Sketch Comedy Writing Page 3

  What brings you here? What interests you about sketch writing? In other words, with all the gin joints in the world, you showed up here. Why? It might be worth pausing to ask yourself?

  What is Sketch?

  “A Sketch is a simple outline of a scene, usually simple and short, that illustrates a slice of life. Not always comedic but usually.” - Joe DiNozzi and Darien DeMaria

  “Sketch is a short “sketch” of a person’s life. Picture if you were an artist with a sketchpad and you happen to be in the room for the most important moment in a person’s life. You don’t have a full set of paints, just a sketch pad. You need to capture that moment as fully as you possibly can with nothing but pencil and paper. But you’re doing that with words and acting. A terrific example of sketch is Charles Dickens “Sketches by Boz.” Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always poignant, Dickens use his words to illustrate the everyday life if every day people in his London. For our purposes, because we don’t have the luxury of a novel format (I think Sketches by Boz is 700 pages long) we choose to illustrate the most important moment in the character’s’ life.” - Scotty Watson

  The writer’s primary goal is to communicate. Communication implies a message is sent and received. Anything less than that and communication was not accomplished. Muddying the waters with extraneous backstory or unnecessary characters or dialogue doesn’t facilitate communication, it hinders it.

  Think about a sketch in art - broad outlines, simple design, nothing extra. In the same way, keep it simple in your theatrical sketches. However, simple does not mean weak. There is power in focused clarity.

  How Long is Too Long?

  There are different ideas about the length of sketches. By definition a sketch is short (as compared to a Broadway Show).

  Be aware that writers tend to overwrite and under-edit because they have a tough time “killing their babies”, cutting those phrases or lines or characters that don’t NEED to be there.

  “Get it perfect, then cut two minutes.” - Fred Astaire

  If it’s not necessary to tell your story and/or communicate your message, then cut it. Of course, this means you’ll need to know what your message is. We’ll get into that later.

  “There are no rules. However one definition of a sketch is … a short play that ideally runs between 3 and 10 minutes. Although The Second City has presented 20 and 30 minutes sketches that were absolutely terrific. Longer scenes tend to be more theatrical whereas shorter scenes tend to be focused performance for television.” - Scotty Watson

  “Sketches must be quick and efficient, to the point.” - Michael Coyne

  “Although there are many types of sketches and lengths, sketches at IN Studios are usually 3-5 pages that explore one simple thought or idea.” – Liz Parish

  “Sketch writers slave over a hot keyboard trying to find the right word to make every moment just right and full.” - Michael Coyne

  How to Format a Sketch

  Each TV show or theater production will have different requirements in terms of formatting. In fact, we add a few additional elements for our Show Writers’ Room (people who actually create our IN Team Shows) that we don’t have in our regular Virtual Writers’ Room. Again, don’t get too hung up on formatting in your first drafts.

  For the purposes of our work at IN Studios, or as a general place to start, our formatting suggestion is as follows:

  Title Page with Title, Author

  14 pt font for everything, preferably in Arial

  Character lines beginning on the left side of the page with character name, colon and a ´two tab´ distance separating the character line from the character name

  Stage directions clearly put in parentheses beginning at the left side of the page

  The word BLACKOUT at the end of a sketch to signify the end

  …

  Title: Example Sketch

  Written By: Jane Smith

  LIGHTS UP

  (Example Character 1 is standing with Example Character 2. Example Character 1 hits Example Character 2 with the Example Bucket.)

  Example Character 1: Take that!

  Example Character 2: Ouch! My feelings have been flayed you poop!

  (Example Character 1 starts crying. Example Character 3 enters.)

  Example Character 3: Hey guys, we should make a better example.

  (They all nod in agreement.)

  BLACKOUT

  …

  Evergreen Material

  “Find something that is universal. If it is something you have to deal with, then many others probably do too. If you’re asking yourself a question (why doesn’t Starbucks just call their drink sizes “small, medium, and large”?) others have probably had the same question. If you write a sketch about a coffee shop that has ridiculous names for their sizes and the confusion that ensues that can ring true to people. Then hone your sketch. Find where the laughs aren’t and fix it. Find where they are and make them better. Doing nightly shows for four years was a great way to trim the fat and tweak the winners.” - David Drake

  Some themes are so pervasive in the human experience that there’s a great probability they will be around for a while. Material is considered “evergreen” when it doesn’t expire or become dated over time. It’s always relevant.

