history of sketch comedy – The Comedy Bureau

Pick of the Day: Keegan-Michael Key & Elle Key: The History of Sketch Comedy (in NYC & LA) 10/3 & 10/6

August 30, 2023

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While there are many a book covering the history and experience of Saturday Night Live, the entirety of sketch comedy goes far beyond the late night sketch institution. In fact, most books that you’d find in the humor section of your local book store have little to do with the world of sketch comedy as it’s mostly comprised of memoirs of stand-up comedians or comedic actors. There isn’t much when it comes to the “history of sketch comedy”, which is why Keegan-Michael Key and Elle Key of Key & Peele fame have written/compiled an entire book on the subject, complete with chats with Mel Brooks, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jordan Peele, Chris Rock, and John Oliver.

The title gets straight to the point: The History of Sketch Comedy (due out on Oct. 3rd). The Keys will be doing an exclusive in-person event at Symphony Space in NYC to celebrate the release of their book on Tues. Oct. 3rd at 8PM. For LA, they’ll be at Barnes & Noble at The Grove on Fri. Oct. 6th at 7PM.

You can (and should) go get your tickets here for NYC starting at $42 and here for LA for $36.43, then go binge a bunch of your all time favorite sketches in preparation for this. The purchase of a ticket includes a hardbound copy of The History of Sketch Comedy (in case you thought the ticket price was a bit up there).

The Comedy Bureau Field Report Ep. 34: Morgan Jay & Going Boffo on Zoom

November 18, 2020

News, The Comedy Bureau Field Report

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At the top of 2020, Morgan Jay was riding high off of his network TV appearances on Bring the Funny, playing colleges across the country, and being set to make a run at the world famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival. COVID-19, of course, put a full stop to all of that, but that didn’t hold Jay back from still making this a banner year.

Jay zooms with TCB’s Jake Kroeger on how he spent considerable time and money to fine tuning his live-streamed performances to the best that they could be and how that very quickly evolved into a very steady flow of corporate Zoom gigs and what Jay envisions for how live-streaming will continue to figure into the future of comedy. Also, “hot” takes on Conan’s exit from late night, The History of Sketch Comedy with Keegan-Michael Key, Judd Apatow’s meta quarantine movie.

Follow Morgan Jay @TheMorganJay on Twitter and @morganjay on IG and visit MorganJay.com

The Comedy Bureau @thecomedybureau across platforms and please, please support TCB via GoFundMe, Patreon, or on Venmo (@jakekroeger).
Produced by Jake Kroeger
Music by Brian Granillo
Artwork by Andrew Delman and KT

Keegan-Michael Key Will Be Taking Us All Through “The History of Sketch Comedy” Next Year

November 16, 2020

News

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When it comes to the history of comedy, so much of it is and has been dedicated to stand-up comedy. Yet, as you’d hopefully know, stand-up is only one facet of the art form. Sketch comedy also has a wide and wild history that is very deserving of an extensive and deep retrospective. Sure, SNL gets debated over plenty and there are documentaries and books on the likes of Kids in the Hall and even the doomed The Dana Carvey Show.

Yet, the entire expanse of sketch comedy needs a Ken Burns level of attention to detail and that’s what it’ll get with upcoming Audible audio series, The History of Sketch Comedy, that will be narrated and co-written by none other than Keegan-Michael Key, a sketch comedy icon in his own right just from being Obama’s Anger Translator alone. Key, along with co-writer/director Elle Key, will journey through all of sketch comedy’s past, from 16th century to now, over ten half-hour episodes.

If you are or someone you care about is obsessed with sketch comedy, you might want to get an Audible subscription as and early holiday gift as The History of Sketch Comedy will get an exclusive Audible release on Jan. 28th, 2021.

Photo by Cliff Lipson