How to Do Sketch Comedy

You might remember all of those wonderful and funny characters portrayed by Carol Burnett and her co-stars on "The Carol Burnett Show" back in the 1970s. That show is a perfect example of sketch comedy. If you have a flair for comedy, can act or do impressions and can get some others together to join you onstage, you too can do sketch comedy.

Instructions

1. Watch and study shows that incorporate sketch comedy. Besides the aforementioned "Carol Burnett Show," popular sketch comedy shows include "In Living Color," "Saturday Night Live," "Your Show of Shows" and "Mad TV."

2. Learn to do impressions. Become a caricature. Wear wigs, make-up or a fake moustache. Speak with an accent. Use exaggeration and parody to portray a character.

3. Strive for originality when it comes to setting. For example, don't use typical or predictable settings. If you're going to do a sketch involving police officers, avoid setting the sketch in a police station if possible.

4. Practice. Use improvisation when practicing a comedy sketch. Plenty of good material can come out of having the actors improvise during the sketch.

5. Incorporate physical comedy if possible. Pratfalls and props are great ways to generate laughs when you do a comedy sketch. Sketch comedy shouldn't rely heavily on dialogue.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep a comedy sketch between 2 and 10 minutes.

• Get ideas for sketches from current events or movies. Parodying a movie is a good way to do sketch comedy.

• Do not set a comedy sketch in more than one location.