The Comedy Writers Group

My guest this week is the brilliant Tim Batt. Tim is a comedian, podcaster, and producer. Podcast fans will know him from his cult-hit podcast The Worst Idea of All Time that he co-hosts alongside Guy Montgomery.

We discuss making stuff for money versus making stuff for fun, the origins of his podcast, shooting a pilot in a sewer, and the preciousness of time as parent.

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It's time for another Group Workshop episode! I'm joined by Comedy Writers Group members: Mema, Phil, and Christopher to workshop some new material and tackle some challenging scenarios.

We chat about how to approach performing outside, turning sandwiches into a story, and how boring sobriety can be. We also discuss the pre-show ritual and how we prepare for a show.

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This week I'm joined by the great Ray O'Leary (Thank God You're Here, Have You Been Paying Attention, Taskmaster NZ). We chat about how things changed when Ray put on the suit, starting out in Wellington, being stopped in the street, the value of setting goals, and the importance of persona.

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This week I'm joined by John Glover who you might know from the Sydney comedy scene, or from the world-wide phenomenon, Breaking The Musical. We chat about John leaving his full-time job for comedy, explore the Japanese philosophy of ikigai (the reason for being), his stand-up special , and how he plans to make the most of the next twelve months in his comedy career.

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This week I'm joined by the iconic Roz Hammond. You might know Roz from every brilliant Australian comedy from the past thirty years like The Dish, Muriel's Wedding, Mad as Hell, The Librarians, Full Frontal, or The Eric Bana Sketch Show.

We chat about Roz's career, how she got started, how she persevered, and what led her to running public speaking workshops. I also gather the courage to tell Roz about my screenplay.

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This week I'm joined by comedian, musician, actor, Blake Everett. We chat about his latest project The Wham Bam Thankyou Jam, his children's theatre company, meeting his comedy heroes, and the value of having fun.

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This week I'm joined by the brilliant Gen Fricker! We chat about Gen's return to stand-up, her love for Maria Bamford, her first directing experience, and what she has learned (and unlearned) from her fifteen years in comedy. It's a fantastic chat.

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It's time for a Group Workshop episode! I'm joined by up-and-coming comedians (and CWG members) Maggie Baker, Marnie Mills, and Freya Morton for a comedy roundtable. We swap jokes, stories, and advice.

We cover a lot of ground in this episode from how to end a story, dealing with heavy subject matter, structuring a show, and a whole lot of ADULTS ONLY content that will sound too strange outside of context.

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On this week's bonus episode I'm joined by Chris McAllister AKA The Trans Comedian (boasting 49.1K followers on instagram!) to chat about going into comedy full-time. We talk about the first gig, making stuff for the internet, we workshop a new joke, and more.

Chris is a member of the CWG and I always love platforming our members. Catch Chris and a line-up of gender-diverse comedians at the Sydney Fringe.

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This week I'm joined by the brilliant Daniel Connell (Have You Been Paying Attention, MICF Gala) to chat about his latest special Little Aussie Battler available to watch now on Youtube. We chat about Dan's fifteen years in stand-up, his relationship with bells and whistles, the value of management, and how he approaches filming his work.

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On this week's bonus episode I'm joined by Bahaa Dabbagh to talk about turning his story as a refugee into a comedy show premiering at the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

We chat about the gig that started it all, show development, the Melbourne open mic scene, community events and much more.

Buy tickets to My Refugee Disorder here.

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This week I'm joined by returning guest Emma Leonard to chat about the premiere of her movie Zombucha at the Melbourne International Film Festival. We chatted about the writing of the screenplay way back on Episode 49! I'm also lucky to be joined by special guest co-host Eleanor Stankiewicz.

We chat about how it feels to see your vision on the big screen, the development process, early reviews, creative relationships, test screenings, the next phase of making a movie, and a whole lot more.

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This week I'm joined by Ece, Beray, and Esma from comedy collective: The Migration Office. We talk about what it's like to come to comedy from a Muslim background, joining improv to help with conversational Turkish, variety nights, character comedy, and how open mics compare to community-led events.

