Keep a No-Frills Attitude
When you're starting out with your troupe, keep your expectations reasonable. Expect a lot from your comedy. Expect to become a better writer with every show in which you perform your material in front of an appreciative audience. But don't expect any of the show business niceties you might have heard about.
The talented ventriloquist Jay Johnson, star of the television series Soap, once appeared on a talk show without a dummy, just a guitar. He said he wouldn't be performing ventriloquism; instead he would be showing his talents as a singer. He was interrupted by a fly buzzing around him, a little man who lived inside the guitar, and Mickey Mouse speaking to him from his watch. The audience accepted the perfect illusion of a four-person conversation with four distinct characters.
Don't expect to make any money from your endeavors — at least at first. Don't expect a big fancy stage with curtains and a full professional sound and lighting system. Don't expect a dressing room, or even wings that you can make an entrance or exit from. Don't expect that you'll have access to elaborate costumes, props, music, and sound effects. But take heart — you don't need them.
All you need is a space, a script, some actors, and an audience. If you keep that in mind when you're writing your scripts, you'll be all set.
Look at a troupe that does improvisation. They don't have anything but themselves and their talent; they don't even have the luxury of a script. If two actors are playing airplane pilots, all they need to do is suggest to the audience that they are sitting behind the controls of an airplane wearing uniforms and headsets.
You need to keep that simplicity in mind when you write your sketches. It's amazing how much the audience will accept — how willing they are to suspend their disbelief, how willing they are to go along for the ride — as long as the script is strong, the actors are competent, and the comedy is funny.
By asking for and expecting more from the venue, you'll become a burden to them. They can easily find someone else to fill your place. Work within your limitations and make up for those limitations by making your sketches so funny that no one notices.
