Thank you everyone for tuning in this season. And send questions for our mailbag episode next week to learnaboutsketchcomedy@gmail.com!

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What’s the difference between a low-energy character and a sketch that feels boring?

How do you avoid accidental de-heightening?

All this and more on this week’s episode of Saturday Night Later — with special guest Tristan Griffin!

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Bio:

TRISTAN LEE GRIFFIN is a NYC-based comedic actor and writer, originally from Rome, Georgia. A house sketch comedy performer at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre NYC and a Just For Laughs New Face, Tristan can be seen performing with his sketch team, The Foundation.Tristan’s credits include: Dickinson, American Horror Story, White House Plumbers, That Damn Michael Che, WeCrashed and The Politician.

What makes Daniel Day-Lewis such an appealing sketch subject?

And — SCRIMPCHHHHH!!!

All this and more as we discuss the latest SNL UK episode (hosted by Hannah Waddingham)!

Thanks for reading Unusual Things: A Guide to Sketch Comedy! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Thanks for reading Unusual Things: A Guide to Sketch Comedy! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

And coming up soon — we’ll be having a mailbag episode! Send your questions to: learnaboutsketchcomedy@gmail.com

Thanks for reading Unusual Things: A Guide to Sketch Comedy! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

How do you give notes on a sketch you truly don’t understand?

And what made that music video sketch such an ABSOLUTE delight?!

All this and more on today’s episode of Saturday Night Later, featuring the INCREDIBLE Jason Sweeten!

Jason’s Bio:

Jason Sweeten is a Brooklyn-based comedy writer and playwright. His play You must share your trauma! was selected as a 2025 runner-up finalist by the Yes And Laughter Lab. He’s written for Comedy Central, BuzzFeed, and The Upright Citizens Brigade. With over a decade of experience at UCB, he’s been on several house sketch teams (Choir, What Would Do, Glamour College), a character team (Wig!), and currently writes for the theatre’s flagship sketch show ASSSSKETCH. His work has been featured on Queerty, LGBTQ Nation, and Vulture, which called his writing “boundary-pushing, deeply rewarding, and hilarious.” Prior to comedy and penning the mildly infamous “Do You Still Have A Job At BuzzFeed,” Jason was an award-winning copywriter.

Thanks for reading Unusual Things: A Guide to Sketch Comedy! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

How do you avoid a static scene?

And…

What happened to that finger?!!?!??!?!

All this and more as we discuss the SNL UK episode hosted by Nicola Coughlan!

Thanks for reading Unusual Things: A Guide to Sketch Comedy! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

What happens when your beats defy gravity?

And… what’s with all the dad stuff?!?!?!

All this and more as we discuss this (extremely fun!) episode of SNL UK, with special guest Niccolo Aeed!

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Why do some sketches fall just short of being great?

And… what if we told you this table was a MAN?

All this and more on today’s episode of Saturday Night Later — where we talk through the sketches from the Colman Domingo episode with the incredible Natasha Vaynblat!

(And tune in later this week for our next episode, about last weekend’s SNL UK!)

Guest Bio:Natasha has written for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, A Little Late with Lilly Singh, and Comedy Central’s “Your Worst Fears Confirmed”. Her humor writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and McSweeney’s. Her standup album “We’re All Dads Here” was featured in Vulture’s “Albums To Watch Right Now”. She is currently performing her new hour “Childless Freak” on April 28th at Joe’s Pub and she wants to you to come see it.

Thanks for reading Unusual Things: A Guide to Sketch Comedy! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Why does clear labeling matter in a sketch?

And… can YOU find the great big crabman?!

All this and more in this episode!

What’s the problem with having a character lie in a sketch?

And… we talkin’ TV?

Yes we are!

Tune in as we discuss and dissect this weekend’s SNL sketches, with special guest Damian Chadwick!

Guest Bio:

Damian Chadwick is a UCB sketch teacher and former UCB Maude writer and director. He’s slowly working on a science fiction novel (?!) and living in the lower Hudson Valley.

Thanks for reading Unusual Things: A Guide to Sketch Comedy! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

What does it mean to “get on your character’s side,” and how can that help you explore?

And… does Jamie Dornan really have a collection of rocks that look like potatoes?!?!?!

Learn all this and more in this week’s episode of Saturday Night Later: SNL UK edition! And please share, rate, review, etc. so that more sketch nerds can hear about the upcoming book!

—

Guest bio:

Caitlin Is a veteran performer at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater where she also serves as a sketch teacher and director of the weekend premier sketch show ASSSSKETCH!Her recent television credits include Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Big Trick Energy, Magic For Humans, Girls Behaving Badly, The Rundown with Robin Thede, and Impractical Jokers.

Thanks for reading Unusual Things: A Guide to Sketch Comedy! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

When should you have more characters, and when should you dial BACK the number of characters?

And… does a quintessentially American show like SNL translate to the UK? Can it become its own unique thing?

Listen to our discussion of all this and more in this special edition of Saturday Night Later, with special guest Shem Pennant! (And see Shem’s list of recommendations below his bio.)

Shem Pennant Bio:

Shem Pennant is an award-winning director slash writer hyphen actor colon musician who hails from the UK yet moved to America as it was somehow “less racist”. His work has been featured in the BBC, Vice, UCB, Taiwanese Government Sponsored Propaganda and his Mum’s Fridge.