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This week on the podcast I'm joined by the great Oliver Hunter.

We chat about the fun-side and not-so-fun side of stand-up comedy, cracking jokes about living with a disability, the first bomb, and his new show that dares to get a bit darker and angrier.

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This week I'm joined by Andy, Jack, and Jess from Weird Neighbour, filmmakers and sketch creators. We talk about how Weird Neighbour got started, the value of collaboration, why short-form, how to approach a sketch, branding, and the goals for the future.

We also get a cameo from their new intern, Malcolm.

I think you'll leave just as inspired as I was.

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This week I'm joined by the brilliant Mark Humphries to talk about his new documentary SOLD! Who Broke The Australian Dream?

We chat about how Mark came to comedy, his brush with stand-up, the importance of collaboration, how to make serious topics funny, and the not-so-fun-parts of making stuff like getting called out by Media Watch.

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This week I'm joined by the great Peter Jones! Originally from Melbourne, now residing in London, I wanted to pick Pete's brain about the move and adapting to a new scene. We chat about Edinburgh Fringe, the comedy "middle-class", and how he came to put out his first special.

You can watch Pete's first special here.

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Free to listen for a limited time only. On this week's bonus episode you get to be a fly on the wall in one of our online Comedy Workshop Sessions.

Hear what it's like to come along to one of our weekly sessions with new material from Laura Bruce and Kirsty Carr.

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The great Bec Hill makes her triumphant return to the podcast to chat about her new show coming to the Edinburgh Fringe... at least that was the intention. We ended up talking a great deal about writers block, the nervous system, and the value of BREATHING. It's an excellent chat that should leave you feeling totally inspired.

Expect a lot of shout-outs of folks to check out at the Edinburgh Fringe 2025.

Follow Bec and go see her new show!

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I'm joined by Patrick Lenton on the podcast this week to talk about his debut novel!

We get stuck into the behind-the-scenes of how the novel came to be, the realities life as a freelance writer, romantic comedies, the development process, and the emotions that come with the novel's impending release.

Patrick's novel, In Spite of You will hit shelves in early August.

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On this week's episode I'm joined by the brilliant Janty Blair AKA Aunty Janty.

We chat about the importance of gratitude and Janty's astounding story of coming to comedy in her fifties. We also talk about going on tour, the value of collaboration, and there's a celebrity cameo or two!

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This week I'm joined by CWG members Roisin, Freddie, and Andy to workshop some new material. This episode goes places! Dark and racy ones! You won't want to play this one with the kids in the car.

We chat about "bringer" shows, what it's like to perform nude, before getting into new jokes ranging from shower caddy politics to mental health honesty on dating apps.

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This week I'm joined by Maddy Weeks (Best Newcomer Nominee 2024) to chat about how they came to comedy, circus school, props, and how what you wear on stage can say a lot about your act.

We also chat a lot about the value of hobbies outside of comedy, thanks to my mum for the great listener-submitted question!

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On this week's episode I'm joined by Ethan Cavanagh (In Pour Taste, The Late Nite PowerPoint Showcase, MICF Best Newcomer Nominee 2025) to chat how he approaches putting on a show, how he started comedy in high school, how to hook an audience, and navigating full-time comedy.

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This week I've invited my mates Fiona Cox and Steph Broadbridge to come swap some jokes. We chat ear wax, legroom, and the perils of fame. We also get stuck into how to manage leaving full-time work for comedy.

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This week I'm joined by stand-up, improviser, actor, and beautiful weirdo, Ben Russell. We chat about how the American and Australian comedy scenes compare, his relationship with improv, comedy classes, how it all began, and what's next.

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This week I'm joined by Lana Walters (Billy T Award Winner, 7 Days, The Project NZ) to workshop some new bits!

Before we get into chatting new material, we discuss what it's like to be a comedy judge, winning awards, and how Lana got into stand-up.

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This week I'm joined by musical comedian and viral sensation, Emerson Brophy to chat about his experience making music on the world wide web! Emerson has millions of views across the various platforms. We chat about the early days, lockdown, social commentary, and the move to live shows.

