Ethical Non-Comedy (ENC) was founded with the aim of creating financially accessible and inclusive comedy opportunities for women, LGBTQIA+, and gender non-conforming individuals in Canberra.
Our core vision was to provide a safe and creative space where
adults could explore comedy, embrace silliness, and feel comfortable
giving performance and writing a go, regardless of experience level.
A key motivation was to foster a sense of community among amateur
comedians and offer pathways into the performing arts that were casual and affordable.
ENC began with support from the Good Company grant program, a joint initiative by
You Are Here
and the ACT Government through the Creative Recovery and Resilience Program.
This initial funding allowed us to run our first event: a free 'Intro to Sketch' workshop at
The Front in Lyneham, designed to give participants a taste of sketch comedy and connect with others.
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Building on this, in 2022 we offered two paid 8-week courses at the Ainslie Arts Centre that delved deeper into sketch and improv techniques. The second of these courses was specifically supported by the ACT Government's Capital of Equality Grant Program.
We wrapped everything up with a final performance night at Ainslie+Gorman. The show, called 'Edging Sketch', was sold out and featured all the sketches developed by ENC members throughout the semester.
