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How to Create a Funny Skit
We all love to watch funny skits. And when the actors are people we know, those skits can be even funnier. Sometimes the results are hilarious.
True, those skits can also bomb! To prevent this calamity from happening to you when you need to create a short, funny skit, just follow this template from a former funny skit I once created.
It is guaranteed to leave your audience in stitches. Would I lie to you?
Print each word on a separate poster.
CURTAIN
SUN
WIND
RAIN
TREE (Two or three tree signs)
CLOUD
WINDOWS
COMPETITOR
DOWN
Props: One Flashlight (with working battery)
One Toy pistol.
Instructions
• Go to Office Depot/Office Max or whatever it is named these days and purchase 12 large white blank cardboard posters (approx. 24 X 22 inches).
• Upon each sheet of cardboard you will print in large letters – legible from a distance – with black magic marker the capitalized words shown in the box at the right. One word to a poster.
• Before the skit begins, place all the signs with the lettered side up on a large table at the side of the stage where it can be seen by the audience.
• One person who has the most stage presence will be the narrator. In a work environment, that may be the supervisor or manager.
• Hopefully, you have rehearsed the skit a few times with your actors and assigned each one the word on a sign.
• Assign more than one word if you have more signs than actors. The actors stand at the back of the stage during the skit. Each actor is told to get his or her sign from the table when his or her word is mentioned by the Narrator.
• That actor goes to center stage and holds the sign in front of him- or herself so the audience can read it. Then returns to the back of center stage.
Note to Narrator:
Emphasize each bold word that appears on a sign. Speak slowly and distinctly.
The Skit
(The person with the CURTAIN sign is sitting on a chair center stage)
Narrator: “Welcome to our skit. Let us begin. The CURTAIN rises.
(The person with the CURTAIN sign slowly rises from the chair holding the sign front and center. Pauses while the audience laughs and then returns the sign to the table .)
Narrator: “It is morning and the SUN is shining.”
(The person with the SUN sign grabs sign from table, and shines the flashlight around for a few seconds and then retreats to the back of the stage holding the sign in front.)
Narrator: “The WIND is whispering through the TREES.”
(The TREE signs walk to the center of the stage and the WIND sign walks among them whispering.)
Narrator: “Now the WIND is getting stronger … and the TREES are shaking.”
(The WIND sign flexes his/her muscles and the TREE signs start to shake.)
Narrator: “A storm may be brewing. The SUN has gone behind a CLOUD.”
(The CLOUD sign hurries to center stage and the SUN sign tries to hide behind it.)
Narrator: “Now RAIN is starting to fall …”
(The RAIN sign comes in and pretends to fall two or three times ... very carefully.)
After that prologue, you present whatever message you have decided upon and illustrate it with these or additional appropriate signs you have prepared beforehand.
In a work or school environment, you might want to extol the accomplishments of the team members. Here are a few lines of the dialogue I once used which you may find useful as a guide. Fictitious names have been used to protect the guilty.
Narrator: “I called this meeting with the team to review your most significant accomplishments this year. It is very important that we all meet our goals. Every sales call should result in a touchdown.”
(The DOWN sign walks to the center of the stage and everyone touches him/her.)
Narrator: “Every new and old client should become a raving fan.”
(Everyone begins to wave at each other).
Narrator: “I said raving – raving fan, not waving fan.”
“The WIND is really blowing now and the branches of the TREES are beginning to touch the ground.”
(The WIND sign makes blowing sounds and the TREE signs touch the ground several times.)
Narrator: "Billy D. Kidd, what has been your greatest accomplishment this year?"
Billy: “Stealing business from our biggest COMPETITOR.” (Approaches person with COMPETITOR sign waving pistol.)
Narrator: “You mean winning business from our competitor, don’t you, Billy?”
Billy: “Right, winning business. (Approaches COMPETITOR sign again and waves pistol.)
Narrator: Outside, the RAIN continues to fall.” (RAIN sign pretends to fall a few more times.)
Narrator: “And now you can hear the WIND begin to moan.” (WIND sign moans a few times.)
Narrator: “Lynn O’leum, tell us about one of your accomplishments.”
Lynn: “I have made it my business to become extremely proficient and learn everything I can about WINDOWS.” (Approaches actor with WINDOWS sign and begins to inspect it.)
“Oops, sorry, wrong Windows.”
Narrator: “I would like to mention that I successfully coached a paranoid schizophrenic, a full-blown bi-polar disorder, and a sociopathic personality.”
Billy: “Sounds like you had some very interesting coaching clients.”
Narrator: “Clients? No! Those were our employees!”
(Continue skit with your message for ten to fifteen more minutes.)
Narrator: The CURTAIN falls. (CURTAIN sign carefully falls to floor.)
Some of the factors that will contribute to the general hilarity when this skit is presented are:
1- The actors will constantly be grabbing the wrong signs and become excited.
2- The audience may be shouting out advice to help them.
3- Everyone is having fun.
Now go forth and be creative with your short funny skit.
“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is … the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” – Mark Twain
Mark knew what he was talkin’ about!
© Copyright ExecCoach (aka drbj) All rights reserved.
Author, "Much of What You Know about Job Search Just Ain't So."
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