WHILE the Covid pandemic came with tragic results, many found opportunity in its enforced isolation, writes Jean Main-Reade. Jason Moyle, a long-serving volunteer at Cornwall Hospital Broadcasting Network (CHBN) and an avid sitcom fan, chose to use the unexpected free time to start a project which had been in his mind for a while: why not write his own sitcom?

Despite starting from zero, with no proper notion of scriptwriting, timing or any of the factors necessary to create a successful production, Jason produced Rock Lobster, set in Cornwall and recorded post-lockdown by CHBN volunteers.

Bitten by the bug, Jason decided to learn how to write to a professional standard, and in May 2024 turned to Falmouth University’s Comedy Writing MA - a two-year part-time online course that can be fitted around other commitments. Students learn to write comedy for performance on stage, screen or radio; and to be read, for example stories, magazine sketches, poetry and more.

Jason researched TV and radio sitcoms going back years. Where can the humour be found in mundane situations? Will the story be happy or dark? Who are the characters, what are their relationships and how do they interact?

The Comedy Writing MA required the composition of two separate scripts as well as other assignments. For Jason, a vital component was the business angle. How can a sitcom be submitted to a production company with a good chance of acceptance? Is an agent necessary, and how can you persuade one to take you on?

Jason has just graduated with an MA degree with Merit! Now the task begins to take his scripts to the next level – perhaps by making more recordings for broadcast on CHBN, but with ambitions to reach a wider audience. Watch this space.

Find CHBN on 100.8 FM, on app, on your smart speaker, and online at www.chbnradio.org