Short is always better. If you haven’t captured the audience in the first 30 seconds, you aren’t going to. I’ve rarely had the experience of wanting to see more of a skit, but I’m sure we’ve all had the skits that we wish we had seen less of that drag on and on and on and on....
PRACTICE! I’m sure the idea you came up with at the con was great, but without practice, it will just come across as a bad campfire skit. This doesn’t just include your skit itself, but also your preparation and exit. Audiences fidget and bore really quickly, and the longer you spend setting up, the more likely you are to lose them before you even begin.
Put some time into thinking what to do. I’m also sure your crossover of Inuyahsa/GuiltyGear/Cardcaptor Sakura meeting at the mall would be hilarious, but only if your audience recognizes all the characters, and their normal behaviors, and their costumes in seconds. When thinking of what to do, assume 50% of the audience don’t know your reference material. They aren’t going to find your skit funny unless they know exactly what it is you’re doing fast enough to appreciate the skit while it’s happening.. What is there for them to watch? This is where really flashy costumes, or slapstick, or dance numbers, etc, come into play. Yeah, you can have “inside jokes†that only people who recognize your source will get, but your skit shouldn’t be solely comprised of them...
If in doubt, run your skit idea by someone not in your group who doesn’t know the material. While it may be OMGFUNNY!!! to you, how does someone else see it? Think of it this way... the Pirates of the Caribbean movie was funny to all audiences, regardless of whether or not they’ve ridden the Disneyland ride. Yeah, there were a few inside jokes (like whistling for the dog with the key), they were “treats†for those familiar with the source material, rather than a neverending source of befuddlement for the rest of the audience.
Pre-record your dialogue! Even if the con has microphones available (and most don’t), you don’t want worry that they won’t work, or that the audience won’t understand you.
PRACTICE! I’m sure the idea you came up with at the con was great, but without practice, it will just come across as a bad campfire skit. This doesn’t just include your skit itself, but also your preparation and exit. Audiences fidget and bore really quickly, and the longer you spend setting up, the more likely you are to lose them before you even begin.
Put some time into thinking what to do. I’m also sure your crossover of Inuyahsa/GuiltyGear/Cardcaptor Sakura meeting at the mall would be hilarious, but only if your audience recognizes all the characters, and their normal behaviors, and their costumes in seconds. When thinking of what to do, assume 50% of the audience don’t know your reference material. They aren’t going to find your skit funny unless they know exactly what it is you’re doing fast enough to appreciate the skit while it’s happening.. What is there for them to watch? This is where really flashy costumes, or slapstick, or dance numbers, etc, come into play. Yeah, you can have “inside jokes†that only people who recognize your source will get, but your skit shouldn’t be solely comprised of them...
If in doubt, run your skit idea by someone not in your group who doesn’t know the material. While it may be OMGFUNNY!!! to you, how does someone else see it? Think of it this way... the Pirates of the Caribbean movie was funny to all audiences, regardless of whether or not they’ve ridden the Disneyland ride. Yeah, there were a few inside jokes (like whistling for the dog with the key), they were “treats†for those familiar with the source material, rather than a neverending source of befuddlement for the rest of the audience.
Pre-record your dialogue! Even if the con has microphones available (and most don’t), you don’t want worry that they won’t work, or that the audience won’t understand you.