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Is Genre Dead? A Director’s Eye View of the Comedy-Drama Landscape

MASTERCLASS: Director Jonathan Brough (Rosehaven, Aftertaste, The Family Law, Bay of Fires 2) on the increased blurring of comedy and drama and how it’s affecting directors’ approach to the craft.

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Is Genre Dead? A Director’s Eye View of the Comedy-Drama Landscape
Is Genre Dead? A Director’s Eye View of the Comedy-Drama Landscape

Time & Location

22 Aug 2024, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm AEST

This is an online event using Zoom

About the event

Director Jonathan Brough is equally acclaimed for his work in both comedy and drama and, with the line between the two becoming increasingly blurred, he’s here to address the burgeoning (and perhaps controversial!) question: Is genre dead?

One of a director’s biggest challenges is tone control, particularly when it comes to projects that straddle the comedy/drama divide. How do you put the laughs where you want them? How do you create an ensemble where everyone's funny in the same way? How do you put the drama in the gags, or the other way around? Traditionally comedy and tragedy have been framed differently but from a director’s point of view, is that still the case?

Drawing on his extensive experiences of both genres, Jonathan will address the unique challenges for the director of ‘Serious Comedy’, the drama-with-laughs genre that has given us recent hits like Fleabag, I’m a Virgo, The White Lotus and Jonathan’s own The End - an evolving genre that’s rapidly becoming an audience and broadcaster favourite.

The real skill of the director is not just deciding on the tone - but then being able to execute it. Jonathan will reveal how his practical and creative approaches to scripting and casting, rehearsals, and techniques he uses on set are all shifting to accommodate this new “hybrid comedy/drama genre (and no, we’re not calling it “dramedy” - it’s so not cool!”).

Jonathan Brough’s Bio:

Jonathan is an Aotearoa/New Zealand-born director of film & television, based in Melbourne, Australia. His many credits include the hit comedy Rosehaven (ABC/Amazon), The End (Foxtel/Showtime), The Family Law (SBS), Aftertaste (ABC), Ronny Chieng: International Student (Comedy Central/ABC/Netflix) and Sammy J & Randy in Ricketts Lane (ABC/NBC). His short films have screened at festivals world-wide including Cannes, London, Slamdance and Sydney.

 

Most recently he was setup director for Better, a UK-set psychological thriller for Sister Pictures (Chernobyl) and BBC One.  Jonathan is also VP (Television) of the Australian Directors’ Guild.

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