British humor draws from a deep well of irony and self-deprecation, while American comedy draws from similar sources in a thoroughly different way. In the middle of these two contributors is Canadian comedy, which incorporates a healthy dose of to make it a medium between both styles. In essence, it could be said that Canadians take influences from both countries and alter it to fit the desired state by sifting it through the ideals of being a Canadian. Where American humor is sometimes derived from a concept introduced by British comedic work, it does have its own influences and forms, just as Canadian humor has a uniqueness all its own.

As expected, the comparison of stylistic humor is varying easy and difficult considering the amount of similarities that have to be matched with one another. They take parts from one another and use similar methods of achieving hilarity makes it somewhat challenging to simply sort them into separate compartments and neatly label them. The obvious traits can be spotted within instants of viewing a piece of comedy, especially notable ones such as Monty Python, SNL or This Hour has 22 Minutes. All three are various forms of sketch comedy ranging from newscasts to parodies of all sorts and styles, yet they hold a distinctiveness all their own.

Further investigation proves that there is more to meet the eye, and there is a distinct flavor to each show that can be appreciated by different audiences. Certainly, it is easy to conceive that a particular show appeals to the country it originated from, but any person may find it amusing since it follows similar structures and methods. It could be said that every comedy show has a bare skeleton base that is built upon by where it is from, its target audience and the time period. Monty Python has its own distinctive style compared to SNL and This Hour has 22 Minutes, but it is still possible to see and appreciated the commonalities.

Since comedy also requires a lot more thought than one would originally expect. Sketches are more like a dramatic and literary form of art than other types of comedy, like stand-up for example. It requires more thought and less spontaneity and depending on what kind of comedy one is planning on writing [Canadian, American, and British] it is a general requirement that the five basics are utilized:

• Parody
• Physical humor
• Play on words
• Satire
• Crudity

A comedy sketch should always begin formation at the settings stage, where the story will unfold. The best settings are usually recognizable places, such as a famous event, a popular era or even fantastic places such as space. As long as the audience can imagine the setting, it will be effective, otherwise the audience will lose attention before the sketch even truly starts. The props utilized and chosen for the sketch should also require some thought as to its significance to what is being written. The sketch attached to this report is set in a pet shop, and would be played with various pet store paraphernalia. It should be effective because most audience members should be capable of imagining a pet store.

The next issue of sketch writing includes the character requirement, where characters must be interesting and/or absurd to the point of hilarity or deadpan. A sketch would be nothing without its characters since they support the majority of the weight of dialogue. A character is also not required to be human, and could be any being at all. Animals, aliens and even inanimate objects can be used effectively in a sketch, and as long as there are characters that speak, there can be many characters that do not. At times, dialogue is not used frequently such as in sketches relying solely on physical humor. However, dialogue is by far the most effective source of amusement in comedy writing because of its versatility.

Since dialogue will be remarkably uninteresting if done in a completely dry and boring tone, it should reflect the setting. If the setting is in a foreign country, foreign accents should be used. If there is an unexplored planet with aliens, dialogue must be incorporated in an appropriate fashion. For instance, a medieval knight with a regular modern accent may be funny at face value, but would be more entertaining if done with a medieval accent. Unless the entire sketch is based on the concept that it is highly unrealistic then it would be expected to be as such. Nevertheless, unless the sketch has mixed voices as its laugh getting ploy, such inconsistency should be avoided at all costs.

Plays on words are not only a characteristic of all comedy types, but it is a device specifically used in the writing stages. This literary device can be anything from simple alliteration to more complex tongue-twisting speeches. Seeing as everyday folk do not speak with alliteration and tongue twisters, it is a popular way to achieve a sort of farce. Similarly, if a character can either get a play on words right the first time around, or mistake it for something else, it evokes either laughter or a sense of disbelief, which are excellent for keeping the audience engaged.

Once the setting, characters and basic dialogue is established and formed into a preliminary script, editing can begin. A script may undergo multiple bouts of editing before becoming effective or before being realized as worthless. As editing progresses from simple error checking, it will eventually end up with rudimentary development of the script itself. Considering that is must go through a great deal of scrutiny, it is obvious that much of the original plans and expectations may change completely.

With the primary editing done, secondary editing will be much easier. Normally, the first few sessions of editing will have stripped the sketch to the bare bones. The writers’ next step is to build up on that frame and flesh it out, so to speak. As the sketch grows and develops, it may require some extra fine-tuning to make the piece more effective. One-liners and simple puns are an effective way to deal with minute details that lack a degree of comedy.

Once the sketch script has been manipulated into the vision of the writer, it can be given to someone else to examine for missed errors or unfunny sections that may ruin the piece. Afterwards, the only real requirements are the casting of people to act out the characters in the sketch. Considering that not all comedy can make everybody laugh, the writer should make sure to distribute copies to various individuals before pursuing anything else with the sketch script. Otherwise, the sketch comedy can be put to use in an appropriate manner as anything from something that goes on television to readings and even drama club work. The fact of the matter is that no matter what style is used, there will be an audience for it, and it should invariably make someone laugh out loud.