Vijal Patel is an Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning writer and executive producer who has written for many award-winning comedy series including ABC’s BLACK-ISH and THE MIDDLE. Vijal currently serves as writer and co-executive producer of the ABC comedy series SCHOOLED, starring Tim Meadows and AJ Michalka. He also writes and develops feature film projects for the powerhouse studio DreamWorks. Vijal has built his career on writing comedy and using it to explore race, family, religion, politics, and class struggle. Full Bio »
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Netflix and Stage 32 have partnered on an exclusive global education series in an effort to democratize the worldwide entertainment industry. Together, over the course of 5 webcasts Stage 32's world class educators will bring their knowledge of what it takes to write, develop and produce today's television for the Stage 32 and Netflix creator community. These global webcasts have been seen by hundreds of thousands of creatives worldwide with a 100% satisfaction rate!
In our third webinar in this exclusive "Creating Television Content for a Global Marketplace" series, we are going to talk about how you can effectively write comedy screenplays for streaming television.
We're in an exciting time as we watch more and more comedies cross borders.The ability to bring humor to your storytelling is key to help you bond with a global audience. And, with streamers like Netflix looking for new, exciting, original funny stories from all over the world to produce, you have to put yourself in the best position to make sure your comedy stands out.
Shows like The Office have brought us together realizing that we all go through the same mundane work issues. Shows like Everybody Loves Raymond have helped us see that we all experience the same family dynamics and can laugh at them. Do you find humor in everyday things? Or, do you have a creative mind that invents humorous situations? If so, then comedy television writing is for you and Stage 32 and Netflix are going to teach you the ins and outs of writing great comedy screenplays.
To help you learn how to write great comedy television is Vijal Patel, an Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning writer and producer who has written for many award-winning comedy series including Black-Ish, The Middle, The Kids Are Alright, The Mayor and more. Vijal has built his career on writing comedy and using it to explore race, family, religion, politics, and class struggle. He is currently working on a show for Netflix.
Vijal will go into more detail on nuances of comedy, how your pilot will set you up for your season and how to make sure that you are breaking your story correctly to fall in your story lines.
The case studies he's going to go over in the webinar are:
Vijal will provide you 5 handouts:
Note: You will receive the Zoom link to login by the morning of the webinar.
If you are not yet a member of the Stage 32 community, we encourage you to join the community today at www.stage32.com, it is FREE! You will instantly connect with over 800,000 creatives and professionals in the entertainment industry from all over the world who use Stage 32 to network, find work, learn and develop their projects. YOU MUST HAVE A STAGE 32 PROFILE TO WATCH YOUR VIDEO.
SECTION 1 (MACRO)
GREAT COMEDY IS GLOBAL!
Let’s first discuss the big picture of TV comedies. This may seem basic, but it helps frame the important of your pilot in creating a whole series.
1) TWO BASIC GENRES OF TV COMEDY
2) TWO BASIC STYLES TO SHOOT
3) PILOT should do 3 IMPORTANT THINGS
4) TWO TYPES OF PILOTS
5) SENSE OF PLACE
6) MOST OF ALL you want to establish GREAT CHARACTERS
SECTION 2 (MICRO)
In this part we’ll delve a little more into the nitty-gritty of CRAFTING A COMEDY PILOT…
1) THREE ACT STRUCTURE
The basic comedy pilot follows a 3 Act structure.
2) A, B, C Story
3) UNDERSTANDING JOKES AND DIALOG
4) USING YOUR COMEDY PILOT AS A BLUEPRINT
5) HOW TO CREATE AND SUSTAIN DRAMATIC TENSION
6) HOW TO MAINTAIN TONE AND THEME
SECTION 3 (INTERACTIVE APPLYING THE THEORY)
As a fun exercise, we’re going to put these principals to work by “creating a show” right here and now! I will give a little logline to set it up and YOU ALL can help decide the style… character traits… possible arcs…
WRAP UP
Want to see the other webcasts in this exclusive Stage 32 + Netflix Creating Television Content for a Global Marketplace series?
