How to Make a Parody: 13 Steps (with Pictures)

Skits, also known as scenes, are small performances or skits and are usually short, funny scenes. To do a skit, think about the things that make you funny. Write your scene, rehearse it and act it out to an audience or record it.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Developing an Idea

Step 1. Get inspired

Sometimes ideas come out of nowhere, and other times, you have to go looking for them. In order to find inspiration for your parody, watch or read comic scenes. To do this, you can go to YouTube and watch videos of scenes produced by professionals or amateurs.

You can watch scenes from Key & Peele, SNL, Bob and David and Monty Python for inspiration. Write down the elements that professional skits have in common. How are these scenes different from others?
When you see other skits, think about what makes them original. The idea is not to copy a parody that you have seen before, but to give it a fresh approach.
Pay attention to your surroundings. Many of the best skits are good because they have elements related to our lives. Notice how the people around you interact with others. Find real life situations that you find funny.

Step 2. Brainstorm

Write all your ideas. You can do it alone, together with the group of people with whom you will work on your parody, or both. Have a notebook that you can carry around and write down the ideas that come to mind.

If you witness a funny situation between two people, this can be a great idea to start your skit. For example, if you are in a coffee shop and a person orders a super complicated drink and prevents the queue from moving forward, write down what happened and why this is funny to you. Maybe the idea of ordering such a complicated drink is funny to you.
Get together with your group and share your ideas. It's nice to have a place to write down your ideas for others to see. Otherwise, you can ask someone to write down the ideas in a notebook.
Don't censor your ideas. At this point, let all your ideas flow. Possibly a silly idea can turn into a great idea.
If an idea made you laugh, write down why you found it funny. Ask yourself why you find it funny. Maybe the funny is related to some representation in your mind or some words? Or maybe because the idea relates to your life? Noticing the things that make you laugh will help you when planning your skit and acting it out.
Think about the type of skit you want to represent. There are many types of skits. You have everything from parodies and satires to absurd scenes or character descriptions.

Step 3. Develop a point of view in your skit

Each parody or scene has a point of view that can be easily detected. This is similar to the main idea of an essay. The point of view of your skit should be easy to understand. Thanks to him, viewers see the world as you see it. In a parody, this can detonate the comic effect.

Through your point of view you express your opinion as fact. You can find out in a few steps. For example, you first see a person ordering a very complicated drink in a coffee shop. Then you decide to write a parody about people ordering complicated drinks at a coffee shop. As the scene progresses, a new person asks for a more complicated and ridiculous drink than the previous one. Finally, you reach your point of view. By it you mean that people are becoming more and more materialistic and obsessed with unnecessary things.
You don't express your point of view through a character complaining about someone ordering a complicated drink. You express it through the series of reactions to your parody.
To make your parody original, it's a good idea to have a clear point of view and express it as fact. Although the idea of your parody has been discussed before, yours will also be original because it is your idea.

Step 4. Create the beginning, middle and end of your skit

Every story has a beginning, middle, and end, no matter how short. When writing a skit, plan out these three parts of the story.

Because skits are funny by nature, the beginning of your story should show a normal everyday situation. For example, it is normal for people to queue to order their drinks at a coffee shop.
During the middle of the story, something out of the ordinary happens. People start ordering strange drinks, each one rarer than the last.
The denouement is when your story reaches a climax and the solution to the problem. Maybe the bartender decides to throw the drinks on the floor or starts yelling, pulls out a gun and steals the money from the cash register.

Part 2 of 3: Write a Parody

Step 1. Write your first draft

There are many formats that you can use to write parodies. You don't need to have a professional format, but it should be easy to follow one.

The title of the skit should be at the top of the script. Under the title you must write the names of the characters in your parody and even the names of the actors.
To write the dialogue, write the name of the character in the center and in capital letters. On the next line, write the dialogue on the left.
You can write the actions of the characters in parentheses on a separate line.
When writing your first draft, don't worry about getting it perfect. You just have to write the general script and you can edit it later.

Step 2. Get hooked on the story quickly

Whether you are filming or performing your skit to an audience, it should be less than five minutes long. That is, you should tackle the main idea as quickly as possible. Don't waste time creating characters or situations. It only starts with a funny moment or where the action happens.