Become a member to get this week's bonus episode with EXTRA EMERSON where we talk about building a song from scratch.

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It's our final episode of our live series recorded at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. I'm joined by special guest co-host Amy Hetherington (award-winning comedian and Queen of Darwin comedy) and cult-fave David Quirk (Rosehaven, Please Like Me).

We chat about the challenges around festivals, tackling tough subject matter, the ambition required to maintain a career, and finding your crowd. Amy and David have so much wisdom to share, I think you'll love this episode.

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On this week's episode I'm joined by the brilliant David Correos!

We chat about David's unusual route to comedy, what he learned on Taskmaster, outsider art, and how his latest show combines stand-up and a rave.

David is currently on tour so make sure you catch him when he's in your neighbourhood.

Follow The Comedy Writers Group on instagram and join the patreon to get weekly bonus episodes, 90+ episodes behind the paywall, access our exclusive facebook group, and come along to our weekly online writing and workshop sessions.

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This week we have our second LIVE episode from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. I'm joined by guest co-host Bron Lewis (Have You Been Paying Attention? Thank God You're Here) and Laura Davis (twice nominated Most Outstanding Show and cult-favourite). We cover a lot of ground from crowdwork's oversaturation, ticket sales, and different approaches to writing and editing.

Bron and Laura have finished their MICF seasons but be sure to follow them so you can catch them when they're next in your neighbourhood.

Recorded April 6th at The Theory Bar.

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On this week's episode I'm joined by the brilliant Blake Freeman (Question Everything, The MICF Gala, Best Newcomer Winner) to chat about his move to New York. We get into the highs and the lows of moving to a new scene before digging into a chunk from his new show.

If you're in Melbourne there's one more week to catch Blake at MICF. Follow Blake on instagram and be sure to grab tickets.

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A special live episode recorded at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival featuring Olga Koch (Live at the Apollo, QI), Kate Dolan (award-winning cult favourite), and Dane Simpson (MICF Gala, The Emu War).

We chat about the Australian comedy scene, making money, the value of public speaking skills, and workshop a new joke from Dane Simpson.

We have one more LIVE episode coming up on the 13th of April. Grab your tickets.

Follow Dane, Kate, Olga, and go see their shows!

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Something a little different this week! The phone lines are open to members of Comedy Writers Group community performing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. I wanted to give members an opportunity to tell listeners about their show and to talk about what was on their mind like a good old fashioned advice line.\

Across the episode we chat healthy habits, pacing yourself, finding the fun, online marketing, editing your show, and what to do after the festival.

Make sure you follow Louisa Jones, Freddie Arthur, Oliver Hunter, Laura Bruce, Lauren Edwards, and...

This week I'm joined by the brilliant Anirban Dasgupta to chat about pursuing comedy in India. We chat about the beginning of the Indian stand-up scene, doing comedy in Australia, producing gigs, and we discuss Anirban's latest show Cry Daddy coming to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Follow Anirban and go see his show when he comes to your town.

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This week I'm joined by the magnificent Emma Holland! You might know Emma from Have You Been Paying Attention and Thank God You're Here. She's also on the upcoming season of Taskmaster Australia. I chat to Emma about her Raw Comedy experience, building community, writing for TV, and managing a hefty work schedule.

Forgive this episode being recorded out of the studio - fortunately the content is excellent - it just lacks that studio crispness!

Follow Emma and go see her show when it gets to your town. 

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Stephanie Hare returns as we continue the journey of developing a show for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. I wanted to give listeners a sense of how I direct a show, and to let you be a fly-on-the-wall as a stand-up show comes to life

.

Make sure you listen to Part 1 first!

Follow Stephanie and grab tickets to her show.

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The brilliant Kate Dolan returns to the podcast to chat about all the ups and downs since we last talked. We talk about content creation, the fear of rejection, developing a show, shooting a special, making comedy a viable enterprise, and much more. It's also a very silly episode.

