News & Advice

Five practical tips for being funny and improvising well. As recently shared while teaching ‘Comedy for Actors’ for Spotlight, improv is a really useful tool – whether trying to be funny or get booked. Oddly, to be funny, you don’t actually have to try. Don’t try to be funny, sexy, or clever – because you […]

In this episode of the Spotlight Podcast, we chat to actor and comedian Jonny Weldon about auditions, comedy, making your own work and social media. Spotlight member Jonny Weldon is an actor, writer, comedian, and content creator who has performed on stage and screen from a young age. He can be seen in Sneakerhead, Stath Lets Flats, […]

In this episode of the Spotlight Podcast, we speak to Dave Hearn, actor and co-founder of Olivier Award winning theatre company, Mischief Theatre. We discuss Dave’s journey with Mischief Theatre, from the early days of performing in rooms above pubs, right through to the West End transfers and TV commissions that followed. 54 minute listen […]

Maureen Younger offers her advice for budding comedians on how to secure gigs and get your start on the comedy scene In the old days, you’d buy a copy of Time Out, scan the Comedy pages, and ring up those listings looking for ‘interested acts’ to give them a call. Now, of course, it’s all […]

Where actors are required to put on a new character with every role, performing standup is all about developing a single consistent ‘persona’ to adopt and grow each time you take to the stage. Developing your comedy persona is the lynchpin to becoming a good comedian. In short, it is learning how to be you […]

How your acting skills give you a head start as a comedian! When I started stand up, I’d been to just the one comedy gig and had no idea about the circuit. Egged on by an acquaintance, I attended a course at The Actors Centre, at the end of which I had to perform 5 minutes […]