By Ken Levine -- http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/ Good stuff about sitcoms. Ken wrote for The Simpsons, Mash, Cheers, Fraiser -- has been a showrunner, had his own show, made movies... Just really a wealth of insight at his blog.

Two more suggestions for blogs: Jane Espenson's Archives are a master class in writing comedy. She hasn't updated the site in years and it doesn't matter: start with the earliest posts and read your way through, for an outstanding analysis of how humor works in writing and how to do it well. BBC Comedy writer James Cary's blog Sitcom Geek is about the mechanics of situation comedy, and is also worth reading cover to cover.

Plays & Playwrights I feel like comedy is the screen genre that still has the strongest ties to the theatre and can still learn from playwrights: character, plot, structure, situation comedy, and comic dialogue. I'm partial to The Theatre of the Absurd myself: Edward Albee Fernando Arrabal Samuel Beckett (Waiting for Godot) Friedrich Dürrenmatt Eugène Ionesco (Exit the King) Harold Pinter Sir Tom Stoppard (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead) --and to farce: Alan Ayckbourn (Taking Steps) Ray Cooney Noël Coward (Blithe Spirit) Georges Feydeau (A Flea in her Ear) Michael Frayn (Noises Off*) Larry Gelbart (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) Anthony Marriott & Alistair Foot (No Sex Please, We're British) Jean Poiret (La Cage Aux Folles) Peter Shaffer (Black Comedy) Oscar Wilde (The Importance of Being Ernest) *There's a 1992 screen adaptation of Noises Off with an all-star cast that is very funny, but doesn't come close to doing the play justice. See a live performance if you can, but if not, the film comes in a distant second. But there's also: Shakespeare's comedies Anton Chekhov** (The Proposal) Christopher Durang Herb Gardner George S. Kaufman Ken Ludwig (Lend me a Tenor) Ann-Marie MacDonald (Goodnight Desdemona [Good Morning Juliet]) Don Nigro (Ravenscroft) George Bernard Shaw (Pygmalion) Neil Simon Paula Vogel (The Baltimore Waltz) Wendy Wasserstein (The Heidi Chronicles) **"What people forget about Chekhov is that he began as a humorist; he was a comic writer, and with age he became a serious writer. When at first he tried to write for the stage, he wanted to write serious plays, but it didn’t work, so he wrote farces. His first successes in the theater were farces: The Proposal, The Bear, and so on, straightforward commercial plays." -- Michael Frayne on Checkhov in The Paris Review The great thing about plays is...you should be able to find most of these in any half-way decent public library for free. And if you have an opportunity to see a live performance (and support actors in your community), all the better.

Online Comedy Writing Workshop - I run an online comedy-writing workshop called The Comedy Wing. It includes an archive of hundreds of articles about the theory and practice of writing comedy, plus space to brainstorm and workshop with other writers. If any GITS readers would like to check it out: 1. set up a (free) account at Zoetrope; and 2. send me a "zmail" on the site's private message system to "Comedy Wing" asking for an invitation, and I'll give you access. Lurkers are welcome as well as active participants. (This is 100% free: I created it to support and network with other comedy writers.)

Stephen Hoover's blog Wagstaff - on how to write comedy, worth reading in full

OneUpMe.com hosts a variety of daily wordplay games that foster abstract and creative thought. Jesse Eisenberg from "Zombieland" and "The Social Network" came up with it. A comedy writer friend recommended it to me and said he's "found it to be an addictive way of getting my brain going in the morning". (A Facebook account is required to play.)

The London Comedy Writers Festival--I've heard good things about it but have never attended. Can any UK readers comment on it?

Here's a recap of what we've got so far. (No links, or it will wedge up in the moderation queue and spam filters, but I've emailed the file with the links intact to Scott.) Blogs Jane Espenson’s Archives Sitcom Geek by BBC Comedy writer James Cary Wagstaff by Stephen Hoover The World as Seen by a TV Comedy Writer…by Ken Levine Forums The British Comedy Guide Forum, which includes a Writers’ Discussion section and Critique, a peer review section Newsletters The British Comedy Guide newsletter Chortle Digest weekly roundup of comedy news Steve Kaplan’s newsletter The first two have a low signal-to-noise ratio, but come through with gems on occasion. The third is the best way to find out about Steve Kaplan’s upcoming comedy workshops; it’s a low frequency newsletter and as I recall sometimes has article or interview links as well. Plays & Playwrights Edward Albee Fernando Arrabal Alan Ayckbourn (Taking Steps) Samuel Beckett (Waiting for Godot) Anton Chekhov (The Proposal) Ray Cooney Noël Coward (Blithe Spirit) Christopher Durang Friedrich Dürrenmatt Georges Feydeau (A Flea in her Ear) Michael Frayn (Noises Off) Herb Gardner Larry Gelbart (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) Eugène Ionesco (Exit the King) George S. Kaufman Ken Ludwig (Lend me a Tenor) Anthony Marriott & Alistair Foot (No Sex Please, We’re British) Ann-Marie MacDonald (Goodnight Desdemona [Good Morning Juliet]) Don Nigro (Ravenscroft) Harold Pinter Jean Poiret (La Cage Aux Folles) Peter Shaffer (Black Comedy) Shakespeare’s comedies George Bernard Shaw (Pygmalion) Neil Simon Sir Tom Stoppard (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead) Paula Vogel (The Baltimore Waltz) Wendy Wasserstein (The Heidi Chronicles) Oscar Wilde (The Importance of Being Ernest) Podcasts Creative Screenwriting Magazine has an amazing archive of mp3 interviews with screenwriters, many of whom are comedy writers. Dave Cohen’s What are you laughing at? The British Comedy Podcast discusses the latest comedy news, TV and radio programmes, and the live circuit. Rob Long’s Martini Shot, a wry take on life in Hollywood Websites OneUpMe.com hosts a variety of daily wordplay games that foster abstract and creative thought. Jesse Eisenberg from “Zombieland” and “The Social Network” came up with it. A comedy writer friend recommended it to me and said he’s “found it to be an addictive way of getting my brain going in the morning”. (A Facebook account is required to play.) Workshops Online Comedy Writing Workshop – GITS Reader Shaula Evans runs an online comedy-writing workshop called The Comedy Wing. It includes an archive of hundreds of articles about the theory and practice of writing comedy, plus space to brainstorm and workshop with other writers. If any GITS readers would like to check it out: 1. set up a (free) account at Zoetrope; and 2. send her a “zmail” on the site’s private message system to username “Comedy Wing” asking for an invitation, and she’ll give you access. Lurkers are welcome as well as active participants. (This is 100% free, created to support and network with other comedy writers.) Steve Kaplan’s Comedy Intensive Workshop The London Comedy Writers Festival