An introduction to sketch comedy by Britain’s rising stars

A few months ago, we went over some quick tips and tricks for getting into stand-up comedy if you are very, very new to performing.

If comedy was a sport, then stand-up would be the swimming or the weight-lifting of comedic performance, or any activity which all rests on the shoulders of yourself alone.

For some, this is a great challenge with great rewards. As an individual, you get a sense of accomplishment out of a well-crafted joke or a superb delivery.

But like any sport or performance, there is also the crafts were you get to work as a team. Where you get to collaborate, workshop and put on a joint venture. This is sketch comedy, and this is something I have been doing for over six years.

Strictly speaking, sketch comedy isn’t the only comedy performance where you get to work with people. Other genres include improvised comedy, comedy plays, spoken word shows, and musical comedy. All involve a level of teamwork and collaboration, and we will cover some of those at a later date.

Sketch comedy has seen in a decline in mainstream media recently. Like any sort of entertainment, it has had peaks and plateaus. Almost anyone can name a comedy group they enjoy – Monty Python, Morecambe and Wise, Key and Peele, Not The 9 O’Clock News, Mitchell and Webb – however, actual shows and spotlights of sketch groups have somewhat declined.

This also translates in terms of showcasing sketch comedy talent. Of course, there are tons of sketch shows in Edinburgh as well as other fringes to display sketch comedy. I myself have been lucky enough to go up with my comedy troupe, Up The Antics, and perform and network with other groups.

However, there is a distinct lack of sketch comedy competitions and festivals across the UK, with much more focus on stand-up – and improv in particular.

“So why actually do sketch comedy?” I hear you bellow. Well, if you are interested in writing for comedy or scripts (or comedy-scripts), then it is a great way to get started.

Starting in comedy

Whether it’s getting used to writing in script format, or for understanding the concept of character relationships and goals, or even getting to the punchline to a joke, writing sketch comedy allows you to develop these skills in small snippets.

Having an idea for a funny situation or exchange is obviously a good way to get started – and don’t be afraid to start small. A very funny but short 10-second piece will be better received than a drawn out 30-second sketch.

Whether it’s your favourite joke told by two characters, a very good pun you want to put into a scene, or parodying a funny situation you once witnessed, you only get better at writing scripts by writing looooads of scripts, each varied and different.

As long as you find inspiration somewhere, then you can write to your heart’s content.

It is relatively easy to write in terms of formatting. Obviously, it is more structured and a lot of additions are made when compared to other genres like stand-up.

Although it is possible to write sketches on the likes of Microsoft Word, there are a few specialist script programmes you can use and download – the most popular two being either Celtx or Final Draft. Both have free versions which will help you get familiar with those kinds of programmes.

So between finding both the right programme and the inspiration to write, probably the key question you’re asking is “How do I get my script out there and who I can show it to?”

Well, as discussed in the stand-up article, the keyword here is proactivity.

Unlike stand-up, sketch comedy isn’t as a popular genre for specific nights. Where you can find a dozen or more stand-up nights, sketch performances are much rarer.

It’s because of this that sketch comedy isn’t seen as the most accessible of forms to get into, and that certainly enough is true.

Networking

I was lucky enough to do a degree (Creative Writing, woop woop) that allowed me to write sketch comedy as part of my studies, and was equally lucky to be able to join a university comedy society to put on these sketches at comedy nights.

If you are currently at university and are interested in writing for comedy, odds are there will be a comedy society who are dedicated to putting on sketches. If anything, it’s good further experience of writing, collaborating, and seeing other people’s writing methods.

Being part of a society also gives you access to that all-important feedback. At first feedback can be understandably hard to take as it often feels like someone’s just besmirching your new-born child. But after a few chats you do take in on board, and it makes you a better writer.

Plus, it’s always good to see your scripts performed by real people (beats having to read multiple parts yourself and looking deranged) and to see it acted out gives you an idea on how to improve it.

If not a comedy society, then you can always research on social media local script-writing groups. These are normally informal meet ups were people can discuss ideas, read scripts, and workshop different concepts.

