How to get hired as a comedy writer
"The show expects you to write in the host’s voice while also wanting to hear your unique voice."
When the new Jon Stewart show was staffing up, I wrote about the packet submission process here. Some excerpts below:
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I asked Robbie Slowik, a funny comedian who’s written for Jon Stewart in the past, about his tips for packets. He said:
Think of them as an exercise and once they’re done, stop thinking about it. It’s out of your control once you hit send. Have someone you trust look at your packet for feedback if possible. And more importantly, they’re getting a lot of these so don’t do the obvious joke because they’ll read 100 versions of that.
Comedian Josh Comers (former writer for Conan and Jimmy Fallon, now writing for Robert Smigel’s “Let’s Be Real” coming in the Spring) started out writing monologue-ish jokes at his blog Jokes That Won't Matter Tomorrow. Before ever landing a gig, he was working that muscle every day, coming up with jokes based on the day’s news (this was before Twitter took off too). When it was time to submit, he was ready. Great example of how you can fake it ‘till you make it.
I asked Josh if he had tips re: packets and here’s what he wrote:
If you’re lucky enough to be asked to write a packet, clear the decks. Dedicate as much time as you can to writing, rewriting and polishing that packet. People don’t leave these jobs, so treat it as the rare opportunity it is.
If you’re not familiar with the show and the host, binge on it. Bathe in it. Get the voice of the host rattling around in your head more than your own voice. The quickest way to disqualify yourself is by not capturing the voice of the host and tone of the show.
It’s not enough to write material that you can easily picture on the show on any given night. They have people that can do that.
Get feedback from 2-3 comedy friends who know the show. This is pretty important because you can really go off the rails writing in a bubble. Ask them before the ‘last minute’ so you have time to make changes.
I think fantasizing about getting the job puts you in a good state of mind for writing the packet, but after you submit, let it go. Chalk it up as a worthwhile writing exercise.
The show expects you to write in the host’s voice while also wanting to hear your unique voice. This following example speaks to this better than I can articulate: A show I worked for was looking for a new mono writer. Of the few front runners, one had solid jokes that were really polished. He had experience and could fit in from day one. The other writer had just a few really funny jokes that none of us on the mono team could have written. That’s who was hired.
Great stuff.
Also, Laurie Kilmartin (Conan writer/funny comedian) posted this must-see for anyone in the monologue game: “Hey aspiring comedy writers, when my brain is foggy or I just need multiple punchlines for the same setup, sometime I consult my transitions list! It’s dumb but it helps.”
Original post in my Rubesletter.