Go see Kate Dolan when she comes to your city.

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I'm joined by expert one-liner comedian, Mark Simmons, all the way from the UK. We chat about Mark's love affair with the one-liner, how he came to comedy (via a member of the CWG), branding, joke competitions, and being accused of joke thievery.

Mark has a new special out called Quip Off The Mark that you can check out on Youtube.

He's also on tour so make sure you follow Mark so you can see him when we comes to your neighbourhood.

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The magnificent Steph Broadbridge returns to the podcast to chat about Breaking The Musical, a show that has already taken the world by storm despite the fact it hasn't even opened yet. We talk about the origin of the idea, rehearsal, and what is going through Steph's mind this close to the debut at the Adelaide Fringe.

We also chat about Steph's experience as a judge for the Raw Comedy competition and what catches her eye from the judges' table.

Follow Steph and grab tickets to the show in Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney.

This week we're joined by the brilliant Han Arbuthnott. We chat about starting comedy in High School, neurodiversity, coming out, identity, and more. It's a great chat and you should go see Han at the Adelaide Fringe and Melbourne Comedy Festival.

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On this week's episode I'm joined by improviser and actor Jason Geary. We chat about Jason's thirty year career from his appearances in shows like Thank God You're Here, Skithouse, Neighbours, and Fisk, to his first love of improv.

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I wanted to give you insight into what's involved in directing a show from scratch. This week I'm joined by Stephanie Hare (Raw Comedy National Finalist 2024) for our first directing session. I wanted this episode to emulate a one-on-one as closely as possible.

We'll check back in with Stephanie in the bonus feed so sign up to the Podcast Fan tier if you want to go on the journey together.

We also chat about Steph's experience at the Raw National Finals and opening for Maria Bamford on her Australian tour.

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This week I'm joined by special guest Jasmine Ellis all the way from LA. We talk about what it takes to make it as a comedian in LA, getting attention online, the hustle, ADHD comedy, and her new special Black Girl Panic.

Follow Jasmine here and find links to all her brilliant content.

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This week we have special guests Mel McGlensey and Belinda Anderson-Hunt. Mel and Bel are both brilliant comedians and Gaulier graduates. I wanted to ask them about their experience in clowning and how it has informed their work. We also chat about improv, festival shows, and attempt to get to the heart of what 'clowning' is to them.

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We’re counting down the comedy highlights of the year that was. Featuring special guest, Freya Reviews. In Part 2 we finish talking favourite specials before talking about our top live experiences, and personal achievements. We also announce the Top 5 episodes of the year - and The CWG Comedian of the Year!

What did you love? What did we miss?

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Grab the remaining tickets for the Comedy Writers Retreat!

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We’re counting down the comedy highlights of the year that was. Featuring special guest, Freya Reviews. In Part 1 we cover our favourite TV shows, movies, and specials of 2024. We also have an much overdue catch-up!

What did you love? What did we miss?

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Grab the remaining tickets for the Comedy Writers Retreat!

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Adam Bloom, author of Finding Your Comic Genius, is my guest this week. Adam is a comedian with thirty years of experience and his book on writing and performing stand-up. His book, released in 2023, has become a hit among comedians so I was eager to find out the story behind its author.

We chat about how Adam came to write the book, self-publishing, touring, networking, and more. We also have some great listener submitted questions too.

Buy the book here.

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Let's run some brand new jokes with special guests Lauren Edwards and Nicolette Minster. Lauren and Nicolette are brilliant stand-up comedians with shows coming up at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (they're also members of the CWG - what a brag.)

We chat about coming to stand-up comedy "a little later" in life before getting stuck into workshopping some brand new material from the three of us. Expect farts, robots, and phantoms.

Follow Lauren and Nicolette for all the info about their upcoming shows.

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My guest this week is Maggie Looke, award-winning writer, producer, and director. She has written for shows like Hard Quiz and Have You Been Paying Attention and directed massive hit shows like Ultimate Hollywood Tours and Bronwyn Kuss' 2024 show which was awarded The Pinder Prize.