Although these may not be inheritably comedy-focused, scriptwriting groups can give you an opportunity to branch out and network, which leads us to our next point.

You will always want an audience for your work, as like any other creative endeavour. Comedic sketch script submissions (try saying that faster 10 times over) are, in my experience, few and far between.

The biggest opportunity is writing radio sketches and one-liners for topical news show, Newsjack, on BBC Radio 4. They supply you with the format and ask you to think of something funny revolving round a particular news story.

This is good as an idea-creation exercise, and it does feel nice actually submitting something tangible (with the incentive that you get paid for your work). However, they do get hundreds upon hundreds of submissions, so competition is tight.

Where networking, and the key word ‘proactivity’, come into play is once you have built up relationships (like any good RPG) through a university society, or a writing group, or just having a mutual appreciation of sketch comedy – you can start collaborating with your network to produce your own sketches.

There are three main genres of this: audio, stage, and film, each with their own pros and cons.

Audio

Compiling an audio sketch can be tricky as the medium limits what you can do – namely, visual gags. But that same restriction can also be quite liberating. Having written and voiced sketches for a comedy sketch podcast, I know how fun it is not to have to adhere to normal physical restrictions. Want to do a sketch involving a chopped off dragon’s head? You can do that. Want to do a sketch where someone is completely naked? If you really want to, sure.

Podcasts are also great for sharing your content (as we do here on The Newplex, #cheekyplug).

“You can get a microphone for fairly cheap. Personally I use an MXL770 mic going into my PC via an M-Audio M-Track MkII USB sound card. These two are £160 combined. That seems quite a lot, but they’re versatile and can also be used to record music.”

Mike Hayward. Credit: Up The Antics

Mike Hayward is an editor and producer of audio sketch comedy show, Pipped at the Podcast, and he told me:

“Recording audio content is a fun and cost-effective way to showcase what you can do as a writer. It has a much faster production process than filming, so you can flesh out ideas and finish projects much faster. With audio, you only need to get people into your studio – and by studio I mean a quiet room of the house.”

Mike does say how that you may,

“Get the best microphone in the world and still get a terrible sound if you don’t pay attention to your recording space and the concept of signal-to-noise ratio. Your recording space doesn’t need to be sound-proof (that’s blocking sound from outside the room), but it does need to be sound-treated (reducing echo).

“Fortunately, treating your space isn’t that hard, and can be done with something as simple and available as duvets. You can put a duvet or heavy blanket over your head while speaking into the mic and it will reduce the amount the sound bounces off the wall directly behind the mic.”

“There are a ton of tutorials about this sort of stuff on YouTube. Just be sure to search for sound ‘treatment’ and not ‘proofing’. A bit of homework goes a long way in making your podcast (or other content) sound crisp and clear.

“For Pipped at the Podcast, we generally record all of the voices individually on separate tracks to reduce the number of potential issues. We source or make sound effects, then assemble our sketches in Adobe Audition’s multitrack editor.

“Audacity works just as well, and the amount of downloadable plugins for Audacity make it a really powerful DAW (Digital Audio Workstations).”

And the final piece of advice Mike gives?

“Oh, and back-up everything you record.”

Stage

Live comedy sketches – ones that can be performed in theatres, pub function rooms. or simply outside on the street – can be as technical or non-technical as you want them to be.

Scott Wilson. Credit: Up The Antics

The great thing about this form is that you get to have active feedback on whatever sketch you’re performing at the time. Obviously, the three main essentials to this are actors, a place to perform, and an audience.

Scott Wilson is the main sketch writer for Up The Antics and has brought numerous shows to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has been featured on BBC Radio Bristol. In his words:

“Simplicity is key. Stripping a production back to its bare components is vital to the success and sanity of all involved: is this prop or costume necessary to deliver the story or the joke? If it’s a superfluous detail, drop it like it’s hot.

“It’s not only the cheapest way, but will get you focused on the things that matter: story, character, performance.”

Scott goes on to talk about how “there are so many benefits to having it as a live event.

