So, I wrote a sitcom podcast
Remember how I did James Cary's sitcom course last year? And then realised that writing a radio sitcom was a daft idea because you're either competing for Radio 4 or you have to do your own podcast? Well, I've done my own podcast. It's called Lee-Ann's Spare Fridays and you can listen to it on Spotify or Apple podcasts, or at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jysaville where you should be able to play it in a browser without logging in to anything.
I had a pilot script for a sitcom that I was working on during the course (until I got diverted by an idea for a historical sitcom, which I still can't quite get right). It was about a woman who's been moved on to a four-day week and wants to spend more time with her cat and research local history - can you tell she's partly inspired by me? Unfortunately she has the sort of interfering and organised older sister1 who doesn't think those are worthy enough pursuits, and she spends her entire Friday trying to get her sister off her case so she can have a free Friday.
I wasn't sure I'd quite got the script right - I remember having a conversation with James about how to ensure Lee-Ann wasn't simply reacting to her sister Gina, and how to make her a funny character in her own right (I hope I solved that one in the end). Even after the diversion into the historical sitcom though, I kept coming back to Lee-Ann. I liked the entangled but antagonistic relationship with Gina, and I liked her dry, laid-back neighbour Douglas. Was it likely to bump Ed Reardon from a Radio 4 slot? Probably not. Did I want to make it? Of course I did. I wasn't owed any favours by actors though, so I shelved the podcast idea.
And then I remembered how much I enjoyed reading my stories aloud, and how I'd written well-received comedy monologues before. I set about adapting the script to be told entirely from Lee-Ann's point of view, but still with the odd scene-setting sound effect, and with scene-breaks. So it has the length and structure of a half-hour radio sitcom episode, but it's all in one voice (except for Lord Salisbury the cat who is expertly played by Parkin, one of my cats).
So if a monologue sitcom about two sisters needling each other in a Yorkshire village sounds like it might be your bag, scroll back up and give it a go. If you enjoy it, subscribe so you hear about episode 2 then tell your friends, and if you're grabbed by the Christmas spirit you could even buy me a cuppa at https://ko-fi.com/jysaville
I should point out that although I have two older sisters, neither of them are remotely like Gina. Though Sister Number One did once say that I spent too much time reading about life instead of experiencing it, and she's not that keen on cats either.