Breaking down barriers for emerging comedians
What is Comedy Lab?
In a nutshell - Comedy Lab is a crowdfunded program that gives comedians access to our studios, crew and equipment for free, to make just about whatever they want!
Whether the project is for screen or audio, Comedy Lab can help! It could be something as simple as access to our podcast studio, right through to more ambitious projects like creating a proof of concept or filming a live performance.
Funding and opportunities for new comedy content are hard to come by, so Comedy Lab aims to break down barriers and provide practical career support for comedians – performers, writers, and directors – helping them take their screen and audio content to the next level.
APPLICATIONS OPEN NOW
Important Information for Applicants:
Applications are open now and close Friday 24th January.
Once applications close, our independent assessment panel will assess the applications against the criteria.
Successful applicants will be contacted within 6 weeks of applications closing.
Information Session
We will run a free online information session on Thursday, January 9 11 am-12 pm.
Assessment Criteria
All applications will be assessed against the following equally weighted criteria:
Creativity
How unique, interesting, outside the box is your idea?
Diversity
Who is involved in your idea? What unique and different points of view are they bringing to the project? What communities are being represented in the project and what will be the impact of their representation?
Ability
What makes you the right person to make this project?
Budgets
In Comedy Lab’s first round, we had a pool of approximately $4,309 provided to successful applicants as in-kind support. With the support of our generous backers, we hope to generate even more for this next round. This will go towards space hire, equipment or crew to support the development or execution of your idea.
In cases where a successful idea may require a bigger budget than we have available, we will discuss with the artist the best way to support that idea with the available resources.
Pilot and Feedback
Comedy Lab is a new program and as such we are still working out the best way to support artists and assess ideas. We welcome any feedback as part of this process and have included a feedback section as part of the application form. We will also provide an anonymous feedback form after the assessment process.
Meet Our Comedy Lab Round One Recipients!
We are so excited to announce our recipients for the first ever round of Comedy Lab!
Out of 26 applications, our panel have selected five comedy-making legends who will receive free access to our studios, equipment, and crew, to help bring their ideas to life.
HUGE congrats to:
Thom Heim
Tess Durney
Ashley Apap
Luke Morris
Razz Wallace Smith
Four ways Comedy Lab can help
Space to work
Creators can access our state-of-the-art production studio for video work, live performances, and streaming.
Also available are our video podcast studio, writers’ rooms, and edit facilities.
Crew support
Our award-winning team of videographers, writers, directors and producers can support creators in realising their ideas by providing hands-on and creative support.
Equipment
Creators can access professional video and photography equipment including cinema cameras, lenses, microphones, lighting.
Networking
Creators can connect to our network of comedy makers and industry professionals for collaboration and career support.
Help fund Comedy Lab
Comedy Lab is funded by generous industry supporters and comedy fans. The more money we can raise through our community and our peers, the more projects get made!
Any money you give to Comedy Lab directly improves the quality and broadens the range of voices producing comedy content in Australia.
Monthly
Recurring contributions help to grow the program and secure its future. Choose any amount and stop whenever you like!
One-time
Choose any amount as a one-time payment. Every bit counts!
Got questions?
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Stupid Old Studios is a certified social enterprise whose purpose is to support emerging and diverse Australian comedians by providing access to our state of the art facility and award-winning production team. Our goal is to break down barriers, support new talent, and make Australian comedy more varied and inclusive.
Creator applications will be assessed by a panel independent to the Stupid Old Studios team.
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Comedy Lab will support artists by providing free access to our resources across four broad categories: Studio space, crew, equipment and networks.
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Comedy Lab is open to all Victoria-based comedy practitioners including performers, writers, directors and producers. The assessment panel will however take into consideration the overall goals of supporting new talent and making Australian comedy more varied and inclusive.
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Only screen and/or audio projects are eligible, with one project per application.
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We intend to make the application process as quick and easy as possible. Artists will just need to fill out a form that covers info about their project, some background on themselves, and what support they require.
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Applications will be assessed by an independent panel who will score them and allocate resources based on the funding available. Our assessment criteria aims to be as inclusive and supportive as possible.
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Stupid Old Studios will offer its Comedy Lab recipients 6 months of support, from April to September 2025
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No
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Formal accountability and transparency measures will include an independent panel for assessing applications and regular email updates and check ins, reporting income and project activity.
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Payments can be made via credit card using the Memberful platform and Stripe to ensure secure payments.