THE
BEST OF THE BEST SKETCH FEST 2005
OK, WHO'S
THE SKETCHIEST COMICS?
Friday, August 19, 2005
Kyle O'Brien - Special To The Oregonian
Sketch comedy is an art form
that, to paraphrase Rodney Dangerfield, doesn't get much
respect. Theater people don't consider it true theater and
stand-up comedians don't consider it pure comedy.
Yet sketch comedy prevails and thrives in popular culture
and in underground comedy scenes across the country,
stretching into Canada and across the pond to England.
From "Your Show of Shows" to Monty Python to "Saturday
Night Live," "Kids in the Hall" and "Stella," sketch comedy
often is a hilarious fusion of comedy and theater. It comes
alive this weekend, when sketch comedy groups from around
the nation descend on Portland for the third annual "Best
of the Best Sketch Fest," hosted by the Portland troupe the
3rd Floor.
"It doesn't get as much attention as stand-up or improv,"
says Ted Douglass, co-organizer of the festival (along with
Andy Buzan) and co-founding member of 3rd Floor. But he
notes that sketch comedy is high-profile on television and
high budget, as on "Saturday Night Live."
Sketch comedy troupes have produced some of television's
most notable comic actors. Most "correspondents" from "The
Daily Show," the entire cast of "Reno 911," almost every
actor on "Saturday Night Live" and "SCTV" all grew out of
the world of sketch comedy.
Want to find out what the next troupe to hit it big will
be? Sketch Fest is the place to find out -- but get there
early because the festival is rapidly gaining in
popularity.
So just what is Sketch Comedy? First off, don't call the
sketches skits.
"It's a strangely big deal," Douglass says. "Skits are for
campfires and little girls."
While that statement may not make fast friends with the
Campfire Girls, it's a concept that the groups hold dear.
Sketch comedy is scripted and essentially a theatrical
production of vignettes, essentially short stories for
theater with a comic bent. How sketch comedy is approached
often depends on where it is conceived and performed. Each
region of the nation has a different style and approach.
The West Coast sketch style is highly scripted, according
to Douglass.
"Everything is written down and theatrically based -- we're
all working actors in 3rd Floor," he says. Signature
troupe: The Groundlings.
The Chicago/Toronto style is founded on improvisation,
Douglass says. "They improvise to come up with ideas. It's
very premise-driven." Signature troupe: Second City.
Then there's the New York style, which Douglass says is a
blending of different styles. "New York is a hodge-podge.
All kinds of comedians go to New York with all kinds of
influences." Signature troupe: "Saturday Night Live."
Douglass says describes three criteria for admittance into
the "Best of the Best Sketch Fest." The groups must be
active on the sketch comedy circuit (a tight-knit national
family); one member from the 3rd Floor must have seen them;
and they have to have loved the act.
There is no member limit on groups. They can be a
seven-person troupe, like 3rd Floor, or simply a one- or
two-person act. The Best of the Best Sketch Fest only
requires that the sketches be written and rehearsed -- and
funny, of course. Each group gets 45 minutes to strut its
stuff.
This year's line-up offers particularly rich variety, so
fans of all types of comedy should find something to like.
Douglass hopes the festival will continue to grow, with
more Portlanders recognizing sketch comedy as a legitimate
theatrical art form. They'll keep bringing in the best of
the best every year and showcase the great talents from
around the nation, and perhaps at some point, the globe.
"Once people see sketch comedy live," Douglass says,
"they're hooked."