How to Write Group Sketch Comedy

Writing comedy is hard enough, but writing comedy with a group can be so difficult that you may not think it can ever be accomplished. Different ideas about jokes, characters, staging and even a basic premise can cloud a sketch and make it extremely challenging to even complete a single draft. The best way to move forward is to at first accept all the ideas that your group members can brainstorm, then work as a team to whittle down the piece into a winning sketch.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Have everyone in your group sit in a circle, so that you each can all see each other and no one is blocked or left out.

2. Assign one person to take notes in a notebook or on a computer.

3. As a group, begin sharing, out loud, your ideas for sketch premises and characters. Have the recorder write down every single idea the group has, no matter how outlandish or poor it may seem.

4. After you have amassed about 10 to 15 ideas, have the group decide on the one sketch they would like to work on first. You can do this by a showing of hands, a voice vote or simply a group discussion. Make it clear that all the sketches will have a chance to be written, but this is simply a way to determine which one will be written first.

5. Once the group has voted on the premise or characters, resume the process of verbalizing ideas. But this time, have the group members brainstorm bits of dialog, beats, jokes and plot points in the sketch. During this session, encourage everyone to really listen to each other, as one person might come up with a great line of dialogue that will enhance another person's beat, and vice versa. Make sure every single idea gets written down.

6. Once you have amassed a large list of ideas for the specific sketch, have the recorder read though every idea to refresh the group's memories.

7. When the list has been read out loud, brainstorm the order and direction the sketch will take (something that should have become clearer when the list of ideas was read out loud). Have the recorder take notes on this as well.

8. Once you reach a place of agreement (which might take a long time) or at least compromise, write, as a group, a line-by-line rough version of the sketch. This may be tedious, but it's necessary. Make sure that everyone is involved.

9. When the rough draft is finished, have the members of the group read the new sketch out loud. Everyone should make notes of what works, makes sense and is on game--and what doesn't or isn't.

10. As a group, discuss the reading of the sketch.

11. In the same manner as Step 8, write a second draft of the sketch, using the notes the group made during the first reading.

12. You now have your first draft of the sketch, written as a group.

Tips & Warnings

• Take breaks as needed.
• You can split the writing a sketch into a few separate meetings.
• Don't let you ego get in the way of good ideas.
• Even if you think you know the best way to write the sketch, let other people's voices be heard.
• Don't be afraid to contribute.