As COVID-19 crashes into the arts industry, gigs are cancelled, festivals are closing and both paid and unpaid work in the industry has all but dried up, people in comedy need some help. Production company, Objectively Funny are producing a free virtual mental health Magazine to support the comedy industry and beyond in this tumultuous time. Everyone who contributes to the online portal will be paid, with production aiming to make sure that people in comedy know that they are supported, even in the worst crisis the industry has ever experienced.
Last year for the Edinburgh Fringe, Objectively Funny produced a Small Book on Mental Health (or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Fringe) to try and help support people involved in the Fringe through what is at best, a very intense month. It was written with contributions from comedians, mental health organisations and local charities.
3500 of these mental health booklets were given out at the Fringe, to anyone and everyone involved in the industry - flyerers, producers, directors, comedians, actors, mimes, jugglers, singers, magicians, you name it. The book was a success with lots of people saying very kind things about it. The team at Objectively Funny have decided that it's time to make another.
The virtual magazine will consist of contributions from industry professionals and comedians giving advice on how to cope during this time, their stories, tactics, mental health strategies and artwork created in isolation, with each page being specially created by comedy designers.
The magazine will expand every Monday morning with new stories, new illustrations and new tips and tricks. Contributors to the first edition include Olga Koch, Pierre Novellie, William Stone, Frankie Thompson, Chelsea Birkby, Steve Garland and Ruby Martin with a lot more to come. Pages will also be dedicated to specialised fundraisers, platforms for comedians to show their work and mental health charities who are working on supporting comedians and beyond at this time including CALM, MIND and NextUp Comedy.
Martin Willis, Founder of Objectively Funny says 'With the world as it is, we want to make sure people in the comedy industry know that they are supported. So many people have lost their jobs, whether that be in performance, running venues, box office, tech; the list is endless and the fear of the unknown is palpable. The loss of work and a sense of purpose can be really damaging for mental health, let alone the stress of a loss of income. Anything we can do to support each other now is vital to making sure the industry can get back on its feet as soon as it's safe'
Objectively Funny have set up a GoFundMe with all donations going directly towards paying for the contributions and creation of this magazine to support anyone that needs it during this period, to continue to provide paid work for people in the industry and to help each other in any way that we can.
Objectively Funny is made up of Martin Willis, Michael Julings, Ellie BW, Kathryn Higgins and Maddy Bye