“Unlike other media – where you may only get a like or a retweet or an abusive comment – you get instant feedback from an audience. As a writer or performer you get an immediate sense of what the audience find funny or engaging (and, terrifyingly, what they really don’t).

“It’s also never quite reproducible as it was at that specific moment.”

“For me, the crushing limitation is a lack of control. Film allows you to craft exactly what the audience are seeing and hearing – every frame, cut, change of attention or rhythm is a conscious decision made by a plethora of different artists. And once that is complete, good or ill, it’s a collective vision reproducible forever.”

Finally, when asked on how people can improve their writing, Scott concludes that “I think the advice of ‘show, don’t tell’ cannot be repeated often enough. It should inform every aspect your script”

Film

The last genre, and arguably the most demanding, is film. Jake Pemberton, otherwise known as TenThousandHawks on Youtube, is a filmmaker and has written, directed, and filmed many successful short sketches.

Credit: Jake Pemberton

When asked about the key qualities to filming a good sketch, Jake notes how “vision is the main one.”

“That is the case with anything you’re going to be making with a camera, but because sketches are usually so script-driven, I wonder if some people are more focused on what’s on the paper rather than how it will end up on screen. Your sketch is gonna be on a screen – what is it going to look like?

“Key & Peele knew this – most of their sketches are visually splendid because they’re taking the piss out of film clichés and using that kind of cinematography. The visual nature is part of the comedy. They understand – or at least someone in their crew does – that good filmmaking is as important as being straight up funny. Obviously there’s nothing wrong with simple back and forth between two people just sat on a couch, but they better be there because that’s how you envisioned it and not just because you thought “screw it, they’ll be saying funny things.”

One fear of filming sketches is the limitations of any sort of budget. When asked if he shares this fear, Jake responds,

“No. Because I make my pals help me and they’re very nice. And so are actors. Be real nice to your actors because there’s a good chance they’re either more desperate than you are, or in demand elsewhere where they can make money.”

Summarising, he talks about how

“The lesson to take from that however is that making these things doesn’t have to be expensive at all. People help me out because they’re kind and I hope I am kind back. Said people have kit and expertise that I do not have, whilst I have an idea and a vision that they might find interesting.”

Talking about the most demanding aspect of the process, “The script-to-production transition – and I promise that’s not just a fancy way of saying “ALL OF IT AHAHAHAHA.”

“I think it was Steve Coogan who once said something about how when you’re writing comedy you can have all the fun in the world but as soon as you’re performing and filming it you need to be on the ball and take it real seriously.

“You could argue, however, that it’s the other way around: you will spend hours alone or with others coming up with funny shit and writing it up. But that then evolves into trying to craft decent narrative, which is usually a less HA-HA process and more of a nitty-gritty -I-don’t-know-about-this-oh-no thing.

“Any writer can tell you that once you’re in deep, you usually stop seeing the comedy forest through them proverbial trees. You’re focusing on how this gag is worthy of being there because of that character, and that character makes sense because of this device. You’re no longer there because you straight up find it funny. That’s probably the hardest part. It’s when you get to filming it that it all comes round again.”

Finally, talking about the key differences between filmed sketches and staged sketches, Jake notes how “The best stage comedy definitely doesn’t have its actors stood in the same place for the entire sketch.”

“Sure, you might only have limited space and you can’t have an actor doing backflips across the ceiling, but the nature of a camera means that you can make someone stood or sat in the same place interesting to look at. Shoot from here, then shoot from there, then put the camera up the guy’s nose.

“On stage, an audience is going to be looking at your actors from one fixed angle. Obviously there’s a whole conversation here about what kind of staging the writer should be putting in and what a director should be putting in, but if you’re just starting out at this and aren’t a veteran stage actor or director, I bet you’re looking direct your own script.

“And I invite you to check that script and see if you’ve been thinking about how your characters can move on and around the stage so they’re not just stood still whilst delivering lines. It will only help you.”

Over to you

So there we have it, a little essay with multiple sources on sketch writing. This will hopefully give you a little reference on where to start writing your sketches.

Whether it be filmed, recorded or staged – there are many ways to get your work out there, and as writers, that is the most important thing.