We chat about Maggie's various roles behind-the-scenes and how it has led to being an in-demand writer and director.

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The brilliant Steen Raskopolous is my guest on the show this week. You might know Steen from his several screen credits including The Office Australia, The Duchess, and Feel Good or you might know him from his incredible work as an improviser and solo performer in shows like The Bear Pack and his award-winning solo shows.

We chat about Steen's life moving to the UK, how improv has influenced his career, the value of mentorship, and how he's still making it up as he goes along.

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Hayley Edwards is my guest on the podcast this week. Hayley is actor who recently saw a huge amount of acclaim for the Melbourne Fringe production of their play Shitbag which they wrote, produced, and performed.

We chat about how the play came to be and how Hayley turns challenging subject matter into comedy. We also discuss Hayley's journey to one-person-shows and the trickiness of labels.

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The great Luke Heggie is my guest on the podcast this week.

Heggie is an incredible comedian and one of my all-time favourites. He has sold-out shows, appeared on shows like the MICF Gala, Question Everything, and Just For Laughs.

We chat about how Heggie approaches stand-up, making it a job, building audiences, and quality control. It's a great chat.

Follow Luke on instagram and check out his podcast Mid-Flight Brawl.

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I'm joined this week by the brilliant Myq Kaplan all the way from NYC. Myq is an incredible comedian with decades of experience and a remarkable CV, with appearances on Conan, Letterman, Seth Meyers, and more. With the US Election taking up all the news, I wanted to hear how it was all going from a comedian's point of view.

We chat about life as an American comedian, how Myq approaches joke writing, building a career, and how Myq plans to manage another Trump presidency.

Find links to Myq's work including his albums, specials...

On this week's episode I'm joined by Dylan Murphy. Along with being a Raw National Finalist, Dylan is also a sought-after comedy director having worked with Scout Boxall, Hannah Camilleri, and Dougie Baldwin.

We chat about Dylan's approach to directing, how he got into comedy, and the value of collaboration.

Follow Dylan on instagram.

Buy tickets to Marcel & "Friends" at The Improv Conspiracy Nov 9th.

Catch The Newlyweds at Improv Theatre Sydney on Nov 14th.

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This week I'm joined by the remarkable Ahir Shah. I met Ahir back in 2016 at the Adelaide Fringe and we were well overdue for a catch-up. You might have seen him on Mock the Week, Have I Got News For You or his special on Max. Ahir won the prestigious Best Comedy award at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe. I wanted to hear about the development of the show as well as how it felt to have it recorded for Netflix.

We also chat about finding pathos, show structure, working with the great Adam Brace, the value of a...

Lara Ricote is my special guest this week. Lara is an “equal halves Mexican, American, and Venezuelan” comedian based in the Netherlands. Her show GRL/LATNX/DEF won Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe and is available to watch on Youtube. We chat about how comedy compares around the world, finding our identity on stage, the value of clowning, and accessibility in the performing arts. It's such a great chat and I had the best time hanging out with Lara.

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I'm joined by special guests Sonia Di Iorio and Samuel Gebreselassie for a group workshop. We chat about university initiations, how to kick off a story, inheritance, the poetry in comedy, writing on stage, and we dig into running comedy rooms.

Follow Samuel and Sonia on instagram.

Join The Comedy Writers Group on patreon to access all the episodes and our online mentoring sessions on zoom.

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 The brilliant Dave Warneke is our guest this week! Dave is the co-host of the incredibly popular podcast Do Go On along with being an accomplished comedian, writer, musician, and producer.

I chat to Dave about how he found himself in the world of comedy and how it led to building a podcast empire. We tackle musical comedy and concept shows.

Find Dave's podcasts Do Go On and Book Cheat where ever you get your podcasts.

Subscribe to The Comedy Writers Group on patreon to unlock all our episodes 1 - 100.

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We've hit 100 episodes so we marked the occasion with a special live edition of the podcast with special guest Lizzy Hoo. Featuring a live listener joke submission by Oliver Hunter.

