2015 in review Part 1: Sketch comedy

I am kicking off a new plan to write more and this blog will definitely be part of it. A sort of pre-New Years resolution, if you will.

Since there is only a week and a half left of 2015, I thought I would take this opportunity to write a series of posts as a reflection of the year.

In some ways, I end 2015 where I began it. I'm still a clinical research coordinator in the same university medical clinic. I'm still a member of the same improvisational comedy troupe. I still live in the same city.

This series of blog posts will not focus on that stuff. Instead, they will focus on all that was unique about 2015.

Now, for today's topic.

2015 is the year that I entered the world of sketch comedy

I have long had an interest in creativity, and improv comedy has given me a great outlet for that over the last several years. This year gave me the opportunity to greatly expand my improv experience, and I'm happy to say that I've now performed in more than 100 improv shows.

As exciting as that is though, 2015 also gave me the opportunity to branch out into another realm of comedy: sketch.

It started in the first couple months of the year, when my troupe's leader invited me to a be a part of the sketch show he had written. Being a history buff, he had written a show full of sketches involving various historical periods and people. Over the course of several months we took the sketches from script to stage, and suddenly I found myself memorizing lines for the first time since middle school. I played in a number of memorable sketches, with settings ranging from ancient Sparta to a wild west saloon. Then, after weekly rehearsals in a local high school drama classroom, we finally debuted the show in Irvine. As much as I love improv, there was something special about being a part of a sketch show that had been rehearsed and tweaked over a prolonged period of time. And then, after five performances in Irvine, we were able to take it up to the Second City Theater on Hollywood Boulevard and perform two more shows. That was such a memorable experience, and something I never would have thought I would get the chance to do a few years ago!

Little did I know at the time, I would get to experience the whole process again just a few short months later. A good friend of mine, who is a fellow member of my improv troupe and was also a performer in the historical sketch show, approached me about being in a sketch show that he had written. This one would be horror themed, as he is quite the horror movie buff. And so began my second experience with sketch comedy, featuring many of the same friends who had performed in the first show. Unlike our troupe leader, this friend had never written a sketch show before. I am so proud of him for having the guts to see his vision through. The show turned out great, and once again we got to bring it up to Second City for two shows. Part of the fun was getting to portray horror movie icons such as Damien from "The Omen" (all grown up and running for president), Ghostface from "Scream" (accidentally calling into Comcast customer service), and Freddy Krueger (who finds himself inadvertently invading a wet dream).

Performing in the two sketch shows was definitely a major highlight of 2015. Not only was it a fun experience that I got to share with some of my best friends, it was also a chance to try something new and learn a lot about the creative process. The creators of both shows have already talked about their plans for future shows, so something tells me was just the beginning of my sketch comedy adventure.