PRESENTED BY CROSSROADS COMEDY THEATER
Unleash your inner SNL writer in this fun and beginner-friendly sketch writing course! You'll learn what makes a sketch work, explore your creativity, meet new people, and have fun!
Ever watched a sketch comedy show and thought, “I can do that”? You can! And we can help you!
In this fun, introductory course, you’ll learn how to turn your ideas into laugh-out-loud sketch comedy. Each week mixes discussion, group exercises, and in-class writing time in a fun and supportive environment. In this course you will learn how to:
🧠 Generate and develop sketch ideas from scratch
✍️ Write first drafts and edit with constructive feedback
💡 Identify what makes a sketch land (or flop)
🗣️ Pitch ideas and collaborate in a supportive group
🚀 Build, heighten, and end with a strong comedic button
We’ll even touch on how sketch comedy has evolved, from vaudeville stages to streaming sensations—and why knowing that journey isn’t just helpful at trivia night, but makes you a smarter, sharper comedy writer.
You don’t have to be an aspiring comedy writer to love this class! You’ll sharpen skills that go way beyond comedy - creative collaboration, clear communication, confident pitching, and thinking on your feet. Whether you’re stepping into comedy for the first time or just want to try something new, you’ll discover how to express yourself in smarter, sharper, and funnier ways. If you’ve got something to say, this class will help you say it in the funniest way possible. Plus you'll meet new people, have a blast, and forget the worries of the world each week.
🗓️ WHEN
Tuesdays | 1/13 - 2/17 | 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Members of CultureWorks get a discount code - check out the announcement board in the member portal to learn more, or reach out to a member of the team.
Meet James Knight, your instructor
James Knight (he/him) is a Philadelphia based stand-up comic and writer. James is regular performer in the Crossroads Comedy Theater shows Study Hall: Comedy Inspired by Lectures and Not Yet Rated: An Improvised Movie, a member of Philly's award winning short-form improv group The N Crowd, and is the head video producer and writer with Philadelphia’s premier all-POC sketch & improv group, NYTEShift. James is also a contributor to the satire website Flexx Magazine.
James has performed at and has had his sketches performed at the Black and Funny Festival (MN), Philadelphia Fringe Festival (PA), Cinder Block Comedy Festival (NY), Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival (Canada), Chicago Sketch Fest, We The People Improv Festival (PA), The Black Friday Comedy Marathon (PA), Good Good Comedy Theater (two sold-out nights), and Philadelphia Public Access TV station PhillyCam. James directed and was a writer on Crossroads Comedy Theater’s Halloween sketch show, A Nightmare On Jawn Street: Liberty Hell and was head writer for the production in 2019.
Currently, he is the host of the Critical James Theory Podcast and co-host of Crossroads' Lockin’ Up: A Black Pro-Wrestling Podcast. Should you encounter one in the wild, suggested talking points are new sneakers, hip-hop from the years 1985 - present day, and pro wrestling.