do. I want to be around people that dream and support and do things.” - Amy Poehler 

The main reason I want to do this project is there are not enough women getting recognition in comedy or the industry in general.

Why focus on working with women? Did you know the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film found that in the top 100 grossing films of 2018, women represented:

  • 4% of directors
  • 15% of writers
  • 3% of cinematographers
  • 18% of producers
  • 18% of executive producers
  • 14% of editors

I want to try to do my bit to change this and get women from all different backgrounds trained with comedy skills, get them into writing or performing comedy and working alongside others doing the same. 

Who am I?

Hi, I’m Jane. I’m a Cumbrian Comedy Performer and Writer. I'm a comedy award finalist for Funny Women, Brighton Comedy Festival and best comedy show at Brighton Fringe. 

My experience includes running a successful comedy night called the ‘Bad Book Project’ in Brighton, being on BBC Radio 4 in a couple of comedy plays and producing the ‘Miraculous Cumbria Podcast’ a comedy podcast about interesting locations/events in Cumbria with my co-host Steph Bradshaw.

Over the last five years I’ve written five brand new one hour comedy shows including ‘Made in Cumbria’ and ‘The House’. Three solo Character comedy shows, one theatrical / stand up show about mental health and suicide awareness - plus one recent sketch show called ‘HAUNTED’ with my new comedy writing/podcast partner Steph Bradshaw. I have taken all five shows to Brighton Fringe and two to Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Alongside my own comedy work, I run comedy workshops across the UK and abroad. My workshops include comedy writing, creating characters and performing.

In Manchester, I focus on women’s comedy workshops where I’ve met so many talented women wanting to do sketch, stand up, comedy videos and more. I also set up the Cumbria School of Comedy to make comedy workshops accessible to people in rural areas. I've taught over 250 people in just a couple of years. 

My students have already started stand up comedy, written/performed their own one hour comedy shows, filming sketches and more. I want them to have the opportunity to get involved in this new project. 

I also want to make use of my previous scripts from my comedy shows and get them recorded as a podcast in the style of a BBC Radio comedy drama. 

Why a podcast?

I know from experience that putting on live shows is very expensive and time consuming especially at the fringe festivals. Making a podcast cuts costs compared to putting on a live show as the sketches and characters can be set anywhere e.g, in space and you don't need props or costume.

Recording a podcast is also flexible as you have portable equipment and can set up remotely. Also, not everyone can always make it to watch comedy shows live so by doing a comedy podcast the work becomes accessible as you can listen for free while on the move and from anywhere in the World.

Why is it called Character Building?

The podcast will be made up of character sketches and monologues. Also, the double meaning is that growing up in the North people tell you anything challenging is 'Character building'! 

What do we need?

The money I want to raise for the project in the Crowdfunder is around £4000 and will pay for;

  • Updated recording equipment for portable recording and a home studio
  • Rehearsal studio time in Manchester
  • Recording time in a professional studio in Manchester
  • Travel costs and lunch for contributors in Manchester - up to 25 women involved
  • Travel and meet up costs for anyone outside of Manchester
  • Extra Training sessions for me and for contributors
  • Merchandise like badges / stickers to help promote
  • Marketing and promotion of podcast
  • Graphic Design
  • A years subscription to Audioboom to host the podcast
  • Website costs and domain name

Podcast Equipment and some of the other costs estimated;

  • x2 Microphones £300
  • x2 Portable Audio booths / Kaotica Eyeballs £400
  • x2 Microphone cords £40
  • Mixing desk £150
  • Microphone stands £50
  • x2 Script stands £40
  • x2 Microphone stands £70
  • Audioboom £120 a year
  • Website £120 a year and domain name
  • Voice Over Training
  • Travel for contributors train or petrol + lunch £40 per person (x20 people) £800
  • Unlimited training for each contributor if needed £50 per person (x20 people) £1000
  • Recording Studio space rental £110 an hour Manchester
  • Writing studio £100 a day
  • Marketing / Merch - badges £100

Women involved will get some or all of the following;

  • Free training in writing sketches either working alone or as a team at the studio space
  • Get their sketches chosen for the podcast and get a writing credit
  • Get voice acting credits performing sketches
  • Free travel
  • Free lunch
  • Free training on how to use podcasting equipment
  • Shown what it's like to record in a professional studio
  • Their work recorded and available on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts
  • Name mentioned in any press articles / website credits

Wherever they're based the women can still contribute. Some women might only want to submit a sketch or monologue by email. Some may want to meet as a group for training, to share ideas and write as a team. I'll be doing my best to include as many women as possible who have done my workshop.

