Here's a sketch called "Hatz" from Key & Peele's season two finale, which airs this Wednesday at 10:30. It's every bit as funny and delightful as you expect Key & Peele to be at this point.
Each year the Just for Laughs festival picks a handful of up-and-coming comedians to be part of their New Faces showcases. This year they are expanding New Faces to also include: New Faces: Characters (sketch performers) and New Faces: Unrepped (those without representation). The shows feature some names that might ring a bell like Dominic Dierkes, The Lucas Brothers, Joe Wengert, Emilly Heller, Rachel Bloom, Lauren Lapkus and more. The showcases, which are at a variety times from July 25-27, put the performers in front of a sought after group of industry professionals. The full list of performers is below, all with a newer face than the next.
Sketch comedy is on the rise! This article highlights some popular purveyors of the form, from the internet's Harvard Sailing Team to UCB's Stone Cold Fox to Comedy Central's new show Key and Peele. And it details some interesting issues facing sketchmakers: the pressure to be concise, the balance between actors and writers, and the possibility (or impossibility) or audience interaction. But wait! A last-minute twist ending: It doesn't detail any of those interesting issues! This whole post was a comedy sketch! (I am just kidding. It does detail them.)
At this point in my look at the history and development of sketch comedy shows I would be amiss if I didn't mention Monty Python's Flying Circus. Simply put there has never been a more innovative or influential show. So much has been written about this show that I really don't feel like I could add any anything. All I'll say is that if you haven't watched any of it, do yourself a favor and seek it out immediately. Instead I'll direct you to Curtis Gwinn's lovely piece on the group.
With that out of the way it's time to tackle another giant of sketch comedy: Saturday Night [...]
