Advice on breaking into comedy
 Jon Mountague
Jon Mountague has produced a number of sitcoms including I'm With Stupid, and 10:96. He's currently head of the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Comedy North unit in Manchester where he scours the region to find and develop new comedy talent.
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He tells us about his experience in the industry and gives us an insight into the world of a commissioner. He also gives us his view on what makes a great sitcom and how to make your work stand out.
Q1. How did you get into comedy?
At university I shared flat with a stand up comedian. I helped out with writing material, and then created my own material. I was always a fan of comedy as a kid. I was lucky enough to get a job on Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú comedy radio after graduating from university.
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Q2. What is it about a script that makes you sit up and take notice?
First is good story and second is lots of jokes. I’m in the business of creating comedy. If a script has not made me laugh by page five I probably won’t read on.
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Q3. What one person thinks is funny is not necessarily the same as the next person – how do you make an overall decision as to what the general public will think is funny?
I have got a good take on the broad remit of Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Comedy which serves four different channels four different flavours. If I see a comedy that I think will fit on Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Three but not Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú One, I can identify that.
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Q4. How important is a technically accurate script – eg will you only consider correctly laid out scripts?
I think writers should adopt a professional approach. We encourage professionalism and we want it to be easy to read as we receive a lot of scripts. But we always keep the door open.
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Q5. Is any topic taboo in your mind when evaluating potential comedy scripts?
I don’t think anything is taboo. We like sophisticated and we like clever. Racist and sexist are not sophisticated and are not clever.
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Q6. What is the difference, for a scriptwriter, between writing for a sketch show and writing for a sitcom, and would you consider either?
I look at both. Sketches are a bit like jokes. They are shorter. Sitcoms are more comic stories. Sitcoms tend to have a single authored voice whereas sketch shows are created by lots of different writers.
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Q7. What do you think is the best way a scriptwriter can improve his or her skills?
I don’t think you can teach someone to be funny. The only way to improve is to keep writing. You are a better writer if you sit down and write a sitcom and see how bad it is.
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