Sketch Comedy: 6 Funny Sketches From My Favorite Troupes

May 21, 2010

Sketch Comedy: 6 Funny Sketches From My Favorite Troupes

Posted by Dan at 10:30 am

From May 17th-22nd, following Anti-Homophobic day, the Theatre Ste-Catherine in Montreal will be playing host to Sketchfest, a week-long sketch comedy festival featuring some of Canada’s funniest troupes. Growing up watching SNL, Kids in the Hall, Monty Python and just generally being a fan of sketch comedy my entire life, I’ve really enjoyed watching the skits make their way from the live stage to television, NOT to films, and now most popularly, to the Internet. The following are some of my favorite sketch comedy troupes, some of which I know personally, and most of which I discovered while poking around Youtube, looking for a quick laugh.

The Whitest Kids U’ Know

Winners of the “Best Sketch Group” during HBO’s U.S. Comedy Arts Festival back in ’06, The Whitest Kids U’ Know have been splitting sides for over a decade now. Trevor Moore, Sam Brown and Zach Cregger all met while attending the School of Visual Arts in New York, while Darren Trumeter and Timmy Williams would team up with the original trio soon after. They have performed to sold out crowds all over New York city, they had and lost a television show with Fuse TV, which would later be picked up by IFC, and Trevor and Zach would eventually take their comedy to the silver screen with the film Miss March. The Slow Jerk was my official introduction to these guys, and they made a fantastic first impression.

To see more WKUK you can visit their official website.

BriTANick

Brian McElhaney was an actor slash filmmaker from Atlanta. Nick Kocher was also an actor from Atlanta. Friends from the same neck of the woods, it would not be until they were both attending New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts that they recognized their potential as a team, and would merge to form the sketch comedy robot known as BriTANick. They both act, write, direct, and edit each sketch, with the help of their many talented friends when the need arises. The following is the first video I ever saw from them, and I’ve been a fan ever since.

To see more BriTANick you can visit their official website.

Picnicface

This octo-troupe holds a special place in my heart as they are based right out of my backyard in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Okay well, maybe not exactly in my backyard, I live in Montreal so my house would have to be the size of the moon to have its backyard in Halifax. The point is they are Canadian and I’ve met some of them and they’re hilarious. They’ve only been around for the last four years but they’ve been making ‘em laugh by the millions with their online sketches and live performances. Most are familiar with their runaway Youtube hit Powerthirst, well here’s Powerthirst 3: Powermost.

To see more Picnicface you can visit their official website.

The Sketchersons

Some more homegrown talent from Toronto, Ontario, The Sketchersons have been nominated for best Sketch Troupe for the last five years in a row at the Canadian Comedy Awards, taking the trophy home in ’07. A huge cast of improv actors, actor actors, and stand up comics, The Sketchersons are to sketch comedy what the Etch-a Sketch is to dial-drawings. For the last six years the troupe have offered Torontonians knee-slapping laughter in the form of Sunday Night Live, a weekly sketch comedy show hosted by many of Canada’s funniest stand up comics. Focusing most of their energies on live performances, the Sketchersons have less of an online presence as the other groups on this list, but if you want to hear Batman recite some soul-shattering poetry, check this s*** out!

To see more from The Sketchersons you can visit their official website or visit their MySpace videos page.

Derrick Comedy

Once again from New York University comes Dominic Dierkes, DC Pierson and Donald Glover. Yes, we know what you’re thinking. None of them is named Derrick. We were also shocked to discover this disturbing fact, and we are here to tell you that there are no answers, only more questions. But with over 30 videos on YouTube, most of which breaking the million mark, there is no doubt these guys deliver the comedic goods. It was very difficult to choose one of my favorites, so once again I will go with the first clip I ever saw from these non-Derricks.

To see more Derrick Comedy you can visit their official website.

POYKPAC

All the way from Albuquerque, New Mexico comes Ryan Hall, Ryan Hunter, Taige Jensen, Jennifer Lyon, and Maggie Ross. Actually, they’re from Brooklyn, but we thought it would be more interesting to say they were from a place with at least two “q”s in its name. They easily have my favorite troupe name on this list, POYKPAC, the acronym for Pictures of Your Kids Pooping and Crying. They are probably best known for their 15-episode web series on the Independent Film Channel called “Good Morning Internet,” or their YouTube videos Hipster Olympics, Mario Game Over, or Voice Talkers. Whatever the case, their videos are well thought out, brilliantly executed and above all else, hilarious. There is “thinking outside the box” and then there’s “moving to a far away country where boxes haven’t been invented yet,” a fact which makes the following clip one of my favourites.