Sketch Writing.
Sketch Writing.
Sketches Writing Class
Time:
Saturdays
Noon to 2:30 pm
Feb. 14th to March 21st
Location:
On Zoom
Teacher:
Tom Booker
Cost:
$225
Online Write Sketches That Suck Class (Evening)
Time:
Mondays
7:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Feb. 2nd to March 9th
Location:
On Zoom
Teacher:
Tom Booker
Cost:
$225
Sketch Writing
Turn Your Funny Ideas Into Funny Sketches!
In this class, you will learn how to take your funny ideas, goofy characters, and wild “what ifs” and turn them into sketch comedy that is entertaining, thought provoking, and genuinely funny.
Through a series of exercises, demonstrations, and weekly homework assignments developed by Tom Booker during his seven years teaching sketch writing at The Second City Training Center, you will learn the sketch forms used most often by professional writers and performers. You will practice finding and sharpening your point of view, heightening ideas, and writing clear, playable sketches.
By the end of this six-week course, each student will have five completed comedic sketches and a stronger understanding of how to generate ideas, shape them into finished pieces, and move on to the next one with confidence.
No previous writing experience is required. All you need is curiosity, a sense of play, and a willingness to learn.
Okay, here’s the deal. There have been many, many times in the more than two decades that I’ve been teaching this class when students are too afraid to write because they’re trying to write the perfect first draft. The pressure kicks in, the fear takes over, and they stop having fun trying to create comedy.
What if you did the opposite?
What if, instead of trying to write the perfect comedy sketch, you set out to write a bad one? What if your only goal was to write the worst script possible?
First off, you will have more fun writing the script. And the script, even though you tried to write a bad script, will most likely be really good because you had fun writing it. And when you’re having fun is when you’ll do your best work! And most importantly, you will have completed a first draft of a script! And that’s the starting point for any great script!
More importantly, you’ll finish a script. You’ll have a complete first draft. And that’s the hardest and most important step in writing any great comedy sketch.
The secret to writing is that “all good writing comes from bad writing.” So let’s do what we can to have fun as we get the bad writing out of the way!
This class is built around a simple truth: all good writing comes from bad writing. So let’s get the bad writing out of the way, have some fun, and get you writing — fast.
In this class, you will learn how to take your funny ideas, goofy characters, and wild “what ifs” and turn them into sketch comedy that is entertaining, thought provoking, and genuinely funny.
Through a series of exercises, demonstrations, and weekly homework assignments developed by Tom Booker during his seven years teaching sketch writing at The Second City Training Center, you will learn the sketch forms used most often by professional writers and performers. You will practice finding and sharpening your point of view, heightening ideas, and writing clear, playable sketches.
By the end of this six-week course, each student will have five completed comedic sketches and a stronger understanding of how to generate ideas, shape them into finished pieces, and move on to the next one with confidence.
No previous writing experience is required. All you need is curiosity, a sense of play, and a willingness to learn.
– For ages 18 & Older
– This class is limited to 10 students
Tom Booker is a former college mascot who began studying improvisation in 1986 at The Second City Training Center in Chicago. He later trained with legendary improv teacher Del Close at ImprovOlympic (iO), where he performed with the renowned house troupe Blue Velveeta.
Tom is a founding member of Chicago’s Annoyance Theatre. While there, he performed in the Off-Broadway production of The Real Live Brady Bunch at the Village Gate Theatre in New York and later at the Westwood Playhouse in Los Angeles.
After moving to Los Angeles in 1991, Tom co-founded Theatre-A-Go-Go! with Laura Hall, the musical director from Whose Line Is It Anyway? He went on to teach improv and sketch writing at The Second City Training Center in Los Angeles. During this time, he also co-wrote and co-directed the feature film Kill the Man with producing partner Jon Kean. The film starred Luke Wilson and premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. Tom has appeared in numerous television shows, several films, and nearly one hundred commercials.
From 2001 to 2007, Tom taught improv classes, sketch writing classes, and commercial audition workshops at The Second City Training Center.
In 2007, Tom moved from Los Angeles to Austin and founded The Institution Theater, an improv theater and training center in South Austin. The theater remained open until March 2020, when it was forced to close due to the global pandemic.
