KILLING MY LOBSTER’S NEW VOICES IN COMEDY FELLOWSHIPS IS A PROGRAM DESIGNED TO AMPLIFY VOICES FROM THE BAY AREA BIPOC AND LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITIES. WE AIM TO RECOGNIZE AND COLLABORATE WITH UP-AND-COMING WRITERS FROM VARIED EXPERIENCES.
Dominique Gelin, 2018 KML Writing Fellow, in a writers meeting for Queering My Lobster. Photo by James Jordan Pictures.
Recipients of KML’s New Voices In Comedy Fellowship will receive the following:
A complete course of Sketch Writing 1 (7 Weeks)
A complete course of Sketch Writing 2 (7 Weeks)
Placement on a show writing team once training is complete
Both classes include individual feedback from experienced KML writers/teachers, and culminate in class readings open to invited guests. Writing 2 includes workshopping sketches with professional KML actors.
The recipient will then be placed on a show writing team (show to be determined by Artistic Director) and have the full KML show writing experience, including collaborating with actors and other writers, writing to the theme of a show, executing necessary rewrites, a ticket to see the show, as well as payment for their writing. We are generally back to live performances, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, applicants must agree to adhere to KML’s COVID policies. The production on which recipients work may be live and in person, or potentially would be switched to video-based, audio-based, or some other hybrid based on what’s safe for artists and audiences alike at time of production.
Classes and writers’ meetings will take place at KML headquarters at 2101 Folsom St in San Francisco, unless they need to be conducted online due to COVID-19, in which case they will be held via Zoom. Applicants should have access to a device on which they can participate in a Zoom based class.
Applicant Guidelines & Restrictions:
KML’s New Voices In Comedy Fellowship is open to BIPOC writers and LGBTQIA+ writers in the Bay Area 21 years or older interested in sketch comedy writing.
Though Killing My Lobster is located in San Francisco, applicants need not live in the city, but must be able to provide their own transportation to our writing and rehearsal space at 2101 Folsom St in San Francisco -- a 7 minute walk from the 16th St. BART station.
Classes and writers meetings tend to take place at 7-10pm on weeknights, although occasionally they are held in the daytime on weekends.
The Writing Fellowship is open only to writers who have not already taken KML's writing classes.
Even if classes and production are conducted via Zoom/remotely, fellows should still be Bay Area residents as the goal of this program is to invest in our local communities.
“New Voices” in reference to these fellowships means anyone who is early-career when it comes to writing sketch comedy and does not pertain to the actual age of any applicant — all ages over 21 are eligible and you will not expected to divulge your age at any time.
This also means if you’re an experienced writer in areas other than sketch comedy, you may still apply!
By applying to our Fellowship program, applicants agree to adhere to all COVID policies and procedures. Find our COVID policies HERE. We reserve the right to change these policies at any time.
Interested Applicants Should Submit:
Nic Sommerfeld, 2018 Writing Fellow, in a Queering My Lobster writers' meeting. Photo by James Jordan Pictures.
Cover letter stating why you would like this fellowship, and what you hope to get from it. Please include your full name, email address, and phone number.
A writing and/or comedy resume (Applicants who do not have fancy, lengthy, impressive resumes will still be considered. We’re interested in what you can do, more than what you have done. Just send what you have.)
A comedic writing sample. It can be as simple as a page of jokes. It can be a sketch. It can be a short play. Whatever it is, it should be no more than 3 pages, and should be sent as a PDF. *If you have applied in the past, please send a different writing sample to reapply.
The entire packet should be sent with the subject line “Writing Fellowship, Your Name” to submissions@killingmylobster.com
Candidates will be contacted by late-November, finalists will be contacted for an interview, and recipients will be notified by Artistic Director, who will confirm the recipients' 2024 class schedule.
Submissions will be reviewed by a panel of former KML writing fellows and other KML writers and leadership.
The 2023 review panel is:
JB TANG, KML writer and Co-Director of Writing Education
Nicole Odell, KML Artistic Director
2-3 Previous Fellowship Recipients (TBD)
