I had initially planned to post my interview with Brennan Lee Mulligan this week, but a series of unexpected events has delayed the edit. That will still be coming soon! To tide you over, I’m opening up this question/comment thread for ALL subscribers.
Anything you’ve wanted to ask, but it seemed off topic?
Something you wanted to say, but weren’t able to comment?
Something you want to see more of in the newsletter?
This is the place to put those burning thoughts! Anything goes!1 I’ll likely answer questions in blocks in the afternoon and evening, so you may not get an immediate response, but I’m going to try to get to everyone’s comment before the weekend.
Mike! I watched Um...Actually for the first time the other day and it was hilarious. You are a great host and the format is so fun. I will keep watching!
May 16, 2022·edited May 16, 2022Liked by Mike Trapp
Anyways : I feel like a lot a games I write are litteral translations of the unsual idea I start with. For example, last one was : when you get sick and someone takes care of you, you end up being infantilized. And the game was : someone is sick and their significant other takes care of them and infantilizes them and the heightening is pretty straightforward : they get treated in evermore childish ways blablabla. It's not finished but it's the way it's going. I feel like it's a bit lazy, but at the same time, it's also simple and efficient. Is this something I should be worried about ? I mean it could have been : the baby section at the hospital is filled with adults with laryngitis for example. But that's less easy to justify, suddenly harder to produce, less relatable to the audience, etc... Seems like an effort that wouldn't necessarily pay off.
Hello. I've begun writing in a group and we had our first pitch meeting tonight. I was VERY frightened that it would go bad and it would just be silent and awkward. But in fact it went so wellll I'm so glad ! We pitched a few ideas, we brainstormed a lot. We reviewed a few drafts and we selected a first sketch to rehearse. This all thanks to you. I'm so glad I subscribed to this. Man if you ever come to Paris I would so much wanna show you. Well... it's all in french, so don't bother. But whenever we do a show, I'll be back here thanking you again !!!
Obviously you're known for your sketch and improv experience (expertise?), but I feel like one of your underrated skills is hosting, whether it's Um Actually or the CH Podcast. Did you put deliberate time into learning how to host or did it come as an outgrowth of improv/something else?
Are there any sketch formats (or topics!) that you are interested in writing, but haven't had the opportunity to explore at all or as much as you'd like? Thanks for opening this up to all subscribers, by the way!
Do you ever think there is a situation where one should tailor their writing style towards who they are submitting to? I have a very absurdist, Tim Robinson sense of humor. Sometimes I feel like most people I’d be sending my work won’t get it or be receptive to it, so I’ve thought about having a group of sketches/scripts that are tailor-made for certain types of audiences.
At CollegeHumour people had certain characters or tropes that they were associated with, beyond just dumb guy(Grant), straight guy(You), not straight guy (not Grant). How much of writing a sketch relies on knowing these on-screen characters, and knowing the people you're actually writing for.
I've always wondered in the Dropout game shows where there isn't an explicit prize at the end (like Um Actually or Breaking News), is there an off-camera prize or punishment?
I do some improv in my free time and I'm seeing quite a lot of crossover between improv and sketch. What do you think are some lessons that you can learn from sketch that translate well to improv, and what are lessons that you think should never be applied to improv?
I would love to see a post on shorter form sketches. I don't know how much experience you have, but I've notices a lot of the concepts and tenets of the 3-5 minutes sketches applied to 1-2 minute TikToks and would love to know your thoughts on how to get appropriate heightening in such a short form, and how to quickly establish the game and setting for a video that needs to grab your attention in the first 5-10 seconds.
I don't know if anyone has asked this yet, but what is your personal favorite (funniest, or otherwise just the best) example of chuffah you were personally involved with, and/or in other sketches?
I realize this might be a question more for BLM, but do you have advice for D&D DMs who want to build roleplaying scenes better for their players? Especially comedic ones.
If you just want to point me at resources or past emails that's totally fine.
So far Chuffah has been a HUGE help towards building my sketch writing skills, but do you have any advice on acting for sketch? I've tried out twice for my university's sketch team, and while my script submissions were pretty dang solid, I always fell short on the acting audition. I'm certainly comfortable on stage, but I lack the experience of a thespian. Would love some tips on how to embrace whacky characters and embody the emotion of a sketch!
Do you feel that you learn and improve more when working with a writing partner or by yoursef? I find I'm much more productive when writing with someone else but part of me feels guilty that I'm not thinking through the ideas and process on my own as much as I could.
I loved WTF 101. Have you thought about branching out even further, e.g writing for comics or games? Have you been working with other media or platforms where you've been able to apply your comedy writing skill set?
After I learned the "beat 1, beat 2, pattern break, beat 3, end", I can't unseen it anymore. I was wondering if this can be applied on longer form such a independent 11-minute episode on a series
As the pandemic lifts (not really, but we’ve apparently decided to pretend), employees are finding a new balance between work from home and working in offices. Do you see a long-term affect on the comedy writing and production process that will incorporate remote work more permanently?