Lizzy talks Harry Potter lego and I chat about overly masculine hairdressers. We also talk about self-tapes, The Office Australia, and the festival cycle.

Also featuring cameos from Thom, Justin, Ainslie, and Rusty.

Thanks to everyone who came along and The Theory Bar for hosting us.

Special thanks to Bren for producing the episode.

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The sensational Hannah Camilleri is on the podcast this week. I chat to the Pinter Prize winner about her background of acting and clown training, and how it led to creating the smash-hit Lolly Bag (directed by Dylan Murphy.)

I was such a huge fan of her show so it was a delight to get to talk to her all about it. We discuss Gaulier, creating characters, international touring and more.

Follow Hannah here.

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Comedian, writer, presenter, Jennifer Wong, is our guest on this week's episode of The Comedy Writers Group podcast. We chat about her new book Chopsticks or Fork co-written by Lin Jie Kong.

We discuss Jennifer's decades of experience and how she opened doors along the way. We talk Good News Week, Rove, radio, and puns!

Follow Jennifer on instagram.

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This week I'm joined by director Charlotte George and actor Miriam Glaser. We chat all about their new web series Buried, which they co-wrote and developed together. We discuss funding, stunt work, blood continuity, and most importantly, how to get stuff made.

You can watch Buried on Youtube.

You can follow the director Charlotte on instagram.

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Scout Boxall is our special guest this week to chat burnout in the comedy industry. Scout wrote an excellent article on the subject for the ABC so I was especially keen to get them into the studio to chat all about it.

We tackle burnout from all sorts of angles from how to identify it to how to recover from it. We also chat about the financial side of the stand-up game and how a lot of the hidden variables can make it a tricky industry to navigate.

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The incredible Gabbi Bolt is on the podcast this week! You may have seen Gabbi on The Weekly, Spicks & Specks, and Question Everything. We chat about how Gabbi went viral during lockdown, leading to opportunities on a path she never expected to go down.

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It's time for another Group Workshop. These are special episodes where I invite members of The Comedy Writers Group on to share material and punch-up their drafts. This episode I'm joined by Jeremy Dooley from Melbourne and Louisa Jones from Brisbane. We're fresh from The Winter Writers Retreat and feeling inspired.

Got tags and punch-ups? Put them in the comments!

Follow Jeremy and Louisa on instagram.

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This episode is free for a limited time only!

Frankie McNair is our special guest this week. Frankie is a Melbourne comedian, originally from the ACT. We chat about how Frankie approaches being an absolute goofball on stage, doing character comedy, along with tackling burn-out, and the challenges of moving to a new city.

Follow Frankie on instagram.

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Rose Bishop is our special guest this week. We chat about navigating dark and sensitive subject matter while laughing a lot along the way. We also chat about stage fright, theme versus subject, promoting a show, and much more.

Trigger warning for conversation around death and suicide.

Follow Rose on instagram and go see her shows!

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A special episode this week with my live recording of my most recent festival show recorded in May at the Sydney Comedy Festival.

Thanks to Raphael Stephens for the recording and Irene Nicola for being a brilliant accompanist. Huge thanks to everyone from the CWG who was in the audience.

Let me know what you think!

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I've fast-tracked this Q & A to your podcast feed because it's so damn good. We're joined by Comedy Writers Group regular and all-round legend, Lizzy Hoo, to hear about how she stays creatively motivated. We also chat about how she became a comedian in her 30s and made comedy her full-time career.

Thanks to everyone who came along to enjoy the live session. Special thanks to everyone who asked questions: Justin, Mikee, Chelsea, Esky, Danielle, Lauren, Sarah, and Claire.

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The excellent Aidan Jones is on the latest episode. We talk about his upcoming show that combines Aidan's love of classical music with his love of stand-up comedy. Aidan is a passionate comedy fan that I've known since I started so I was really keen to chat to him about starting in Adelaide, why he loves Edinburgh, and what's next for his career.

We also workshop a joke from Rob!

Follow Aidan on instagram and see his show in Edinburgh.

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