Click here: TV Pitch Documents with Chris Mack
Click here: TV Pitch Documents with Chris Mack - Closed Caption
Click here: TV Story Structure with Anna Henry
Click here: Writing Scripts to Budget with Jeanette B. Milio
Click here: Writing Hit Sci-Fi Scripts for Streaming Television with Mickey Fisher
Click here: Writing Hit Comedy Scripts for Streaming Television with Vijal Pital
Click here: Writing Hit Drama for Streaming Television with Leila Cohan
Vijal Patel
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What is it about the most successful TV comedies that have allowed them to stand the test of time? Whether it’s ALL IN THE FAMILY, SEINFELD, PARKS AND RECREATION, or FLEABAG, it’s not the jokes that have made these shows so successful—as funny as they might be—it’s the characters. Distinct, hilarious, memorable and, above all, authentic characters are always the ingredient that will make a good TV comedy great. Whether you are working on your own comedy project or are hoping to write on an existing show, it’s crucial to have an understanding of what makes TV comedy characters great and how you can create your own Archie Bunkers and Leslie Knopes. Crafting great comedic characters is not only important in creating a successful show; it’s also how you can get noticed. After all, with so many different types of comedies in the marketplace, it is becoming the toughest genre to break into. Writing great characters can separate your work from the rest and give you the kind of attention that solid jokes and a good sense of humor simply can’t muster on their own. This means it’s vital not only to have great characters, but to know how to make them shine on the page. The good news is there are strategies and actionable lessons you can use to elevate the characters in your own television comedy. Vijal Patel is an Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning writer and executive producer who has written for many award-winning comedy series including ABC’s BLACK-ISH and THE MIDDLE. Vijal currently serves as writer and co-executive producer of the ABC comedy series SCHOOLED, starring Tim Meadows and AJ Michalka. He also writes and develops feature film projects for the powerhouse studio DreamWorks. Vijal has built his career on writing comedy and using it to explore race, family, religion, politics, and class struggle. In this exclusive Stage 32 webinar Vijal will teach you how to make your characters funny. He’ll go through the 2 most basic comedy archetypes and explain the difference between jokes and attitude humor. He’ll teach you how to differentiate your characters and ensure they’re unique and will guide you through both the “One Word” exercise and “Situation” exercise to help improve your characters, using examples from THE SIMPSONS, FLEABAG, BLACK-ISH, SEINFELD, and others. Vijal will then delve into how to make your characters feel authentic and how to write impactful character descriptions to ensure they pop on the page. Finally he will dive deep into how to write funny dialogue for your characters, including how to use humor, how to end the joke, metaphors, similes, and reactions. Vijal will leave you with a series of strategies and clear examples that you can bring back to your own project to make your characters, funnier, more memorable, and more authentic. Praise for Vijal's Stage 32 Webinar " LOVED IT!!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Vijal was very engaging, intelligent and helpful. He gave so much insight to the nuts and bolts of creating comedic characters that are authentic." -Debbie C. "Exactly what I needed to know" -Shashank M. "Great info, every moment jam packing with knowledge. Great perspective from a working writer." -Ashton S.
