How to Be Annoying: Finding Your Comedic Voice
Find your unique voice through exploring writing’s possibilities.
With Andrew Ritchie
Nothing is as sacred as voice in writing. Editors look for essays with a strong voice. Film producers look for screenplays with a clear voice. Lena Dunham set out to be the voice of her generation. A lot of writing, art and performance courses set out to teach you a structure or set of technical or formal tools that are the ground rules of a craft. This ain't that. Let's instead dig into the work of writers and comedians with strong voices and think about how we can unleash our own distinct voices. By analysing the work of singular writers and performers like Conner O'Malley, Natalie Palamides, Josie Long, Julio Torres, George Saunders, James Acaster, Paul Beatty and Patricia Lockwood. This workshop is for writers developing distinct voices in any form: prose, performance, poetry or other. We'll take a close look at material in many different forms as well as workshopping your own work. Please bring existing material and/or be prepared to write something. Sharing work and thoughtful criticism is essential to growth as a writer. It's not required to be writing comedy or satire to join the course, there are other tones for voicey writing, but be aware that will be the majority of the work we analyse.
- Dates
- Mon 19 Oct, Mon 26 Oct, Mon 2 Nov, Mon 9 Nov, Mon 16 Nov
- Time
- 18:00–20:00
- Cost
- €125-250 (+ €5 membership fee for new members)
- Attendance type
- You should attend the full course
- Desired audience
- Writers, screenwriters, comedians, poets.
- What should I bring?
- Anyone is welcome. Preferably bring some existing body of work so we can start to get to know your own writing voice. Bring your own pen and notebook.
- Class type
- Audiovisual & Writing, Comedy, Writing
- Space
- Container
About the artist
Andrew Ritchie is a writer and comedian from Chicago who's made Berlin his second adopted home (after Brooklyn). He likes to break rules. His writing has appeared in VICE, Nobody and Freewilliamsburg. He's performed at spaces like Martin-Gropius-Bau, The Edinburgh Fringe, The Bell House, Comedy Cafe Berlin, the Annoyance Theater and the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater. He was a dumbfounded winner of Berlin's Petty Slam, the only poetry slam he's ever participated in. Andrew has an alternative standup hour and is working on his first novel, an absurdist, neurotic comedy set in the Berlin techno scene.
Instagram: ritchieleakshttps://linktr.ee/andrewritchie
Accessibility
The solidarity spot for this course is now booked. 90mil is wheelchair accessible. Please see the yellow section below for more on accessibility.
Sliding scale
We use a sliding scale to make courses as affordable as possible. Here’s how to use it: Lower end: You don’t have a stable income. Mid range: You have a less stable financial situation and are more selective about where you spend your money. Higher end: You experience relative financial stability. Solidarity spot: You’re experiencing financial precarity and wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford to come to a workshop.