Interview Notes
Q: What made you want to get involved with sketch comedy? A: I enjoy writing, but I enjoy making people laugh even more than that. Sketch comedy is a perfect combination of the two.
Q: What would you say is the purpose of the sketches? A: Obviously the ultimate purpose of every sketch is to make the viewer laugh. Each one is meant to tap into some aspect of humor that resonates with the audience…it’s almost always a hit or miss situation.
Q: What kind of impact has your team had on the school? A: The team has put on a free sketch comedy show every semester featuring the best sketches written by each member. I think this has had a positive impact on the school by providing free entertainment and exposure to a unique form of comedy.
Q: What kind of impact has had it had on you? A: It’s given me a reason to keep writing even when I don’t want to. This is a quality that separates a good writer from a bad one.
Q: How does your team communicate within itself? A: Our team has weekly mandatory meetings where we read new sketches and critique them. However, most communication is done through Facebook. All new information regarding shows or meeting times is posted on the private Facebook page.
Q: Is this form of communication effective? What aspect(s) of it make it (in)effective? A: I would say this form of communication is ultimately effective. The only downside is the fact that some people check Facebook more than others and therefore some people might miss out on important information (i.e. Myself).
Q: How does your team try to communicate outside of itself? How does it reach its audience? A: The team makes an effort to promote events (shows, sketch comedy classes, etc) by advertising itself to the campus in places commonly frequented by students. For instance, we require each member to achieve a certain number of “PR” points by flyer-ing to promote shows in a common plaza, or inviting a certain number of people to an event. It’s all about exposure. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how good a show is if nobody shows up.
Q: Is this form of communication effective? What makes it (in)effective? A: Yes. Any show that has been advertised on campus always has more attendees as opposed to shows that have not been advertised.
Q: What you say is the most effective/important form of communication your team uses?
A: I would say the most effective form of communication is the Facebook page. This is due to the fact that anyone on the team can post any question, concern, or problem they may have to be answered by anyone else.
Q: Overall, what are some problems you've seen with how your team tries to communicate, either within itself or with its audience? A: The sole form of communication besides the weekly meetings are through Facebook. Some team members are older, or simply don’t go on Facebook as much. This is really the only problem within our communication.
Q: For any problems with your team's forms of communication, what do you think could be changed to fix them? A: We could focus on texting the members regarding important shows or meetings rather than simply making a new Facebook post. Even if this means only texting the people who are known not to check the page.
Q: What are some ways your team's communication could be more effective? A: The team could work on emphasizing the importance of staying in touch with each member. For instance, if there was a way to have each member verify that they saw a new post regarding a show or meeting, things would be smoother.