Saturday, October 26, 2013

It's that time of year again

This is the weekend for my annual SITCOM ROOM seminar. Twenty lucky participants will be split into four “rooms” of five and experience exactly what it’s really like to be on a comedy writing staff. They’ll fix a script, eat way too much junk food, and either form deep bonds or kill each other. They’ll learn a lot, laugh a lot, and sleep very little. They’ll see their work performed by professional working actors, and they’ll discover talents they didn’t even know they had.
This will be the 7th SITCOM ROOM I’ve staged. Proud to say that some alums are now in the business, working on such shows as NURSE JACKIE. And a number of attendees from overseas are now doing well in their home countries. To think – I may have had a hand in some good jokes being seen on Australian and German TV (not the same jokes I'm sure).

I only do this once a year because it’s a big undertaking. Lots of preparation goes into it, and the weekend itself is very intense. But it’s great fun for me, and I love the idea of a writing class that is both hands-on and unique from any other.

I have shifted venues this year. Former students will recall THE SITCOM ROOM was held for a number of years at the LAX Hilton. But we found that there tended to be distractions – like a Japanese anime convention with hundreds of people in costume, and a porn convention. One of our groups was trying to re-write their scene while a porno movie was being made in the next room. So they really got to experience what it’s like to be in a film studio late at night.

This year we’re at the LAX Embassy Suites. If there’s a convention it’s insurance salesmen or the like so very little chance they’ll be dressing up…or down.

More reports next week. Next year I hope to see you here.

11 comments :

Wendy M. Grossman said...

Good luck, everybody!

wg
(And Dan, if you get hungry, remember that it's perfectly acceptable to take leftover food off people's plate, no matter what Ken says.)

Mike said...

It's that time of year again.
What, bathtime? Whether I need it or not?

Frank Semmler said...

Jeez, not MORE photos of scantily clad women. Here we go again.

Jeffro said...

Ken, you devil! You're obviously throwing grease into the fire. Nell's going to become apoplectic when she's sees you continue to objectify women by showing pictures of them in a Playboy Bunny costume.

Johnny Walker said...

Good luck to everyone attending this year!

Mike said...

No mention of UK success, Wendy & Johnny. I trust you're not letting the side down.

Hamid said...

Very saddened to hear about the death of Marcia Wallace, who was the wonderful voice of Mrs Krabappel in The Simpsons. RIP

Wendy M. Grossman said...

Mike, not a commercial success, but Megan van Wolkenten, also a SITCOM ROOM alum from the same year as Johnny and me, and I wrote a play for yet another alum, Andrie Nel, who runs a theater for teens in the wilds of Ontario near Ottawa. It was produced in May and I'm mulling over how it might be developed further, and have been working on a second (on my own).

wg

Al said...

Hey Ken, I always love reading your take on new shows/premieres for the season... Now that we're a couple weeks in, how about an update on which ones pulled it off and which ones floundered?

Wayne said...

Why wouldn't sitcom writers fit in with porn actors? Both are looking for a happy ending.

RC in Texas said...

I was number 21 on the list this year... Here's hoping my reflexes are a little quicker to get in line for #8