Shem’s Recommendations:

Lazy Susan

Goodness Gracious Me

Big Train

This Morning with Richard Not Judy

Vic & Bob

Smack the Pony

The Fast Show

Harry Enfield & Chums

Thanks for reading Unusual Things: A Guide to Sketch Comedy! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

This post is public so feel free to share it.

What made these two Weekend Update character bits such a great (and interesting!) pairing?

And… what can a man screaming in a FedEx teach us about framing sketches?

Learn all this and more in today’s Saturday Night Later, with special guest Achilles Stamatelaky (Broad City, Audible, UCB), as we discuss the Harry Styles episode!

Thanks for reading Unusual Things: A Guide to Sketch Comedy! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Check out my conversation with Madalyn Baldanzi and Geoff Garlock as we discuss all this and more. And leave your thoughts below!

___

A few sketches we referenced:

Almost Pizza:

Oh Captain My Captain (a little gross FYI):

Louise’s Birthday (Kiss):

Thanks for reading Unusual Things: A Guide to Sketch Comedy! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

All this and more in this week’s episode of Saturday Night Later! Leave a comment with your thoughts or questions, review our episode on Apple Podcasts… and spread the word to your fellow sketch nerds!

What makes a long wind-up to a reveal pay off?

And… why should we all blame Madalyn for one of this week’s sketches?!

Learn all this and more as we discuss this weekend’s episode of SNL (hosted by Alexander Skarsgård, musical guest Cardi B).

Thanks for watching! And please share with your fellow sketch nerds!

Our plugs:

Marina’s:

THIS WILL NEVER WORK (feature comedy!) playing in the San Francisco Indie Film Festival on February 7th, and New York on February 19th at 7pm with the New York Comedy Film Festival.

Matt’s:

Stella Adler Comedy Division

Madalyn’s Substack Link:

My Comedy Fantasy

When does a Trump cold open cross over from annoying to… despicable?

And… why does Michael Hartney want to walk into the sea?!

Take a listen as we discuss this weekend’s episode of SNL, hosted by Teyana Taylor!

Follow / subscribe to get updates about future discussions — and don’t forget to share this with your fellow sketch nerds!

(And if you listen to this on Apple Podcasts, please leave us a review!)

Thanks for reading Unusual Things: A Guide to Sketch Comedy! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Take a listen as we discuss this week’s episode of SNL (hosted by Finn Wolfhard). And share your thoughts, questions, and feedback below!

Thanks for reading Unusual Things: A Guide to Sketch Comedy! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and to get notifications about future SNL discussions while we’re live.

Learn all this and more in this week’s installment of Saturday Night Later, with Marina, Madalyn, and special guest LAURA CANTY-SAMUEL!

Laura Canty-Samuel is a four-time Emmy-nominated TV writer, award-winning comedian, and former Co-Artistic Director of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City. She has written for HBO Max, ABC/Disney, and Nickelodeon on shows such as Sesame Street, Mecha Builders, and The Not Too Late Show with Elmo. She is currently a writer for the hit children’s podcast Once Upon a Beat with Tinkercast/Wondery and for The Foundation, a Main Stage sketch comedy team at the UCB. When she’s not writing, she can be seen regularly on stage doing improv at The Second City NY and storytelling on the Main Stage for The Moth.

Madalyn Baldanzi is a comedy writer, director, and teacher. Most recently she wrote on Season 7, Champions Chat and Season 6 of The Champions on Max. She wrote for all four seasons of Go90’s Mr. Student Body President. Her Substack, “My Comedy Fantasy,” is about writing comedies and novels.

Marina Tempelsman is an award-winning writer and director. She is also a sketch comedy teacher and former Academic Director for the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (specializing in their writing programming).

Her work has been featured by Comedy Central, Fusion, The New Yorker, College Humor, Funny or Die, Wondery, Audible, Radiotopia, and many other places, and she has worked with Disney and Adult Swim as a sketch writing consultant. After years of being asked by students why there isn’t a single book dedicated to the craft of sketch comedy, she is now developing Unusual Things: A Guide to Sketch Comedy for Writers, Fans, and Everyone Else.

She recently co-wrote and co-directed her first feature film (“This Will Never Work”), which is touring the 2025 festival circuit.

And… what do sketches and Apple Jacks have in common?

Learn all this and more in this week’s installment of Saturday Night Later, with Frank Garcia-Hejl! (Madalyn will be back along with a brand new guest next week!)

We discussed all this and more in this week’s Saturday Night Later, with special guest Georgie Aldaco (Inside Amy Schumer, The Onion)!

Listen as Marina and Madalyn discuss each sketch from this weekend’s SNL episode!

Listen as Marina and Madalyn discuss each sketch from this weekend’s SNL episode!

Listen as Marina and Madalyn process this episode — and share your thoughts in the comments!

This was a wild episode with some big swings and teachable moments. Listen as Marina and Madalyn process it — and share your thoughts in the comments!

- Why this cold open was so effective. (A CLEAR Unusual Thing, and great specifics to match!)

- The different ways some of the later sketches ran into trouble with justifications.

- A discussion of where that delivering-a-baby-at-the-office sketch ran into some trouble.

- A totally goofy sketch that was the delight of the night!

All in all: a meaty episode to watch from a teaching perspective (and joyful, too!). Great performances, and the stuff that didn't work was reallllly juicy to talk about in terms of craft.