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 Comedy is usually a solo sport, but when you get a bunch of crazy performers together in one stage, usually something fantastic happens - and that’s what sketch comedy is all about. Sketch comedy is a unique form of comedic art - A group of normally solitary people, bound together to make entertainment and get laughter from the audience. But of course, it’s also more than that. The sketches or short scenes must be written, read-through, rehearsed, directed and then rewritten again in order to perfect just one scene. The actors, working together, must create this hilarious, often off-the-wall scene and make it believable and funny. Each must play their own part and support the sketch, allowing each other a moment to shine. Aside from having good actors, great material is necessary, in order for the sketch to work. A solid premise, funny dialogue and a mix of sarcasm, wit, intelligence and of course, humor, tied together in script makes for a good sketch. And these sketch comedy troupes combine all these qualities, selling out shows in each venue they play:
Sketch comedy shows are not unlike staging a play. However, it can be said that comedy sketches are more challenging for both the director and actors - each scene is completely new and must be presented in a fresh manner. Various comedy acts call for different roles. In one night alone, a single sketch comic can play a dozen roles - hero, villian, victim, mad scientist, incompetent boss, seducer, innocent, court jester, king - and the performer must be flexible enough to play all of these. For the director, it’s difficult enough to keep up with one single script, but each comedy sketch means a new story and new characters to develop. But perhaps this is what audiences are looking for. In today’s world, we have so many distractions and comedy sketches can keep their ever-shortening attention spans. In one night, they can bring people on a rip-roaring roller-coaster ride to various places and the most insane characters they’ll ever meet.
Much like many forms of entertainment today, sketch comedy has its roots in vaudeville, but
perhaps a little known fact is that comedy sketches also made their way into radio. Then-unknown Peter Sellers, along with Michael Bentine, Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe put together narration, jokes and funny sounds to create “The Goon Show” on British radio back in the 50s. Of course, radio made way for TV and Sellers and company migrated to the small screen with “The Telegoons.” Twenty years later, Lorne Micheals premiered Saturday Night Live, and no one thought the show would succeed, but today it remains one of the longest-running shows on TV.
Today’s modern sketch comic has more options than just the theater - TV, movies, comedy clubs, and even the Internet has welcomed sketch comedy shows with open arms. More often that not it is outrageous situations and outrageous characters that bring the comedic value to any sketch comedy. Just think of any of the best comedy sketches from the last century - Carol Burnett’s Scarlett O’Hara Curtain Rod Sketch, SNL’s “More Cowbell!” and Monty Python’s Dead Parrot - these stay in our mind because of classic or ordinary scenes made hilarious by kooky and zany characters (and talented sketch comics.) Sketch comedy shows have become a staple of TV comedy line-ups. Many of today’s best comedians have come from sketch shows, and struggling young performers often hope that joining an ensemble cast will help them push their way into stardom, and perhaps today’s holy grail of TV sketch comedy shows, Saturday Night Live. But no matter where they perform, these comics give their absolute best and stay quick on their feet once they take on the stage. |
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