  What’s Not Evergreen:

  Headline news

  Content containing data and/or reports which are in a state of constant flux

  Seasonal or holiday related material

  Content written about pop culture or passing trends

  Certain subjects just never get old. High school students still read Romeo & Juliet and study ancient mythology. These works deal with overarching themes within the human condition.

  Examples of Timeless Themes:

  Love/dating

  Marital Relationships

  Coming of Age

  War Between Social Classes

  Aging

  Equality

  Gender Roles

  At IN Studios we like to take topical news stories and distill them to the underlying dynamics or themes, then, explore the dynamics or scenes in a different context.

  In one of our sketches “Gay Wall” we explore issues like marriage equality with the message we are better together than apart, in a dystopian future where gay and straight people have been separated by a wall. We never mention marriage equality in the sketch.

  The original Star Trek was infamous for tackling social issues of the day but in the context of a “space odyssey”. Sometimes it’s actually easier and your message is more powerful if you re-contextualize a story.

  And so, how do you find something “Universal”? Well, there are many ways to approach this, some are more discovery-rich than others. We’ll discuss some of these methods later. Incidentally the processes that are full of discoveries also tend to be the easiest!

  TYPES OF SKETCHES

  There are dozens of different types of sketches. We’ll highlight just a few. There are also hybrid sketches, where a sketch combines two or more types together. Sometimes it helps to know the type of sketch you are writing, before you write. But, initially, don’t get so hung up on that. Just write and figure out the type later.

  You’ll find written examples of each of these sketches in a subsequent chapter. We’ve also included links, so that you can watch some examples.

  Narrative or Story Sketches

  I really like story sketches because I come from a screenwriting background. I like character development and the satisfaction of a character arc. I also like a beginning, middle and end, as well as resolution.

  Blackouts

  A roughly 30 second scene that tends to follow the pattern: set-up, punch-line, blackout (lights out). Neither the set-up, nor punch line have to be spoken, sometimes they are simply visual. You can have a message, pov and character change, but they are not ENTIRELY necessary.

  “A blackout is a quick comedic scene, usually a half page to a page and usually with a strong visual element.Brevi
ty is the blackout’s best friend. The quicker and to the point a blackout is, the better.” - Michael Coyne

  “A blackout is a short mindfuck meant to defy your expectations. With a stage picture or a few short words you are meant to lead the audience down the garden path and then surprise them with a twist. Give them an expectation and then defy it. It is meant to broaden the audience’s perception and keep them on their toes.” Scotty Watson

  The Extended Blackout

  “When blackouts were a new thing they were quite surprising for the audience. As audiences came to expect blackouts, we saw them waiting for a twist in the first 30 seconds of every sketch. As if they didn’t quite believe their eyes or ears in the first 30 seconds.,, Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

  To mindfuck them we needed to give them the false sense of security that they are in a full scene. And so the extended blackout was born. We had to create more intricate blackouts that had a more complex set-up. That way the audience would let their guard down and that’s when we would insert the twist, defying their expectations. It’s misdirection. And it was borrowed from magic.” - Scotty Watson

  Short Scenes

  “Short scenes tend to have a bit more to setup and more of an arc.” Michael Coyne.

  A short scene captures that important turning point in the character’s life in a very short number of words or period of time. It has a beginning, middle and end, though not as lengthy or in depth as narrative sketches.

  Parody

  You take something that is and create something similar, but different to make a point.

  Satire

  “There are as many kinds of sketches as there are kinds of theater in general. More common or popular ones are usually popular comedy genres like parody or zany madcap. We on the other hand are satirists. And satire is a less common and more commonly misunderstood form of comedy.” - Joe DiNozzi and Darien DeMaria

  Satire is a genre in which vices, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of nudging individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement.

  The Absurd Sketch

  This type of sketch depends on deviations from causal reasoning, producing events and behaviors that are obviously illogical. Constructions of surreal humor tend to involve bizarre juxtapositions, non-sequiturs, irrational or absurd situations and expressions of nonsense of all sorts.

  The humor arises from misleading the audience’s expectations, so that amusement is founded on unpredictability. The humor derived gets its appeal from the fact that the situation described is so ridiculous or unlikely.

  Character Sketches

  Many Saturday Night Live sketches are character sketches, in other words a sketch with a character so distinct, so integral to the sketch, that the sketch wouldn’t be the same without them. SNL’s ‘Matt Foley - Motivational Speaker’ isn’t half as funny if David Spade is playing Matt Foley. Other examples include, Steve Martin’s “Wild and Crazy Guy”, Jim Carey’s “Vira Dimilo”, Daman Wayan’s “Homey the Clown, the list goes on and on. Many times, you see what your actors can do, characters, impressions, etc. then look for a scenario to build around them. However, you can still have a terrific character-driven sketch with a message, pov, character arc and emotional patterns. Many stop short and rest on the laurels of the character, but we’ll teach you to dig a little deeper.

