Episode 6: Cuttin' Up About Being a Comedy Writer
Apr 02, 2024
The Creative Cut Up podcast is a lively and honest space for storytellers that sits at the intersection of craft, business, and creative freedom.
Join us weekly, where Felicia Pride and her co-hosts, Dria Roland and Georgette Pierre, talk shop and smack, share the good, the bad, and the ugly, and provide tangible tips to support your creative practice, your career, and your artist self.
In Ep 6, we laughed our asses off with our first guest of the podcast, Rochée Jeffrey, cutting up about her experience as a comedy writer, how that informs her work in stand up comedy, and advice she’d give to up and coming writers looking to hone their comedic voice.
Rochée will be teaching CRAFTING COMEDY: Writing for TV, our multi-week television writing course starting Sunday April 14. Students will take their initial concept to a polished outline, delving into the intricacies of comedy writing and unleashing the creativity to develop their unique comedic voice.
A breakdown of our chat:
(00:06:12) What led Rochée to comedy writing
(00:08:20) How TV writing informed Rochée’s skills as a stand-up comedian
(00:10:16) The differences between drama writing rooms and comedy writing rooms
(00:12:13) The differences between writing comedy and writing drama
(00:14:30) Rochée’s fear of being funny on the page and working up the confidence to be funny in her NAACP Award winning scripted podcast, Yes We Cannabis
(00:16:16) How aspiring writers can find their comedic voice
(00:20:11) What development execs look for in comedy writers
(00:22:44) Tips on getting to the root of who you are and ways to bring that into your writing
(00:26:34) The importance of artists dealing with their trauma and living their lives boldly
(00:28:52) The value of people being able to see the connective tissue between you and your work
(00:29:24) Advice for emerging writers preparing for a career in writing comedy
(00:31:43) The benefits of improv classes and why all comedy writers should take them
(00:32:59) How Rochée stays grounded through the rejection and the challenges of the business
(00:34:45) Rochée’s upcoming class on comedy writing at The Create Daily Lab
(00:34:58) Our How We Create segment where Felicia, Dria, and Georgette share things inspiring them this week
HOW WE CREATE Recommendations
Felicia: HGTV’s Mediterranean Life
Dria: Financing webinar by Mara McCann to support HONEY CHILE’s programming goals
Georgette: Inspired by all the Black women getting their flowers during this past award season
Rochée: Cord Jefferson’s Oscar winning speech for his directorial film debut, American Fiction
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PRODUCTION CREDITS
This podcast is a production of The Create Daily. It was produced by Georgette Pierre and executive produced by Felicia Pride. It was edited by Wize Grazette of the Indie Creative Network.
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