Advanced TV Writing: Comedy Sketch Writing

In this course, students develop comedy sketch-writing skills by studying the work of masters of the genre and by drafting and revising the components of a professional submission packet: evergreen topical jokes, fake commercials, conceptual pieces, and original comedic characters.

We analyze the comedic structure and use of escalation in classic sketch templates (television and film parodies, political satire, and digital shorts), as well as sketches written for iconic productions, including Saturday Night Live , Key and Peele , and The Chappelle Show .

In workshop, students experience the professional pitching and rewriting process as they refine their comedic voice.

Students also have the opportunity to visit and study in the television comedy capital, Hollywood, where they meet with professional distinguished comedy writers, participate in a writing workshop, and attend the taping of a current comedy television series, schedule permitting.