Budding comedians boosted by Jason Manford
Thursday 9 May 2019
A GROUP of University of Salford students are asking for help to appear in the Edinburgh Festival - the chance of a lifetime to launch their careers.
The eight undergraduate students from the Comedy, Writing and Performance and the Media and Performance courses have started a crowdfunding campaign to fund a trip to the world-famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer. And they have already had a boost thanks to Salford Alumnus and hit comedian Jason Manford, who pledged his financial support.
The budding comedians who are part of the group ‘SalFUNNI’ are committed to furthering their careers and the exposure from the festival will provide a great stepping stone in achieving their goals and give them a head-start in an industry that is difficult to break into.
The budding comedians who are part of the group ‘SalFUNNI’ are committed to furthering their careers and the exposure from the festival will provide a great stepping stone in achieving their goals and give them a head-start in an industry that is difficult to break into.
Beth Westbrook, who was part of the SalFUNNI group in 2018, said: “Being part of the Edinburgh trip last year has made me more proactive in achieving my goals as a performer. I hope people support this year's trip as it was honestly one of the best experiences of my life.”
Each performer has a different style of comedy and performs as a solo artist. Some of it is physical, some observational, and others cover current societal issues. One of the members of the group is Erika Ehler who has been shortlisted for the Chortle Student Comedy Award.
Erika said: “The Fringe is just the ultimate comedy workout, it’s impossible to go into that festival and not leave a better comedian.”
The campaign is to raise £1600 which will cover some of the costs of the accommodation for the students to perform a two-week run in Edinburgh.
Dr Richard Talbot, Programme Leader for BA (Hons) Comedy Writing and Performance, said: “Participation in Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a huge benefit to the students, to public awareness of our performance programmes, to the reputation of the University for vocation-focused study and industry experience and a great advert for the vibrant and creative learning environment here in Salford.”
The campaign was launched last week and has already reached the half-way mark with help from Jason Manford who donated £500.
The link to the campaign can be found on the FundUS website where you can make a donation.
Find out more
Chloe Deakin
0161 295 2237
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