Comedy Lab Round 2 Announcement

We are so excited to tell you that our Comedy Lab Round Two recipients have been selected! 

This round, we received 36 applications which were all passed on to our independent panel of assessors to be scored against the same criteria - Diversity, Creativity, and Ability. 

We’d like to extend a massive thank you to our panel of assessors who volunteered their time to select our top five applications. Thank you to: 

• Claire Hooper 
• Sashi Perera
• Dane Simpson
• Kirsty Webeck 
• Jude Perl 
• Ashley Apap 
• Andrea Powell 
• Gemma Dawes 
• Maggie Looke

The quality of applications in this round was outstanding and it was a very close call! We have no doubt these recipients are going to knock it out of the park with their projects. 

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Jett Bond - Arthur After Holmes 

A scripted narrative historical fiction podcast about Sir Arthur Conan - Doyle and the wacky life he led after writing Sherlock Holmes. 

Fin McLachlan and Danny Sewell - Fin and Danny Make Friends 

Lifelong best friends Fin and Danny have realised how hard it is to make new friends in their 20s. This podcast sees them pushing themselves out of their comfort zones, as they meet a brand new complete stranger each episode, and see if they can make themselves a friend. 

Ruwanthi Wiketunga - The Death of @BlancheMarcot 

This film revolves around a major theatre company’s crisis management meeting – taking place over the course of an hour in real time, this dramatic unfolding of events sees the Blanche Marcot Theatre Company’s cobbled-together crisis management task force desperately attempt to respond to an impending controversy which is mere hours away from breaking.

Melissa McGlensey and Douglas Wilson - Factions: the Podcast 

A serial audio gameshow – a reality tv show, but for your ears. In this social deduction game, played and recorded over several weeks, players have to figure out who is on their team, deduce team special powers, and survive each episode’s elimination vote. It’s a strategic whodunnit with outrageous twists. Listeners are invited to theorize, speculate, and play along. 

Tim Wingfield - Carn Ollie 

A comedy satire, set behind the scenes of fictional AFL media network Dingo Sports.

Rooted in character and Australia’s love for the game, the series tackles head on, the damaging hyper masculine attitudes and archaic culture of the AFL media.

Intent on claiming the gig of a lifetime, ambitious young footy journalist Ollie competes against her macho colleagues and their delicate egos to host the AFL Grand Final.

Each Comedy Lab recipient will receive in-kind support tailored to their project’s needs. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Access to our podcast and production studio 
• Desk space in our offices 
• Use of our rehearsal and meeting rooms 
• Connections to industry professionals for consultation and support

We also recently held one of our famous Sausage Days, a day for all of us at the studio to get together, hang out, and eat a sausage in bread. It was a great opportunity to see all of our new Comedy Lab recipients in a room together, and some of our Round One alumni popped by too! 

Work on these projects is already underway, and we can’t wait to update you again soon. Keep an eye on our socials, too! 

Lastly, thank YOU for your generous support. Comedy Lab could not happen without you and we are eternally grateful for all the contributions we have received.