I'm all for cutting down the running time of the pre-show... last year was exceptionally difficult to sit through, in my opinion, and not just because of the costume I was wearing.
But even if the masquerade could round up another hour or two of running time, I don't think I'd want that applied to skit time limits. I do honestly understand feeling like you need more time, and while I definitely have seen skits that entertained me for 4 or 5 minutes, I don't think I've ever seen a skit that really NEEDED that extra time. Music and dialogue can be cut, and I want to say in a lot of cases, they shouldn't stop at 2:30. In watching the skits I've done that ran over 2 minutes, I kind of regret not cutting them down further.
Try rehearsing the skit in advance in front of other people, or showing them a script, and get some feedback on where the slow bits are. What felt repetitive/dull/extraneous? What were the important/exciting/funny parts?
You don't need to fill a time limit. You just need to get the gist across and try to be entertaining in the process, and you should definitely be able to do that in two and a half minutes.
But even if the masquerade could round up another hour or two of running time, I don't think I'd want that applied to skit time limits. I do honestly understand feeling like you need more time, and while I definitely have seen skits that entertained me for 4 or 5 minutes, I don't think I've ever seen a skit that really NEEDED that extra time. Music and dialogue can be cut, and I want to say in a lot of cases, they shouldn't stop at 2:30. In watching the skits I've done that ran over 2 minutes, I kind of regret not cutting them down further.
Try rehearsing the skit in advance in front of other people, or showing them a script, and get some feedback on where the slow bits are. What felt repetitive/dull/extraneous? What were the important/exciting/funny parts?
You don't need to fill a time limit. You just need to get the gist across and try to be entertaining in the process, and you should definitely be able to do that in two and a half minutes.