This Webinar has a 100% Satisfaction Rating! It’s undeniable that we’re witnessing a new era of unscripted television. The staggering, cultural success of shows like CHEF'S TABLE, CHEER, RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE, PAMELA: A LOVE STORY, LAST CHANCE U: BASKETBALL, LOVE IS BLIND and PERFECT MATCH signify in no uncertain terms that the appetite is huge for premium docuseries and will likely continue to be for at least the near future. In today’s rapidly evolving television landscape, one of the greatest challenges that producers face is how to develop series that will actually resonate in such an increasingly crowded space. Gone are the days of having an idea, putting a 3-page deck together and pitching it to 30 different networks in the hopes that several of them will make offers to further develop the series. Instead, the most effective way to produce a docu-series in today’s world is to secure many more parts of the package when bringing a new project to market. In a world of talent, access, format and projected story arc, the development of different types of shows require us to ask different questions of ourselves early on and throughout the development process. Doing this and working to stay ahead of the curve can very well situate you for success and put you on your way to produce your own premium docuseries. And, we're thrilled to bring you a Stage 32 Educator who can help you do just that. Andrew Fried is the Founder and President of Boardwalk Pictures, producers of premium non-fiction content for multiple networks and distributors, including Netflix, Showtime, YouTube and many others. A recipient of multiple Emmy wins and nominations (including six nominations and three wins for breakout Netflix hit CHEER just this year), Fried and Boardwalk strive to elevate and expand the idea of documentary television across an ever-growing unscripted landscape. Boardwalk has been responsible for some of the most prestigious unscripted series of the last few years. CHEF'S TABLE, now in its 7th season, received 8 Emmy nominations, won 3 James Beard Awards and the IDA Award for Best Documentary Series. CHEER, also on Netflix, has proven to be one of the platform's biggest successes. Other huge commercial hits include Gwyneth Paltrow's THE GOOP LAB, 7 DAYS OUT, STREET FOOD and LAST CHANCE U (now in its 4th season), the Showtime series ACTION and YouTube’s BEST SHOT. By revealing how the industry works behind popular docuseries and walking you through the entire timeline of what putting together content like this looks like, Andrew will give you clear tools and a practical roadmap you can use to make your own docuseries a reality. Praise for Andrew's Stage 32 Webinar "Really really great info. As someone who has had success in pitching docuseries before Andrews's information was spot on and I still got new info and ideas out of it!" -Matt R. "Great presentation. One of my top 2 favorite Stage 32 webinars I have attended. -Heather L.
Stage 32 is proud to continue our partnership with Raindance Film Festival for the 5th year in a row, and while we may not be able to all come together in London to celebrate so many amazing and talented filmmakers, we're thrilled to partner with Raindance to highlight global talent virtually and from the comfort and safety of our own homes. Even in its virtual format, Raindance continues to showcase and champion the best new films from all over the world, and included in this year's incredible program is a collection of remarkable short films. Stage 32 is bringing together some of the world's top up and coming short filmmakers whose most recent films are playing Raindance. Included in this conversation will be Arjan Brentjes, whose animated short film SAD BEAUTY is playing at Raindance, along with almost 30 other film festivals this year alone. Also featured will be London-based director and cinematographer Molly Manning Walker whose debut short film GOOD THANKS, YOU? will be playing this year's Raindance in addition BFI London, Bilbao, and Palm Springs Film Festivals. Rounding out the panel, is Will Niava, an Ivorian-Ghanaian film director based in Montréal, Canada, whose film ZOO won Stage 32's 5th Annual Short Film Contest and is currently selected at over 40 international film festivals. In this FREE Stage 32 webinar, Arjan, Molly, and Will will take part in an exclusive Q&A moderated by our very own Stage 32 Managing Director Amanda Toney to discuss the state of short filmmaking today and how they put together their most recent projects.
Jonathan is known as "Oleg," the hilarious sex-crazed Ukrainian cook, opposite Kat Dennings & Beth Behrs on the CBS hit comedy, "2 Broke Girls." He's been in a number of notable supporting roles, including CBS's "NCIS."