The 27 women wanting to be involved so far are:

  • Alexandra Nicole Stringer
  • Ruth Postlethwaite
  • Charlene Coulter-Clements
  • Sarah Fordham
  • Rachel Robbins
  • Louisa Bennett
  • Jo Gendle 
  • Catherine Lee
  • Lizzie Norm
  • Ruqayyah Hashmi
  • Lorraine Helen Youds
  • Anna Lloyd
  • Hannah Fox
  • Sophie White
  • Abigail Ramsdale
  • Michelle Taylor
  • Nicola Brockbank
  • Mel Judson
  • Phoebe Farrington
  • Nadine Graba
  • Laura Stoney
  • Lynsey McQuaid
  • Sho Applewood 
  • Katy Holbird
  • Eleanor Bronwen Appleton

What I will be overseeing the whole project;

  • Converting scripts from 'Made in Cumbria' and 'The House' into radio scripts
  • Writing & Editing 'HAUNTED' with Steph Bradshaw 
  • Producing
  • Directing
  • Training for writing scripts and working with audio
  • Editing work from contributors 
  • Editing the podcast
  • Marketing
  • Training myself in Voice over skills and keeping up with editing / recording skills
  • Launching the podcast on iTune, Spotify and Google Podcast

Who else is involved?

Steph Bradshaw - Exec Producer of Character Building. Co-host of Miraculous Cumbria and Co-Writer/Performer in the sketch show HAUNTED. Steph will be co-editing, converting HAUNTED to script for recording and recording the show. Also, writing new material and performing whilst over seeing production and assisting marketing. 

The plan is I'm aiming for 6-8 episodes of 20 mins over the next 6 - 12 months. The timeline for the project involves;

  • Getting equipment ready
  • Training gained
  • Comedy submissions received
  • Group sessions organised in rehearsal space
  • Submissions edited
  • Roles allocated for cast
  • Recording sessions in home studio or Manchester studio
  • Marketing and Promotion
  • Season edited and put live
  • More promotion

The Impact - Helping get more women involved in Comedy!

  • Letting me share my previous fringe shows as free comedy episodes
  • Getting my previous students involved in writing and recording
  • Including women who live in rural areas, who have busy lives with jobs and children or money constrictions 
  • FREE training for female students on the way a podcast is put together / voice over performing / podcast production / script editing skills
  • Letting women pitch sketches for the podcast
  • Building skill sets and confidence in others
  • Days in studio recording and working on scripts
  • Giving myself and students comedy credits
  • Training myself so i can pass on knowledge to others
  • Opportunities for future collaboration and season two.

Risks & Challenges

  • Getting awareness of the crowdfunder - we need people to share the love to bring awareness to the campaign. Social media shares will help and private emails. 
  • Not getting the full amount - if we don't get the full amount of money it will be spent on most important things first like training and for the women to have free travel to make the training accessible
  • Not having enough money for the new podcasting equipment - key equipment from the list will be bought first 
  • £4000 is a goal to train 20-25 women - the more funding we get the more women it can benefit in the long run. 

Other Ways You Can Help

  • If you can’t help financially you can still help us make some noise about the campaign by sharing with friends and family.
  • Also, please use the Indiegogo share tools to share this campaign on social media!
  • Are you a business who runs a recording studio or rehearsal space? You can help by donating free rental time. 
  • Are you a business or individual who wants to sponsor an episode? See the perks. 
  • We will also accept any sponsorship for notebooks, pens, podcasting / recording equipment, food and drinks etc. 

 

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