Comedy Skits

Writing a Comedy Skit

What makes a good comedy skit? It’s pretty simple… laughs. The more laughs a comedy skit gets, the better everyone involved feels. In my opinion, a good comedy skit starts with the writing. Writing is key. What do you write about? Should you try to copy someone elses comedy skit and make it your own? I’d tend to sway away from this option. The best option is to focus on writing about something you know about or even better, a true story. Take what you know, write down the main points, then elaborate and exaggerate what was funny about it. Once you have a good draft completed, let your friends read. Friends that you trust in having a good sense of humor. Feed back is essential to finding out what works and what doesn’t when writing a comedy skit.

Casting for a Comedy Skit

Casting characters for your comedy skit is another big piece of the puzzle. Choosing funny people isn’t the end all answer to creating a great comedy skit. You need to be stategic. Comedy skits need more than just a bunch of funny actors… they need to flow and have great chemistry. Maybe two funny actors don’t flow well together? Maybe one of them trys to out do the other? There are a ton of variables when forming the perfect cast for your comedy skit. First of all, yes, choose actors you trust and find humorous. Obviously that’s a good start. Second, communicate with your cast. Who wants to play what part and why? Try to keep the cast involved in the structuring process so they don’t just blame you if things don’t work out right. And if things do work out right, then everyone has something to be proud of! Third, choose an actor to play a more sutle and quiet role. These types of characters are sometimes the funniest without even trying too hard. They should be ok with staying out of the spotlight, but keep very focused on their character at all times. Facial expressions and body language are as powerful as words when creating a genuine comedy skit. Viewers tend to sometimes begin watching characters that aren’t speaking, probably out of curiousity. Have you ever caught yourself watching an actor in the background during a movie or tv show? Fourth, get your cast comfortable with one another. Spend time together outside of rehersal. As I mentioned earlier, chemistry is crucial. A spectator can sniff out bad chemistry. It stinks.

Choosing Costumes for Comedy Skit

Choosing a wardrobe is hard to do for an entire cast, which is why each actor should brainstorm with one another about their ideas. You don’t want two of your actors in the comedy skit coming out in the same type of look or outfit, or even colors! Each character should have a unique look that best represents their style. Clothes, colors, and make-up are much more important than we realize sometimes. Keep in mind that a viewer usually first makes a judgement about a character according to what they physically see. You wouldn’t dress an actor playing a parent in kids clothing would you? You would dress them in a mature fashion, as parents are normally more conservative about their appearance than their children. My biggest tip is to stay away from wigs if you can. Wigs can really degrade the realism of comedy skit. If you must use a wig for a certain character, try clipping the cords on the inside of the wig, this gives it a more realistic look and feel.

Production for Comedy Skit

They are a coulple things that you want to include into your comedy skit to make them that much better.  First, is lighting.  Lighting is essential, but can easily be forgotten.  The best place to get cheap lighting is Walmart.  Go to the hardware section and look for their plug-in lamps for your garage or construction.  They work great and are pretty cheap!  Now, when shooting your comedy skit, make sure to have your new lamp plugged in and set up your actors and see what looks good through the camera, then adjust the lamp accordingly.  Second, is sound.  This can be more expensive.  Boom mics are geat, but are an investment.  Another way to get good sound is to film indoors with no background sound.  Meaning air conditioners, people, tv’s, music, even breathing.  Good sound will give your comedy skit that much more of a professional feel and allow the viewer to focus on what’s important, the comedy!