You've written some great comedy sketches and now you want to get them accepted for either a radio or TV show. Generally, the way we do this is by sending off a script in the hope that our script stands out from amongst the thousands of others. An alternative and more daring approach that you could take is to stage your own comedy show. You can then invite show producers and/or get a recording of your show to send out subsequently.
Based on my own experiences, this article shows the steps that you would need to take to make this a reality.
Step 1: Is it feasible to stage a sketch show?
Do you have enough good quality sketches? If we assume that most sketches are in the region of 3 5 minutes in length, then you probably need between 10 15 sketches. This should give you a show of about one and a half hours, when you factor in an interval.
Can you afford the cost of hiring a venue? Of the two shows that I have staged, one was at a small theatre and the other was a pub's function room. It will be a case of researching various options and getting price quotes.
In my case, I was putting on the shows jointly with another writer. This meant that the sketch writing requirement was split, as was the cost. This can be a very useful approach. Indeed, you might be able to get 3 or 4 writers involved which will make the enterprise all the more affordable.
Step 2: Have I got the right people to stage a show?
You will need a team of actors. Some comedy shows operate with just having 4 actors so that's probably the basic minimum. I would suggest having around 6 or 7 to minimise their workload. Remember, you will probably need a split of male and female actors. We got actors who were willing to perform for free. They saw it as an opportunity to try something different (i.e. comedy rather than plays), and we were able to give them a CD at the end with their names on it which they could then use as part of their acting CVs.
It's probably also advisable to have a director. This is a role that you could perform yourself, but it's best to have someone who's not so close to the sketches and who has experience of planning stage directions and dealing with actors. Having a director will also make actors more willing to come on board.
Step 3: Set up the logistics
Decide when you want to stage the show, and book the venue. You will generally be required to pay a deposit. You need to allow yourself plenty of time to rehearse and plan the show.
Decide when you are going to rehearse and where. You may be able to rehearse in someone's house. We used the basement room in a pub, and a university cafeteria. To begin with you just need somewhere where the actors can sit with the scripts in their hands. Later on, you will need space to work on the stage directions.
Set up a rehearsal schedule. I'd suggest once a week, moving to a more intensive schedule as the live date gets closer. If you have a director, they should be able to provide guidance on this.
You may also want to arrange for the show to be recorded. If so, make arrangements with a sound recorder.
Step 4: Sketch selections, auditions and initial rehearsals
You need to decide what sketches to include. If several writers are involved, this will probably be a case of each writer selecting an equal amount of their favourite sketches. If disputes arise over the suitability of a sketch, you could take guidance from your director.
You then need to decide which actors to use for each sketch. If you know the actors from previous shows, then you may have an idea of roles that they would be good at. However, it may be worth getting several to read for a role and then make a decision. I would suggest trying to split the workload fairly evenly, particularly if the actors are devoting their time free of charge. This may also help to prevent grumbles over one actor getting all the good roles.
Having chosen your sketches and which actors are going to be in them, you can start rehearsing the sketches. Initially, this will involve reading from the scripts. To save time, you may want to split the group into two so that you can rehearse two sketches at the same time, assuming that you have adequate space to facilitate this.
Step 5: Marketing, promotion, and ticketing
Your aims here should be to:
• Recoup as much of your costs as possible (and maybe make a small profit)
ensure a decent sized audience (ideally you want to be able to say that your sketches were performed before a sell out audience!)
• Attract some media/sketch industry contacts. A good review from a local magazine or paper can be very beneficial, and getting sketch producers or directors, etc, would constitute a real coup.
Some of the marketing tactics that you can employ include:
• Produce cheap flyers and put them in local pubs, theatres, universities, etc.
• Word of mouth / personal selling. Go out and tell people about the show. If all the writers, the director, and the actors tell their friends and family then this will go a long way towards selling your compliment of tickets.
• Set up a website and promote the show through various websites.
• Get a listing in local entertainment guides
• Get the venue to do some in-house promotion. Typically, this will either be a message on a board or allowing flyers/posters to be placed in the venue.
• Contact your local papers and entertainment magazines, and ask if they would be interested in reviewing your show. Offer complementary tickets.
• Contact people that you know are involved in staging radio or TV shows. Again offer complementary tickets. You'll need a strong hook to convince them to attend. If there's a particular theme or topicality that runs through your sketches, then this may be the way to gain their interest.
• Consider discounted ticketing. i.e. offer a discount to students and pensioners, and to friends of the actors. The key should really be to fill the venue.
Step 6: Final rehearsals and preparations
In the last couple of weeks you need to:
• Ensure the actors are now comfortable to perform without the comfort blanket of the script
• Agree upon the sketch order. The Director should be able to help with this, and the order may be driven by which combinations of actors are in which sketches. Ideally, you want to minimise the number of times that an actor has to perform in two consecutive sketches. You may also want to have one of your strongest sketches to open the show.
• Check out the venue, so that you know how the stage is set up and what size it is.
• Agree upon the stage directions. The actors need to know where they're entering and where they're exiting to. You also need to work through any movement that is required during the sketch. Generally speaking though, it is advisable to keep movement to a minimum, particularly if you are recording the show.
• Agree upon any props/costumes that are required. Again, I'd suggest keeping this to a minimum. Remember that there will need to be quick turnaround times between sketches. If an actor puts on a cowboy hat, the audience will understand that he's meant to be a cowboy you don't need the whole cowboy outfit!
• Agree who will introduce the show. Are you going to get a compere in, or will one of you do the honours
Step 7: Preparations on the day of the show
Make sure that everyone turns up well in advance of the show. Check that the sound equipment and lights are working, and that the sound engineer knows what's expected of him/her.
Have a run through of the show, from start to finish. You may find that the venue presents challenges that you didn't anticipate when you were rehearsing. Rehearse the compere's introduction.
Take some photos. Nice to have as a memento but also may be useful to promote your writing in the future.
Make sure that the seating's all set out, and that any seats that have been reserved are clearly marked. If you have programmes, either place them on the seats or get the ticket office to hand them out as people arrive
Make sure that someone is there to look after the ticket desk.
If you've got VIP guests (media or industry people), then try to make sure that they are welcomed and shown to their seats.
Make sure that the venue staff know what's expected of them (i.e. what time the doors need to open, etc)
Step 8: Perform the show
With all the preparations out of the way, you will hopefully be able to sit back and enjoy a slick performance that will be well received by your packed audience!
Often comedy venues will also include a bar that the audience goes onto after the show. If this is the case, you can mingle after the show and gauge feedback.
Step 9: In the days and weeks after the show
Make sure that you follow through on some key actions, to fully maximise the value that you get from staging the show. Some of the things to consider are:
If you arranged for the show to be recorded, get hold of the recording. You can then put it onto CDs to send to people that you want to promote your writing to.
Check to see if you received any reviews. If positive reviews were received, you can use them to promote your writing. Send your CD (and any positive reviews) to key industry contacts. Follow up with a phone call (especially to any who attended the show.)
There's a lot of hard work that goes into the staging of a comedy show. However, it can be extremely rewarding, even if it doesn't lead to a big break through into TV or radio shows. Apart from anything else, you will learn a lot about the various skills that are required to stage shows, and you may also get insights into what parts of your writing are well received and which parts are less so. If you have the time, money and energy, it's something that I would definitely recommend!