Online Write Sketches That Suck Class (Afternoon)
Time:
Mondays
7:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Feb. 2nd to March 9th
Location:
TBD
Teacher:
Tom Booker
Cost:
$225
Sketch Writing Class
Time:
Saturdays
Noon to 2:30 pm
February 14th to March 21st
Location:
Oon Zoom
Teacher:
Tom Booker
Cost:
$225
Sketch Writing
Turn Your Funny Ideas Into Funny Sketches!
In this class, you will learn how to take your funny ideas, goofy characters, and wild “what ifs” and turn them into sketch comedy that is entertaining, thought provoking, and genuinely funny.
Through a series of exercises, demonstrations, and weekly homework assignments developed by Tom Booker during his seven years teaching sketch writing at The Second City Training Center, you will learn the sketch forms used most often by professional writers and performers. You will practice finding and sharpening your point of view, heightening ideas, and writing clear, playable sketches.
By the end of this six-week course, each student will have five completed comedic sketches and a stronger understanding of how to generate ideas, shape them into finished pieces, and move on to the next one with confidence.
No previous writing experience is required. All you need is curiosity, a sense of play, and a willingness to learn.
Okay, here’s the deal. There have been many, many times in the more than two decades that I’ve been teaching this class when students are too afraid to write because they’re trying to write the perfect first draft. The pressure kicks in, the fear takes over, and they stop having fun trying to create comedy.
What if you did the opposite?
What if, instead of trying to write the perfect comedy sketch, you set out to write a bad one? What if your only goal was to write the worst script possible?
First off, you will have more fun writing the script. And the script, even though you tried to write a bad script, will most likely be really good because you had fun writing it. And when you’re having fun is when you’ll do your best work! And most importantly, you will have completed a first draft of a script! And that’s the starting point for any great script!
More importantly, you’ll finish a script. You’ll have a complete first draft. And that’s the hardest and most important step in writing any great comedy sketch.
The secret to writing is that “all good writing comes from bad writing.” So let’s do what we can to have fun as we get the bad writing out of the way!
This class is built around a simple truth: all good writing comes from bad writing. So let’s get the bad writing out of the way, have some fun, and get you writing — fast.
In this class, you will learn how to take your funny ideas, goofy characters, and wild “what ifs” and turn them into sketch comedy that is entertaining, thought provoking, and genuinely funny.
Through a series of exercises, demonstrations, and weekly homework assignments developed by Tom Booker during his seven years teaching sketch writing at The Second City Training Center, you will learn the sketch forms used most often by professional writers and performers. You will practice finding and sharpening your point of view, heightening ideas, and writing clear, playable sketches.
By the end of this six-week course, each student will have five completed comedic sketches and a stronger understanding of how to generate ideas, shape them into finished pieces, and move on to the next one with confidence.
No previous writing experience is required. All you need is curiosity, a sense of play, and a willingness to learn.
– For ages 18 & Older
– This class is limited to 10 students
Tom Booker is a former college mascot who began studying improvisation in 1986 at The Second City Training Center in Chicago. He later trained with legendary improv teacher Del Close at ImprovOlympic (iO), where he performed with the renowned house troupe Blue Velveeta.
Tom is a founding member of Chicago’s Annoyance Theatre. While there, he performed in the Off-Broadway production of The Real Live Brady Bunch at the Village Gate Theatre in New York and later at the Westwood Playhouse in Los Angeles.
After moving to Los Angeles in 1991, Tom co-founded Theatre-A-Go-Go! with Laura Hall, the musical director from Whose Line Is It Anyway? He went on to teach improv and sketch writing at The Second City Training Center in Los Angeles. During this time, he also co-wrote and co-directed the feature film Kill the Man with producing partner Jon Kean. The film starred Luke Wilson and premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. Tom has appeared in numerous television shows, several films, and nearly one hundred commercials.
From 2001 to 2007, Tom taught improv classes, sketch writing classes, and commercial audition workshops at The Second City Training Center.
In 2007, Tom moved from Los Angeles to Austin and founded The Institution Theater, an improv theater and training center in South Austin. The theater remained open until March 2020, when it was forced to close due to the global pandemic.