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Sketch 101 — Sketch Comedy Writing

Saturdays 12-3pm starting Sep 13, 2008
Cost: $325

This course is an introduction to the UCB philosophy on sketch comedy, specifically using “the game” to write short comedic scenes. Each week students will engage in writing exercises that will explore different sketch formats. Students will be exposed to different methods for turning funny ideas into even funnier written sketches. Students will leave the class with an understanding of popular sketch formats and a portfolio of writing.

No prior sketch writing experience is necessary – the only requirement for this class is a desire to write and learn. Students should be prepared to work outside of class, preparing sketches for presentation in every class. Students will be required to see two live sketch shows before the end of the course.

Class Size: 12 Students

Dominic Dierkes

dierkes, dominic
Dominic Dierkes is a comedian and writer based in New York City. A graduate of NYU with a B.F.A. in Film and Television production, Dominic is a founding member of the wildly popular internet sketch group DERRICK COMEDY whose videos have been viewed over fifty million times on YouTube alone. With DERRICK, Dominic co-wrote a pilot at Comedy Central and co-wrote and co-starred in the feature film Mystery Team which wrapped production in the Summer 2008.

Dominic has been performing at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre since 2003 where he teaches sketch and improvises with the Harold Team The Law Firm. Former Harold Teams include Cagney, Mailer Daemon, and fwand. Dominic was a founding member of the sketch comedy troupe Wicked Wicked Hammerkatz with whom he won an ECNY Award for Best Sketch Group in 2005. Dominic has also directed many sketch shows at the UCBT including H.G. Wells' Sex Machine, Blitzkrieg, Hell City Bus, Adam Pally Live, and Maude Teams The President, Choking Victim, Stone Cold Fox, and The Skuntz.

Dominic has written sketches for Short Circuitz on MTV, The NIghttime Clap on Fuse, and served as a staff writer for the Onion News Network, the 2007 Video Game Awards on Spike, and the upcoming Atom Films sketch series, El Vacio. Checkout, a short film which Dominic co-wrote and co-starred in, appeared at the HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen where it took home the prize for Best College Short in 2005.

Dominic is a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Renzo Gracie and loves Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.