Crossroads Comedy Theater is thrilled to announce that we will be staging our first ever original sketch comedy show in October! This as yet untitled show will be horror comedy themed just in time for the Halloween season. This show will be part of several different events we are planning for late October and will be announcing the full spoopy line-up soon.
We are also excited to announce that this show will be directed by the fantastic James Knight!
James Knight is a Philadelphia-based stand-up comic and writer. He has trained in sketch writing and improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade (NY) & Philly Improv Theater. James has improvised on Harold house teams and regularly with Not Yet Rated: An Improvised Movie and Study Hall: Comedy Inspired By Lectures at Crossroads Comedy Theater as well as with Philadelphia’s premier all POC comedy group, NYTEShift.
He has also performed at the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival (Canada), Black and Funny Festival (MN), Cinder Block Comedy Festival (NY), We The People Improv Festival (PA), Black Friday Comedy Marathon (PA), and many years of the Del Close Marathon (NY).
In 2019 James served as Head Writer for Mike Marbach’ s A Nightmare on Jawn Street, a multi-disciplinary horror comedy sketch show.
WHO CAN SUBMIT A WRITING PACKET
Anyone can submit their writing packet. You do not need to be based in Philly (meetings will be online via Zoom). Any writer that submits should be open to criticism, have the ability to take notes, and work with others. Those who submit should also be available for weekly meetings and have time outside of those meetings work on scripts.
SHOW STYLE
This show will build on the style of sketches in 2019’s Nightmare on Jawn Street directed by Mike Marbach and Head Writer James B. Knight. It will be a sketch comedy show that uses horror films as inspiration. Made for fans of horror films, but viewers don’t necessarily need to be horror fans to enjoy it. Sketches will have horror at their core, but of course be funny as it is a sketch comedy show. Props, costumes, and tech will be minimal. This is due to the preferred style at Crossroads, but also because it will be easier in the show location, Plays & Players Skinner Studio.
SCHEDULE
Writing meetings will take place online via Zoom on Thursdays 7pm – 9pm throughout August and September.(possibly into early October for rewrites). All meetings may not last the full 2 hours. Depending on where things are some meetings toward the end may not be needed. The show will run at Plays & Players Skinner Studio the week of 10/23 and 10/30. Exact dates TBA.
PAY
Pay will be a base of $60 per writer for the project with the potential for more based on how the show does with ticket sales.
ACTING AUDITIONS
We will be holding auditions for actors in mid-September. An announcement with details, including audition day and rehearsal schedule, will be made at a later date. If you are a writer you will be able to audition to be an actor as well.
PACKET GUIDELINES
- Please leave your name and any other identifying information off your packet. We will have it from this contact form, but people reviewing your submissions will be doing so blind.
- Packet must be no more than 10 pages.
- Packet should include at least one complete sketch, but no more than 3.
- Sketches should be no more than 4 pages and can be any type of sketch.
- It is not mandatory the completed sketches be in the style of the show, but it doesn’t hurt.
- Packet should include a page of 3 pitches in the style of this show (a couple lines that summarize the premise of your idea).
- Our preferred format is PDF. There are free tools online you can use to convert your packet to PDF.
- Your packet submission must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, July 31st. If you are having issues uploading your packet or with the form in general, please email all info the form requests to hello@xroadscomedy.com with the subject “Halloween Writing Packet.”
Submissions will be reviewed by the director and a few selected sketch instructors and performers. All those who submit will be notified of status by Wednesday, August 3rd. The first meeting will be Thursday, August 4th @ 7pm. Please be sure to set aside this time in the event you are selected as a writer.
Thank you in advance for your interest and submissions!