Mike! I watched Um...Actually for the first time the other day and it was hilarious. You are a great host and the format is so fun. I will keep watching!
Anyways : I feel like a lot a games I write are litteral translations of the unsual idea I start with. For example, last one was : when you get sick and someone takes care of you, you end up being infantilized. And the game was : someone is sick and their significant other takes care of them and infantilizes them and the heightening is pretty straightforward : they get treated in evermore childish ways blablabla. It's not finished but it's the way it's going. I feel like it's a bit lazy, but at the same time, it's also simple and efficient. Is this something I should be worried about ? I mean it could have been : the baby section at the hospital is filled with adults with laryngitis for example. But that's less easy to justify, suddenly harder to produce, less relatable to the audience, etc... Seems like an effort that wouldn't necessarily pay off.
Hello. I've begun writing in a group and we had our first pitch meeting tonight. I was VERY frightened that it would go bad and it would just be silent and awkward. But in fact it went so wellll I'm so glad ! We pitched a few ideas, we brainstormed a lot. We reviewed a few drafts and we selected a first sketch to rehearse. This all thanks to you. I'm so glad I subscribed to this. Man if you ever come to Paris I would so much wanna show you. Well... it's all in french, so don't bother. But whenever we do a show, I'll be back here thanking you again !!!
Obviously you're known for your sketch and improv experience (expertise?), but I feel like one of your underrated skills is hosting, whether it's Um Actually or the CH Podcast. Did you put deliberate time into learning how to host or did it come as an outgrowth of improv/something else?
Are there any sketch formats (or topics!) that you are interested in writing, but haven't had the opportunity to explore at all or as much as you'd like? Thanks for opening this up to all subscribers, by the way!
Do you ever think there is a situation where one should tailor their writing style towards who they are submitting to? I have a very absurdist, Tim Robinson sense of humor. Sometimes I feel like most people I’d be sending my work won’t get it or be receptive to it, so I’ve thought about having a group of sketches/scripts that are tailor-made for certain types of audiences.
At CollegeHumour people had certain characters or tropes that they were associated with, beyond just dumb guy(Grant), straight guy(You), not straight guy (not Grant). How much of writing a sketch relies on knowing these on-screen characters, and knowing the people you're actually writing for.
I've always wondered in the Dropout game shows where there isn't an explicit prize at the end (like Um Actually or Breaking News), is there an off-camera prize or punishment?
I do some improv in my free time and I'm seeing quite a lot of crossover between improv and sketch. What do you think are some lessons that you can learn from sketch that translate well to improv, and what are lessons that you think should never be applied to improv?
Thanks for the great newsletter! :)
I would love to see a post on shorter form sketches. I don't know how much experience you have, but I've notices a lot of the concepts and tenets of the 3-5 minutes sketches applied to 1-2 minute TikToks and would love to know your thoughts on how to get appropriate heightening in such a short form, and how to quickly establish the game and setting for a video that needs to grab your attention in the first 5-10 seconds.
I don't know if anyone has asked this yet, but what is your personal favorite (funniest, or otherwise just the best) example of chuffah you were personally involved with, and/or in other sketches?
I realize this might be a question more for BLM, but do you have advice for D&D DMs who want to build roleplaying scenes better for their players? Especially comedic ones.
If you just want to point me at resources or past emails that's totally fine.
So far Chuffah has been a HUGE help towards building my sketch writing skills, but do you have any advice on acting for sketch? I've tried out twice for my university's sketch team, and while my script submissions were pretty dang solid, I always fell short on the acting audition. I'm certainly comfortable on stage, but I lack the experience of a thespian. Would love some tips on how to embrace whacky characters and embody the emotion of a sketch!
Pie in the face gags: played out, or a retro comedy staple due for a comeback/gritty cinematic reimagining?
Would you be interested in using this comment as an opportunity to just share some weird facts about bugs or presidents?
This is way off topic, but are there any books you recommend for new performers, specifically ones that might cover improv?
What is your guilty pleasure in comedy whether it’s fart jokes or deez nuts trappings, etc.
Do you feel that you learn and improve more when working with a writing partner or by yoursef? I find I'm much more productive when writing with someone else but part of me feels guilty that I'm not thinking through the ideas and process on my own as much as I could.
I loved WTF 101. Have you thought about branching out even further, e.g writing for comics or games? Have you been working with other media or platforms where you've been able to apply your comedy writing skill set?
After I learned the "beat 1, beat 2, pattern break, beat 3, end", I can't unseen it anymore. I was wondering if this can be applied on longer form such a independent 11-minute episode on a series
Is there a sketch subject that you steer clear of based on past experience?
As the pandemic lifts (not really, but we’ve apparently decided to pretend), employees are finding a new balance between work from home and working in offices. Do you see a long-term affect on the comedy writing and production process that will incorporate remote work more permanently?