Love the article. Though, reading it gave me the anxious suspicion that if I want a cowriter, I might have to talk to a stranger, and I do NOT appreciate that
Hoo boy. I guess I’ll add that if you have three or more writers it’s probably a good idea to have some kind of hierarchy. One official person to have final say on a script actually solves more problems than it creates
So, I guess that leads me to ask your thoughts on using Improv as a generator for sketches. (Or at least ideas for sketches, if not full-blown, needs a rewrite or two, sketches.) Maybe a topic worthy of a future post?
I'm for it! This is actually standard practice at some comedy theaters -- use improv to discover interesting games/characters, then refine them into sketches. You just need to be aware that some scenes that work in an improv scene won't work as sketch, because you lose that "everything could fall apart at any moment" tension.
Hey Trapp! Thanks for putting in all this work for us.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on performing sketches. I've had so many of mine fall flat because my performance/acting was off and didn't do justice to what was on the page. And it's frustrating because it would have been a great sketch if I didn't mess up this last piece! You do a great job of writing AND acting though. Any advice on bridging that gap? (And I'm thinking specifically tips for on camera performances, stage is a little easier for me.) Thanks!!
This is a great topic! I'll probably want to interview some better actors than me for extra tips, but I certainly have a few thoughts. Maybe I'll make this the next post!
Unfortunately, when you're watching yourself you will almost always hate your own performance, so I'm not sure that cringey/corny feeling will ever go away.
Love the article. Though, reading it gave me the anxious suspicion that if I want a cowriter, I might have to talk to a stranger, and I do NOT appreciate that
Really inconvenient, right?
Terrific advice! I got flashbacks to a shoot where we had 4 writers and ho boy, could we have used these tips! Haha
#4 and #5 are my favorites.
Hoo boy. I guess I’ll add that if you have three or more writers it’s probably a good idea to have some kind of hierarchy. One official person to have final say on a script actually solves more problems than it creates
Very nice article. A couple of these, 1 and 3 specifically, remind me of the tenants of Improv.
Absolutely. There’s a lot of overlap generally with sketch and improv, and when co-writing you also add the element of collaborative comedy
So, I guess that leads me to ask your thoughts on using Improv as a generator for sketches. (Or at least ideas for sketches, if not full-blown, needs a rewrite or two, sketches.) Maybe a topic worthy of a future post?
I'm for it! This is actually standard practice at some comedy theaters -- use improv to discover interesting games/characters, then refine them into sketches. You just need to be aware that some scenes that work in an improv scene won't work as sketch, because you lose that "everything could fall apart at any moment" tension.
Hey Trapp! Thanks for putting in all this work for us.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on performing sketches. I've had so many of mine fall flat because my performance/acting was off and didn't do justice to what was on the page. And it's frustrating because it would have been a great sketch if I didn't mess up this last piece! You do a great job of writing AND acting though. Any advice on bridging that gap? (And I'm thinking specifically tips for on camera performances, stage is a little easier for me.) Thanks!!
This is a great topic! I'll probably want to interview some better actors than me for extra tips, but I certainly have a few thoughts. Maybe I'll make this the next post!
Awesome, thanks! I'd love to reduce the percentage of time I come off as cringe/corny on camera haha
Unfortunately, when you're watching yourself you will almost always hate your own performance, so I'm not sure that cringey/corny feeling will ever go away.