Please help me finish my Master’s degree!

Hi, my name is Louise Woollam, and you might know me from such Facebook rants as “Where’s My Hammer?”, “Here I Am Being Misanthropic Again!”, or “Warning! I Have An OPINION!”, or you know me from the various Facebook groups I run.

Or possibly you know me as the increasingly erratic keyboard wrangler behind “Get Lippie”, the blog where I rant about lipstick/body image/ageing, rave about perfume, and occasionally get nominated for awards for having done so. Yes, I’m as surprised as you are about that, but I digress.

 

Now, why am I here? Ah yes, fundraising … <polite cough>

 

The last couple of years have been difficult (to say the least, and that’s not even including the pandemic) and to keep myself “sane” I’ve been working on a Master’s Degree in Comedy Writing. I love it.

 

I’ve always written, it’s how I process the world about me, and it has been both therapeutic and and a true joy to be able to undertake the degree. I’ve always aimed to entertain people when I write, even if the audience is only myself, and it turns out that making serious points about society through the medium of laughter is totally my jam, man. One of my tutors compared the writing in a sketch of mine about social injustice to that of Hannah Gadsby’s in Nanette, which was astonishing feedback. I’m still boggling. In a pleased sort of way, of course!

 

I came across the degree quite by accident, and was only able to enrol on it through the stunning generosity of a couple of wonderful friends and family members who came together quite independently to give me the wonderful gift of learning. I’m deeply indebted to them, as indeed I am to everyone who has assisted me with the projects I’ve written so far, I have been completely blown away by how wonderful and supportive my friends have been towards what could seem like a somewhat quixotic choice of subject. A master’s degree in comedy, really? Turns out: yes, really.

 

 

 

All of which brings me to why I am here. I’m about to embark on my final project, after 18 months of writing sketches, satirical songs, a short film, several pitch documents, a (quite by accident) 24 page essay on how the pilot episode of Cheers is a comedy masterpiece, and one one memorable occasion, produced 78 pages of footnotes and references for a 1,500 word essay about the actual process behind writing comedy. I’m still not entirely sure how that happened, but it was fun doing the research, which definitely involved beer. 

 

My grades are great, my feedback is excellent, and I’ll hopefully finish with a distinction.

 

The final project is where I’ll plan, outline, write, and pitch a full sitcom series, and I will have six months to make this happen. It’ll be a lot of hard work, and it’s something I’m looking forward to very much. I already know what the project will be, and I think it’s a good idea. A very good idea, actually. Okay, I’m maybe not the most objective person here, but it’ll definitely be funnier than Mrs Brown’s Boys, that I can guarantee.

 

The aim is that this project will be good enough for it to get me an agent, with a view to getting the sitcom out to networks and one day, hopefully getting it made. But I do need help to get to that point. I feel guilty for asking, and feel almost like this is begging, but needs must, so here I am, asking. If you’ve ever fancied being a “patron of the arts” then here’s your chance, please help!

 

 

For a variety of reasons, the rising cost of living being one of them, and the need to pay rent being another (amongst a myriad of other reasons, physical, mental, familial), the money I had set aside to pay for my education has not stretched as far as it might have done a few years ago, and I find myself somewhat … let’s say, more fiscally embarrassed than I would like to be. I do have a couple of freelance gigs ongoing, and I am actively looking for more, but nothing is guaranteed, and the income I have, whilst welcome, doesn’t stretch far enough to cover all my expenses, and definitely won’t be enough whilst I work on my final project.

 

Any amount you can donate will be used to cover tuition fees, and other incidental costs (writers guild fees, professional memberships, reference books, web hosting etc) as I look to set myself up as a professional writer. Whilst I can’t offer physical gifts in return at present for any donation, I can offer my undying gratitude, and possibly name a character after you when I get there.

 

The world needs laughter right now more than ever, and if the last couple of years have taught me anything (besides how to format a screenplay) then they’ve definitely taught me that.

 

Thank you so much for reading my essay, the next thing you see from me will have many more jokes, I promise.

 

With gratitude and peace to all,

 

Louise x