22. MIKE UPCHURCH

Emmy award winning comedy writer Mike Upchurch literally wrote the book on sketch comedy. His University of Nevada master’s thesis, “The Poetics of Sketch Comedy” acts both as a history lesson, and a how to guide on all things sketch. Besides his Emmy winning stint in The Chris Rock Show writer’s room, he’s also written for classic sketch comedy series Mr. Show With Bob And David, MadTV and Blue Collar TV among other places. He currently teaches sketch comedy writing at The Pack Theater in Los Angeles. I can’t think of a better person to talk to about sketch comedy history, what it was like to be a part of some of the best sketch writer’s rooms in television, or what his thoughts are on the future of sketch comedy. Instead of talking about that, we just sat in silence in my car for 25 minutes. It was raining out, so that’s something at least.