Live from New York…You?
Have you ever watched Saturday Night Live and thought to yourself, “I could write better stuff than that”? Well can you? And if you can, how do you get someone to read it, let alone air it?
It’s hard. Very hard. But not entirely impossible. As with most writing gigs, it’s most helpful, number one, to have contacts. “I do know that they take freelance joke submissions for Weekend Update,” says Todd Jackson, who runs the humor blog Dead Frog. “However, you have to know someone on staff to get on the mailing list of writers. It pays about $100/joke and it’s very difficult to get a joke on air.”
As far as becoming a full-time writer on the show, you need to put together a packet of six to eight sketches, and submit them (or better yet, get an agent and have him submit them) to the show. Repeatedly.
“Maybe I’m naive, but I always assume if you have a kick-ass submission, that will do wonders,” says a writer I spoke with who does freelance for Weekend Update. “Add great connections, and you’re on your way. SNL has hired a lot of talent from the Upright Citizen’s Brigade theatre, so hanging out, performing and writing with that crowd would be a good idea. But that’s just a guess. I know a lot of Conan’s writers come from an improv background; I’m not sure if the same holdstrue for Saturday Night Live.”
Jackson agrees that it helps to diversify. “I’ve also noticed that SNL writers are also very performance oriented… if you’re an aspiring writer for SNL, it’s probably best to pursue it on a couple of fronts. Do UCB, the PIT, Second City or some other improv training, or do stand-up. Make a name in that community and you’re more likely to be someone they think of when staffing time comes around.”
If you think you’re a funny writer but aren’t really sure how to write in sketch format, I highly, highly recommend the Second City Writing Program, which provides excellent writing lessons and experience regardless of your specialty. If you don’t live near a training center, they do provide classes online.
To get started, NBC does provide a litte tutorial on TV writing on their site.
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