  STANDING OUT IN A PILE

  When you take the time to go deeper with your work by asking a few simple questions and receiving or allowing the answers to flow from your inner genius, you broaden your audience and add depth to the work.

  The 4 Questions:

  (In our Writers’ Room we ask the writer 4 questions…)

  What’s the message?

  From which character’s point of view is the sketch told?

  Does a character change and change forever?

  What is the main emotional pattern of behavior?

  Message

  What are you trying to say; the lesson that the audience will take away from the sketch, the “morale”?

  “For satirists, message is essential. We use our sketches to make a point, not unlike the role of good stand-up comedy. And in particular since satire is so often misunderstood, knowing what point the sketch is trying to make is essential. I like scenes that make people think, that make a point about society.” - Joe DiNozzi and Darien DeMaria

  “A message is essentially the lesson that people take away from the sketch. It’s akin to Aesop’s morals at the end of his fables.” - Michael Coyne

  “Marshall McLuhan would say that it was the medium. As writers, we have to consider that every time we have the ear of the audience, (their attention), the audience is looking for the message. It’s our responsibility to respect the audience’s time and consider the message. Have you ever heard someone tell a long and pointless story that just trailed off at the end? You want to scream at the person, “So what!? What’s your point?! I’ve seen far too many sketches that do that. Somewhere along the process the writer has to answer those questions. So what!? What’s your point?!” - Scotty Watson

  POV

  “Who’s telling the story? If this sketch was a story being told in a bar, which of the characters would be telling it? We’re never going to get a completely objective view of any story. To avoid a story that sounds like it was written by someone with multiple personality disorder you want to pick one of the characters whose point of view the sketch is coming from.” - Scotty Watson

  “A point of view is the balanced perspective in a sketch. For example, a sketch with Republicans who are crazy and a Democrat trying to get things done, then the point of view would be from the democrats. We have a saying: it’s the character who’s telling us the story at the bar later, how the other side tends to look exaggerated and ridiculous compared to them.” - Michael Coyne

  Change

  Does a character in the sketch have to change … and change forever?

  “No, not really. There are plenty of great sketches where the character doesn’t change and the world still goes on with it. However, having a character change gives a comedic piece a cathartic element. It offers a solution and a way out rather than just being critical of a problem and points people in a positive direction. The world doesn’t need more cynics.” - Michael Coyne

  “One or all the characters must change and change forever. It really is the difference between writing comedy and writing theater. Yes you can write small moments, where nobody changes and you might get a laugh. But it’s like a bowl of popcorn calling itself to a gourmet meal. I like popcorn as much as the next person, but when I want to fill my belly I sit down and eat a meal. I like fluff comedy as much as the next guy too! But when I want to fill my soul… I go to the theater. That’s what we’re shooting for.” - Scotty Watson

  “A character doesn’t need to change, in particular in satire. If we’re trying to point out how messed up people are - a common theme in satire - then the joke is often that they haven’t changed by the end of the scene at all, even when they should have.” - Joe DiNozzi and Darien DeMaria

  “The Writer needs to understand the who, what, where, when and how of the scene so that we can experience that turning point.” -Scotty Watson

  Emotional Patterns v. The Game

  The idea of game has bled over from improv comedy into writing and is a superficial way to discuss and hone your work. Often writers don’t go deeper because they either don’t realize they can, are too lazy or aren’t required to do so. You’ll learn how to peel it back and take it deeper. If you don’t solely focus on behavior, but the emotions beneath them, you crack open a whole new world.

  Plot Points

  Plot points are a tool that summarizes your sketch into easy to understand bite-sized beats: generally 3 beginning beats, 3 middle beats and 3 end beats. The tool is often used in the editing process.

  It’s a useful tool for writers because it helps them understand if thei
r sketch is getting lost at certain moments (if the beats aren’t bite-sized, look into those beats). Also, others (actors, directors) can get a better understanding of your sketch at a glance.

  Example

  The sketch below is taken directly from our show archives. We include plot points, message, etc. at the top of every sketch. Read the sketch then answer the 4 questions for yourself: What’s the message, point of view, who changes, what is the main emotional pattern?