Theatre Board plans to produce Sketchapalooza for its second year in a row. Under Theatre Director Kirsten Manthei, it will take place on Thursday, April 30, through Saturday, May 2. The production will consist of 90 minutes of original student-created sketch comedy.
“Sketchapalooza is a lot like Saturday Night Live (SNL),” Manthei said. “We really try to emulate a lot of things they do. The students collaborate to write and produce sketches for a comedy show. It is student-written, student-acted, and teacher-directed. It’s a great opportunity for kids who aren’t in theater to get involved.”
Last spring, out of 60 students trying out, there were 13 writers and 18 cast members, Manthei said. However, this year, Manthei hopes to have a smaller cast and give her students more responsibility.
“It was really impressive to see the students learn skills and make all the pieces come together,” Manthei said. “I really give them a lot of props. They did the costumes. They did the sets. They did all of it. So my goal this year is to step back even a little more, and give students greater authority.”
When auditioning for Sketchapalooza, students get the choice to try out as an actor or a writer, according to Manthei. Auditions are to show that a student can play multiple different characters and write satire.
“Last year with Sketchapalooza, I loved being able to be creative and write various kinds of skits with all different kinds of people,” Sketchapalooza writer Sloane Highland ’28 said. “I was able to learn a lot about sketch comedy.”
Practices for Sketchapalooza are Monday through Friday from 3:30-5:30 at the SC PAC or in Manthei’s room, according to Highland. Writers continuously work on their sketches and revise them while Manthei works with her separate cast crew.
“We actually don’t spend a ton of time in the rehearsal process,” cast member and actor Delilah Pawlowski ‘26 said. “It’s pretty fast-paced compared to other LT Theatre shows. The writers spend a few weeks writing sketches for us, then we all vote to decide which sketches make the final cut. After this, we rehearse[d] for about three weeks up until the performance.”
Because Sketchapalooza is a reproduction of “SNL,” writers focus on creating pieces that are funny and convey satire.
“I get a lot of the ideas just from random things I find funny,” Highland said. “We don’t copy ‘SNL,’ but I do think some people get ideas from ‘SNL,’ and then change it. But a lot of the stylistic choices may be similar.”
In a larger show like a musical or the fall play, students usually play one character for an extended period of time. In Sketchapalooza, actors will play five to seven characters in one production, according to Pawlowski. Sketchapalooza skits are all one act, and last year they had musical intermissions performed by LT’s band.
“It’s definitely difficult when your characters are changing every five minutes, and you need to get into the headspace of a new character with a very limited amount of time,” Pawlowski said. “While this is a challenge, I also think that’s what makes sketch comedy so fun.”
While it is still early, this year Manthei has many plans for Sketchapalooza, and hopes many students will come and try out.
“Last year, Sketchapalooza was probably one of the things that I am most proud of in my 20 years here at LT. The students just blew me away,” Manthei said