Commercial work can provide you with some of the most fun and lucrative work you can secure as an actor. Getting the right commercial spot with the right brand can help elevate you and your profile as an actor on a national level and capture the attention of casting directors, filmmakers and producers who want to work with you. Knowing what it takes to stand out and improve your callback / booking chances is essential to effectively outpace the competition and secure a lasting career in commercials. You've put the work into honing your craft, now it's time to learn how to navigate the landscape and land those roles. Auditioning for commercials takes special skills and knowhow in order for you to stand out from the pack and win the room. Unlike theatrical casting, you have more room to play and let the real YOU shine during your audition. At the end of the day, giving a great performance in the room is important, but being crushing the role and being memorable is even better. Almost always, casting directors see hundreds of actors for each commercial. You want to not only knock your audition out of the park, but keep yourself first and foremost in the minds of the casting director so you're remembered for the next role, the one after that, and so on. It may surprise you to learn, setting yourself apart is not as hard as you think. Karen Ryan has cast hundreds of commercials over the past 15 years and has in-depth knowledge of the things that directors, ad agencies and clients watch out for when choosing who best represents their brand. She has worked with Corona, Hyundai, Home Depot, Toyota, Walmart, Pizza Hut, Hershey's, Just For Men and more, as well as with major studios such as Disney and NBC Universal (among many others!). She has helped guide actors to be more effective in their choices, how they present themselves and how they can set themselves apart to ultimately improve their chances of booking commercial work. And now she's sharing that knowledge with you exclusively on Stage 32. Karen will teach you the knowledge of how to up your game in the fast paced, competitive world of commercials. You will go through the process from breakdown to booking and understand how to prep your commercial copy. She'll share with you what non-verbal clues can give you a competitive advantage and teach you the do's and don'ts (from a casting director's perspective) in the the casting room. You will know what casting directors and producers are ultimately looking for and how you can bring the best YOU to the audition. She'll also teach you where and when to go off script and improv to give yourself a distinct advantage when the time is right. You'll also learn how to deconstruct your reel (honestly) and how to best present it. You will gain complete insight into booking more commercial work and gain the tools and knowledge to help you win the room, book more work, and stay first and foremost in the casting director's mind. "Karen truly cares about bringing out my best self. Since working with her I have booked more roles in one year than I had in the previous 5. The acting industry needs more people like Karen!" - Sean R. "Excellent advice and guidelines for improved auditions" - Steven F. "Bring Karen back! She's great!" - Anne H. "Loved Karen and all the info she shared!" - Roxanne H.
AN IN-DEPTH THREE-PART CLASS (OVER 6 HOURS OF EDUCATION)! PLUS! Receive exclusive handouts, including a budget template, a "Ripomatic" example, and an overview of state tax credits. The detailed steps you need to get your project made - taught by a producer with over 70 projects produced. As a producer, it’s your job to get a film up and running and to put the pieces in place so cameras can start shooting and something fantastic can actually get made. You might already have a great script that you feel is ready to shoot, but especially for newer filmmakers and producers, the next steps you need to take can feel uncertain. Where are you going to get the money, and how much money do you actually need? Who’s going to direct, who’s going to star, and how can you get each player on board? What materials do you need to prepare ahead of time, and how can you use the connections you have (or make new connections you need) to get what you need going? The path from script to production can feel big, vague, and intimidating, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it, especially with the right guidance and understanding. Michael Wormser is featured as a "Go-To Producer" by Produced By Magazine and has produced features for Legendary, Lakeshore Entertainment, Netflix, and IFC Films, as well as series for Fox Television Studios, Hulu, FreeForm, Netflix, and 20th Century Digital. Michael’s long, long list of completed projects attests to his honed ability to get projects off the ground, an important talent for any producer and one he is excited to share with the Stage 32 community. In this three-part class, Michael will offer you a comprehensive and intensely helpful guide to the steps you need to take to actually get your project made by using your connections, finding the money, building your team, and closing the deals. His first class will focus on the steps you should take before “going out” with your script, including beta-testing your script, putting together your materials like lookbooks, budgets, and shooting schedules, and how to package your project. In the next session, Michael will lay out how to actually “go out” with your project, including how to pitch, how to build your network, and how to actually close the deal. Along the way, Michael will be answering your questions and giving you specific and helpful strategies you can take back to your own project. No matter how experienced you are, getting your passion project made is within your reach. Whether you’re a brand new producer or someone with more experience looking for a refresher or new perspective, Michael will give you the tools you need.