I was on that BBC RFTP workshop a few weeks ago and Bill Dare (I think) went through a list of the different types of sketch comedy, which he said everyone should already know. Everyone except for me obviously.
It's taken till now for me to actually get round to looking them up and I can't find any mention of them anywhere.
Two types I think I remember being mentioned were displacement and inversion sketches.
Any recommendations as to where to find more details?
It's stuff you probably know, you just don't know that you know it under those titles. 
e.g inversion is when a sketch makes something the complete opposite to what you expect; a helpful air hostess, a night club bouncer sucking his thumb, university dons playing hide and seek, etc.
I suppose it helps to know the terminology, but it is a dreadfully clinical way to think about writing sketches.
The pencil sketch - where the 'Target' is hit over the head with a giant pencil.
The charcoal sketch - where the paper it is written on is formed into an ball and tossed into an open fire.
The Etcha Sketch - which is Easten European.
Some more:
The Escalator sketch - this starts off with something sensible and then ends up being silly/surreal. This sketch uses the exaggeration tool. An example is Python's four Yorkshiremen boasting who had the worst childhood.
The List/Repetition sketch - e.g; a nightclub bouncer asking for photo id, passport, birth certificate, urine sample and then after frisking the punter, the bouncer dons rubber gloves to conduct a cavity search. Similar to the escalator.
Then and Now - A sketch in which characters shouldn't be together as they live centuries apart, e.g; Henry VIII is having to deal with a chugger.
One of Us Is Mad/Confusion of situation - A common device which can be used to set up a confrontational situation very quickly in a sketch by using a normal character and an abnormal one.
Rule of three - not a sketch in itself but you can use it for gags, e.g; a surgeon walks into an operating theatre and asks for a scalpel, clamp.. and a bicycle pump.
Great stuff. Thanks very much everyone.
Bill Dare also mentioned:
Behaving inappropriately - the worst possible thing that could happen is often the funniest.
Pointy-out/X-ray sketches - where you satirise something by having the characters explain what they're doing.
Parachute sketch - where the least appropriate person is in a situation - but it needs some sort of reason why he's there.
One comment I've heard several times is that pull back/reveal sketches can be a bit crap on radio if the reveal relies on the fact that the audience cannot see the character.
Well that line made me smile. I always look at them as being "hyper real" sketches and they're a facvourite of mine. Yet another reason why Sootyj is doomed to ignoble failure.
I'm sure there's a better name for this kind of sketch but I like "reframing." E.g. setting a story in another setting so BNP win Trumpton local elections, or a dating agency for necrophiliacs.
These are all very useful, thank you. It's interesting to codify something that you do instinctively, and it can be a springboard for new ideas. Thanks!
Quote: Griff @ June 8 2009, 10:00 AM BSTI think those kind of lines work well when you read them on the page, and are brilliant for (say) Viz cartoons or mock pieces in The Onion (although The Onion is a bit more sophisticated). But not for performance, where you need to engage people and pull them into the world of the sketch - that constant "telling people what to think" rather than letting them think for themselves is a bit wearying.
Yeah I think "Reframing" is a good word as any for the kinds of sketch you describe, it's similar to some of the other techniques already mentioned.
Didn't the Fast Show have a character who was a spiv who always spoke like that, always said "with my reputation."
On another note I've had a few lucky shots with News Revue with first line intros. I'm sure I had Dave Cameron walk on and say,
"I'm the Toff who'll wank you off."
one for the writers discussion forum
Just to add to this thread:
I've been doing Chris Heads Radio Sketch show workshop
We started with the classic sketch:
Two people, two different world views
Then the Worls Colliding:
Two completely different worlds combined
Next was the Format Sketch:
Based on a TV or Radio format for example.
Next Monday it's Surealism & Nonsense (I still need to write a sketch for that)
And then finally Character Comedy.
After that we actually have to perform the whole thing in a pub somewhere.
I'm crapping myself, but I've definitely learned a few things along the way, so it's been very useful.
Interesting thread.
Don't people think that at times (and maybe not this thread) we are in danger of analysing things too much?
At the end of the day are there not just two types of sketches?
1, Funny
2. Not Funny.
Quote: bigfella @ November 5 2009, 11:02 PM GMTInteresting thread.
Don't people think that at times (and maybe not this thread) we are in danger of analysing things too much?
At the end of the day are there not just two types of sketches?
1, Funny
2. Not Funny.
I don't think you're wrong there Bigfella.
But it is a good thread, as there aren't many if any books that tell you how to write a sketch.
If you're not funny then you have an uphill struggle to say the least.
But if you are funny then it may be lost if you don't know what you're doing.
It's a helpful site, and I wish I'd seen a thread like this when I first joined.