Good stuff
Reflections on the first public reading of my transmasc sketch comedy skits
Last Saturday, I hosted a reading of my sketch comedy project. It was fun! And people liked it!
The specs
The reading was part of Winterlewd, Montreal’s queer comedy festival, which helped promote it to a wider audience. A handful of walk-ins who were already on-site for other Winterlewd workshops at l’Étage coworking space joined the 19 people who had bought tickets, which made for a crowd that was large enough to fill the room, but small enough to have a manageable guided discussion afterwards.
I hired five transmasc actors to do the reading so I could direct and watch, and they all performed enthusiastically, responding to the crowd’s energy. They did a good job of bringing my skits off the page, which is not easy to do when performing with a script in one hand, minimal props, and off only two rehearsals.
After the 40-minute performance, we rearranged the chairs into a circle and I led a discussion with the audience members and the actors. Thankfully, I had a videographer and his assistant record it all, and I’ll be able to review the footage next week.
In the meantime, here’s what stuck with me from the feedback :
Everyone was engaged and thoughtful. All criticism was respectful and constructive.
People would propose ways to improve a sketch, and then others would jump in and build off the idea (for instance, a sentient packer going on the lam). Whether or not I end up incorporating the feedback, it was awesome to watch the collaboration!
The crowd consisted of a mix of cis people and trans people (mainly transmasc), aged roughly between 25 and 60. I talked about transness as though everyone knew the terminology (packer, passing) and none of the cis people asked for anything to be explained.
The crowd favourite was an infomercial-style spoof called Walk Like A Man™! The skit that got the most laughs was The Passing Pants, which follows a custody battle surrounding a pair of pants that makes the wearer pass.
I was complimented more than once on my writing, especially in regard to the banter-heavy Dick Day skit, which takes place in a gym weight room and revolves around a conversation between four men (two cis, two trans) debating on the best way to train their dicks.
Transmascs said they felt represented and seen. Also, I was told that the reading created another trans space, and that in of itself was important.
Overall, I was reminded that these skits need to be produced fully, because a lot of the physical and context-specific humour was missing and the skits relied heavily on the script and the ability of the audience to imaging the scene, remember which character was which, and have the actors make the right movements.
The project’s working title, Ferda [Sesame] Boys, is too niche. I’m brainstorming alternative titles, but for the time being, the new working title will be Transmasc Sketch Comedy Skits. Which is perhaps not very creative, but at least it tells people what to expect.
In the time since I’ve started writing this post, I’ve had the opportunity to review the rough cut of the reading’s promotional video. It made me laugh, and I’m looking forward to sharing it with you all next week.
Charlie Morin-Fournier | Bio
I’m a writer and comedian based in Montreal/Tiohtià:ke. Want to keep updated on my projects? Subscribe below!