If you decide to write the cafeteria parody, try starting this way. A waiter asks a first person what his order is.
This person asks for a somewhat complicated drink, but not so strange. This way, you can advance the story as other people order their drinks.
The goal is to give your audience enough information at the beginning of the skit and give it to them as quickly as possible. The waiter should say something like "Welcome to the Good Cafe. What can I offer you?" With a single line, you established the place, the character and the situation.
Remember that in a parody every line is important. You shouldn't waste time developing unimportant items for that situation. Avoid talking about past or future topics, missing characters, or irrelevant objects in the skit.

Step 3. The skit should be short

Your script must be less than five sheets. Don't worry if you exceed them in your first draft. It's okay because you will remove some parts. Generally, one page of a script equals one minute of performance.

Also, the skit should be short to avoid losing the humor if it lasts too long. It is better to have a script that is fast paced rather than one that stops being funny just because the joke has to run its course

Step 4. Remember the rule of three

This rule consists of repeating something three times or including three similar elements in your parody. For example, the beginning, middle and end of your story are three elements that make up a whole.

In the cafeteria parody, there may be three different people buying coffee. Each person can order a more ridiculous drink than the last

Step 5. Develop your story

When you start writing your script, start from a point that you can develop. A parody must have a kind of ascending action before reaching its climax and denouement.

If you use the example of the cafeteria, the first customer must order a complicated drink. The waiter and the customer can interact with a few lines. Then the waiter tries to repeat the name of the drink and gets confused somewhere. Finally, the client corrects it.
The second customer orders an even more complicated drink. The waiter tries to repeat the order and the customer decides to change it. Then the waiter tries to repeat the order or asks to clarify one of the ingredients because it is not common to order them with coffee. The customer complains and leaves.
Finally, the last customer approaches. The waiter is upset and confused by the first two orders. The third request turns out to be the strangest of all. Then the waiter tells you that they don't have half the ingredients and that the only options are black coffee or coffee with cream. Consequently, the customer makes a fuss and asks to speak to the manager.
Eventually the waiter loses his patience and acts crazy, as do the customers. However, their actions have consequences. For example, you end up robbing the cafeteria, throwing hot coffee on customers' faces, or getting fired.

Step 6. Keep working on your new drafts

After writing your first draft, read it aloud to your group and assign the characters. Then ask for their opinion and ask what works and what doesn't.

Show your parody to someone you trust. It is a good idea to ask the opinion of someone who is honest.
Write down the reasons why your skit is funny or not. It's a good idea to understand what doesn't work in your skit. You might like a line or a joke, but it doesn't work on your skit.
It is best to remove the things that do not work in the parody, since the parody should be fast and light. Consider removing lines that don't directly contribute to your skit.

Part 3 of 3: Act out or record your parody

Step 1. Organize auditions.

Depending on your commitment to the production, you may want to organize auditions to select your actors. If you wrote your skit with a group and you know who will be playing the characters, you don't need to organize auditions. However, you can organize a rehearsal.

Remember that while you are looking for talented people, you should also look for trustworthy people. You don't want to have practice and rehearsals with multiple absent people.
If the skit is part of a larger school play or show, ask your teacher or theater director for more information about auditions. Possibly there is a bigger audition for everyone or you should organize your own audition.
If you decide to host auditions, post announcements in various places in your school or post information about them on social media.
When you audition, ask the actors to bring a photo of their face. You can also give them a few pages of the script to read.

Step 2. Schedule at least one trial

You don't need to rehearse a lot because your skit is short, but it's a good idea to rehearse once or twice. Make sure the actors know their lines and understand the direction and point of view of your skit.

Plan your props and other equipment. Some skits work best without props or sets, while others need more theatrical elements. The skits themselves aren't very elaborate, but you probably need some props to make sense of them

Step 3. Act out or record your skit

After rehearsing it a few times, it's time to perform it live or record it for upload to the Internet. Make sure you have your recording equipment, props, and costumes ready.

If you are going to record your parody, you should at least have a camera. If possible, you should also have sound and lighting equipment.
You can also upload your parody on YouTube or Vimeo for others to see.

Advice

Write several skits or ideas before deciding on one. Possibly, an idea that you thought was good does not work.
Don't be afraid to improvise some scenes. Many of the best skits come from groups that are improvising or playing games.
Share your ideas and seek collaboration. Often times, there will be someone who can see your skit with fresh insight and help you improve it.
Have fun. Even if you are going to perform it in front of an audience or go to record it, remember that skits are fun. If you take it too seriously, you may miss out on a joke or joke that you might include.