FUNDAMENTALS OF COMEDY WRITING w. RICH TALARICO

FUNDAMENTALS OF COMEDY WRITING w. RICH TALARICO

Rich shares insights and writing techniques from his 20+ years in late night TV (SNL, MADtv, Key & Peele, The Tonight Show) and from having written five resident company shows for The Second City in Chicago. Students will learn how to write jokes, how to write blackouts, how to brainstorm and pitch their ideas and how to outline a scene/story-structure. How to tell a story and how to come up with endings. Beginners are encouraged to attend as well as intermediate writers who want to brush up on the basics.

Rich is a Peabody® Award-winning writer/producer with four Emmy® and four WGA Award nominations, best known for his work on Key & Peele. He wrote Substitute Teacher, (“…Ay-ay-Ron?”) which in 2024, was added to The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum Of American History. Rich also wrote Racist Zombies, Karim and Jahar, Hatz, Teaching Center, Obama Greets, Black Ice, and many more. Other TV credits include: MADtv, The Tonight Show w. Jay Leno, Saturday Night Live, HBO’s The Sketch Pad, and Comedy Central's critically-acclaimed, Review. An alum of Chicago’s Second City and Improv Olympic, he's also provided punch-up work on the films Mean Girls and Get Out.

As an actor, Rich has appeared on screen on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, MADtv, the feature film High Fidelity, and in A&W Root Beer’s classic TV ad, “Mr. Dumass.” Talarico’s extensive experience in the comedy industry has made him a sought-after teacher, writer and consultant. Currently Rich is teaching and performing improvisation and stand-up comedy around the US.

 more at richtalarico.com