Introducing… Terry Mynott

Last year, comedy writer Terry Mynott began to publish his work on 4Laughs, under the moniker of Zeal. Now he’s writing the second series of his own show and being paid for the pleasure. Terry’s strengths lie in his larynx; he impersonates the stars of stage and screen whilst an animation team cut and paste his comic follies into short-form pieces. The results fall somewhere between Adam & Joe and Southpark, mocking pop culture and its icons.

Warners’ online offering ‘Comedy Box’ saw his work and gave him the professional commission he was craving. “Instantly, from being on the bottom rung”, Terry beamed, “I was catapulted into the upper echelons and getting offers of stand-up and all sorts of stuff”.

Unfortunately 4Laughs can’t take the credit for Terry’s talent; he was creating funny content before joining the site. But he quickly got more confident and sharpened his comic knack, by using the platform to publish his work and to get industry and peer to peer feedback.

We asked Terry what initially attracted him to 4Laughs; "I was looking for somewhere to host stuff. You look for BBC, Channel 4, anywhere that’s big." The community was also a key element; "It’s what I did stand-up for, to meet my next comedy partner", said Terry. “Unfortunately I never met them. With 4Laughs, there is a community that will instantly embrace you and give you support. There’s also the industry link with Baby Cow.”

In 2007, Comedy Box approached Terry to develop ‘Star Street’, a short-form, animated series. With the first series published, the second series has seen a return to the drawing board; “I’m working on the story arc”, Terry told us. “We can’t use Star Street the name, there’s a Dutch cartoon that’s already called it. We’re going to have to change the whole mould as well. Before, I was writing five minute sketches to go on the internet. Now I’m doing a half-hour show.”

This shift has been dramatic for Terry; “After Christmas I just about finished the first series and I came in thinking I had the keys to the city. Then we had a meeting in January… I left in a matchbox. Comedy Box flew me out to Dominic Anciano (Operation Good Guys, Final Cut, To Love Honour and Obey). We work from his house in Majorca. It’s in the hills and it’s got a cinema. If say I want to introduce Peter O’Toole to the next Star Street we sit down and watch a couple of films and I can perfect the impersonation.“

Be sure to keep an eye out for Terry’s second series, coming soon to a website near you!

Join 4Laughs now: www.channel4.com/4laughs

Check out the first series of Star Street: www.comedybox.tv/show-starstreet

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