Sketch Writing Class Suggestions
- Thread starter Life Art
- Start date
I had great experiences at UCB with Dominic Dierkes for Level 1 and Michael Delaney for Level 2. Level 1 was more about exploring a broad variety of sketch types/genres, and Level 2 was learning how to focus up and edit. You are required to do lots of writing, and everyone gets to workshop and contribute.
I've taken 101 (Curtis) and 201 (Delaney) at UCB, both were very good.
Not to scare you off of it, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. You'll be writing (and rewriting) out of class. You'll spend 15-20 minutes on your sketch and the rest of the class talking about everyone else's sketches. In both my classes, we started out with 16 and dropped 2 or 3 people by week 3. It isn't like an improv class, where you can just show up and have a blast. That said, if you want to do it, the UCB classes were great.
VVV Eh, maybe 14 or 12. We did have a few dropouts in both classes though.
Not to scare you off of it, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. You'll be writing (and rewriting) out of class. You'll spend 15-20 minutes on your sketch and the rest of the class talking about everyone else's sketches. In both my classes, we started out with 16 and dropped 2 or 3 people by week 3. It isn't like an improv class, where you can just show up and have a blast. That said, if you want to do it, the UCB classes were great.
VVV Eh, maybe 14 or 12. We did have a few dropouts in both classes though.
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Are you sure it was 16? That seems like a large number for the UCB writers room. I think most of the sketch classes go to 10 or 12 students. Correct me if I'm wrong, anybody.
I can also recommend Curtis Gwinn & Michael Delaney at UCB. They were my Level 1 & 2 teachers and they were fantastic -- they have good eyes and good brains. The other teachers, I'm sure, are great. It is a lot of work but many rewarding things are. Before I tried it, I was intimidated by sketch. Now it's the thing I love doing and can't imagine not doing.
I can also recommend Curtis Gwinn & Michael Delaney at UCB. They were my Level 1 & 2 teachers and they were fantastic -- they have good eyes and good brains. The other teachers, I'm sure, are great. It is a lot of work but many rewarding things are. Before I tried it, I was intimidated by sketch. Now it's the thing I love doing and can't imagine not doing.
I believe my classes started out with 12, and there was attrition. The class dynamic in any sketch class is the one wild card you can't control, and is so important (in terms of feedback and collaboration). Dominic and Delaney did their best to foster a collaborative environment, but the dynamics of the class were very different.
Curtis is a swell teacher too -I took him for spec writing, and also started a 101 with him that I had to drop for personal reasons.
Curtis is a swell teacher too -I took him for spec writing, and also started a 101 with him that I had to drop for personal reasons.
It's a shame Second City's New York school fell apart. They had a great improv to sketch class.
Armondo Diaz, over at the Magnet, teaches a great improv to sketch class. He also teaches great regular sketch classes.
UCB has a great sketch program with great sketch teachers to match. While the format of the classes and levels are the same, the teaching styles of the teachers are not the same. They are all equally great teachers, they just have their own styles of teaching. However, UCB does not have an improv to sketch class...yet.
Can't tell ya how The Pit is. Sorry.
Armondo Diaz, over at the Magnet, teaches a great improv to sketch class. He also teaches great regular sketch classes.
UCB has a great sketch program with great sketch teachers to match. While the format of the classes and levels are the same, the teaching styles of the teachers are not the same. They are all equally great teachers, they just have their own styles of teaching. However, UCB does not have an improv to sketch class...yet.
Can't tell ya how The Pit is. Sorry.