How to Make It As a Sketch Comedian

We sat down with the stars of truTV's Friends of the People to find out the secrets to making it as a sketch comedian.

Oct 28, 2014
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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

So you want to make it as a sketch comedian, huh? Has the Internet convinced you that sketch comedy fame is only one short web series away? Perfect. That level of blind faith, coupled with the power of the Internet, is the first step to experiencing sketch comedy glory.

There is, of course, a certain level of talent required to become successful. And with that talent comes an understanding of comedic timing, joke structure, character development, and all kinds of other little details that make up a great comedian. But hey, you can't win if you don't play. And if you're not sure whether or not you even want to play, just start watching a ton of sketch comedy. It'll help you get a feel for the various styles of sketch and whether or not you feel like you've got the chops to give it a crack. A great place to start taking it in would be with truTV's Friends of the People. It’s a sketch show developed by—and starring—a few comedian buddies of mine who have always had their own very unique brand of comedy that has translated very nicely on screen. There are a lot of sketch shows out there that just feel like their bits were pulled from a how-to book on writing jokes. That's not FOTP. These guys are way too funny to let something like that happen.

To help you get a better sense of what life in sketch comedy is all about, I fired off a few questions at Kevin Barnett and Jermaine Fowler in hopes of getting the answers that you guys want to hear. I definitely got some answers—pretty great ones—but whether or not you want to hear them is completely up to you. And by the time you're done reading them, please leave a comment and let me know if you still want to be a comedian. Kevin and Jermaine are also very curious as to whether or not their advice is inspiring. So comment wisely, because they'll be reading and probably know where you live. 

Can anyone become a sketch comedian?

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Kevin Barnett: Yeah, I believe if anyone wants it hard enough and they work at it, it's always possible. That's a very corny thing to say. Nah, probably not everybody—a lot of people are dorks and I’m better than them. I'm the best in the world. In the hood they call me the next Audrey Hepburn. The thing is that I kind of got into stand up ultimately wanting to do sketch and thought that's just what you were supposed to do, because that's what Chappelle did, and a lot of the guys on In Living Color. I was actually wrong, but started doing sketches with my friends in college and more stuff when I moved to NY. I will say that if I’d just done sketch classes or something I may not have had the voice that you develop in stand up, which I think is actually very helpful in making unique sketches.

Jermaine Fowler: Well, yeah. There are so many outlets for people to perform sketch, whether it's performing live at a small theater or uploading it on YouTube. There are a lot of sketch groups out there—it's just a matter of trying to stand out and be original. Coming up with a goofy name like “Oprah's Gut” could get people to notice you, too. 

How is sketch comedy different from any regular acting that you’ve done?

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KB: Sketch is just fun. The amount of different characters, impressions, and general crazy stuff that I’ve had to do in any given day on this show was ludicrous, and it would never be like that with a sitcom or a movie. Also, I feel like you can just play things a lot crazier in sketch because people understand that a sketch can just be something totally insane.

JF: Sketch is actually the only acting that I've ever done. I've been making sketches since ninth grade. I never really got into high school plays, except the time when I worked the spotlight for some play that my school put on. I was so bad at it. I couldn't stop laughing so the light was shaking. The play wasn't even humorous; I just couldn't stop laughing at how bad the acting was.

What’s the hardest thing about sketch?

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KB: Well, specifically with our show, we shot so many sketches that a lot of the times if you were doing an impression or something in a sketch, there would just be no time to sit down and master that impression because there was just too much other stuff going on. During one of my favorite ones, the only prep I had for it was literally getting home at 1 a.m. from shooting and putting on a compilation video of the person on YouTube and falling asleep to it, then waking up like 4 hours later, going to set and shooting it. I somehow felt good about the disaster that I had just put on screen.

JF: For live sketch, having people get onboard with the set-up immediately. If the audience doesn't get the premise up top then you're screwed. For online sketches, the hardest thing is seeing yourself have more dislikes than likes. It's so heartbreaking. But I just assume that those are all ex-girlfriends trying to take me down. Groups like MurderFist make sketch fun for me because they know the rules, but they break them, which, to me, is what comedy is about. Defiance!

Assuming that you’re also a self-loathing comedian, why don’t you think you deserve this?

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KB: Haha, I don't. I don't think anyone ever fully thinks that they deserve any success. Everyday I feel guilt for what I have, and the fact that there are others who are out there struggling, but then I look at the piles and piles of cash I have in my room and realize that I don't care at all about anyone—money over everything. Imma buy a $2,000 bird and make him wear platinum chains.

JF: Self-loathe? Nah. I deserve this. Haha-haaa, self-loathe.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give to the dad of a kid who wants to be a comedian?

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KB: Be supportive and encouraging. It's a tough route to go and having your parents not trashing your choices all the time is huge. Also, if it looks like your child is failing at comedy and there's no hope, make sure they remember that a rap career is a solid back up.

JF: Have another kid because you screwed this one up.

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