For years, Tommy Woodard and Eddie James have been entertaining live church audiences as The Skit Guys. Recently, the duo began channeling some of their creative energy toward short films. On film, they still get to teach spiritual truths to church audiences through humor and clever illustrations, so the medium is a good fit. We asked Tommy and Eddie a few questions about their experiences communicating creatively to the Church.
COLLIDE: For those that don’t know the story, how did The Skit Guys get started?
The Skit Guys: We have been friends since high school. We were in drama together, and we were always doing characters and trying to make our classmates laugh. We planned on heading to New York following graduation to try to get on Saturday Night Live.
We were the two guys in the youth group who sat out there on Sundays and Wednesdays and made fun of our youth pastor while he was teaching. One day he approached us and asked us to start using our powers for good instead of evil. Our answer? Well, what do you think two guys with egos the size of Manhattan would say to a platform where we were the center of attention every week?
What we didn’t realize is that our youth minister was putting us in the middle of our training ground to think on the fly, to create characters, and to get in the Word. He also started telling his friends about us, and we started traveling all over the world! (Or at least the central part of Oklahoma.) The rest is history. (Actually, all of this has been history so far.) Let’s get to something more relevant.
COLLIDE: Your skits and videos have covered a wide variety of topics and themes. Is there any subject matter too complex or too heavy to address in just a few minutes?
The Skit Guys: That is the challenge. Most pastors only want to give about three minutes for a really great mini-movie in a worship service. Sometimes, we go to five minutes and don’t know what else we could have edited out. However, since the vast majority of our work is humor, we have the opportunity to address subjects that might seem a little “taboo” but come across tamer because you are laughing (or at least we hope you are). But, so far, we haven’t come across a topic that has made us think, “Can’t touch this,” or, “Stop, it’s Hammer time.”
COLLIDE: In your experience, what kinds of things work well on stage but don’t translate to the screen? Conversely, what things work well on screen but don’t translate to the stage?
The Skit Guys: Physical humor works great for live skits and so does ad-lib. And although the ladder is an element we use all the time on stage, it’s a totally different beast on set. We have over 100 skits we do on stage, but a lot of them will never translate to a linear narrative movie. But some of them don’t have to translate that way. “God’s Chisel” is a perfect example of a stage piece that was translated as is. We think the result turned out pretty good. You can watch it at skitguys.com. (Did that sound like a shameless plug for our website? Because it was … skitguys.com.)
COLLIDE: Where do you get inspiration for new skits and videos?
The Skit Guys: Since high school, we have talked obsessively about our favorite TV shows: Moonlighting, The Wonder Years, A-Team, Small Wonder, Jake and the Fat Man, etc. In fact, we’re still talking about them all the time, even on our podcast. We are always amazed by great writing and the ability to move people to laugh or cry—to truly connect with an audience. We’re also inspired by people’s stories. Real life is often better than anything you can make up. Whether we see something on TV or hear someone’s story, we will take an element or an idea and go off in another direction for a skit or video.
COLLIDE: Once inspiration strikes, what does the rest of your creative process look like?
The Skit Guys: When we start saying, “Here’s a video idea,” we start talking with the Grand Master of Mini-Movies, Brian Cates (he produces all our off-stage videos). We ask ourselves what would need to be done to tell a great story, how we can tell the story in under three minutes, how to make it unique, and how to make it entertaining. We go through a series of drafts on the script, cast the video, find the locations, pick a date, and make it happen. It’s guerilla-style filmmaking at its finest!
COLLIDE: What advice would you give to someone who wants to communicate spiritual truth through drama?
The Skit Guys: Try to find people in your congregation or group who naturally make people laugh. We live by the statement, “Humor breaks down walls for truth to enter.” If you have a serious truth to communicate, find a way to make your audience laugh first. Laughter is disarming. If you can make someone laugh, they will listen to you. Once you have a small group of committed people, go to skitguys.com and find the perfect script for your message. (Too much plugging?)
COLLIDE: What is your response to those who disregard or diminish the role of the arts in the Church?
The Skit Guys: We think the tide is changing … slowly. We got our “chops” by doing our comedy in old Baptist churches. They never would laugh. But at the end of the show, a few kind people would tell us we did a great job. We think it’s a process of 1) putting forth excellence (most church skits are very cheesy), and 2) educating your audience with consistent doses of humor, drama, and real life struggles. When an audience sees this six to 12 times a year, the role of the arts starts to change.
COLLIDE: What does 2010 hold for The Skit Guys?
The Skit Guys: Our creed for 2010 is, “Swing for the fences.” It’s kind of crazy for two drama guys to use a sports metaphor, but it works. We want to step up our filmmaking a notch—new locations, new subjects, and new friends to act alongside us, or even without us. We will attempt to do great things for God and leave the results in His hands—that is where it gets fun!
Tommy Woodard and Eddie James travel all across the country and other parts of the world. To book The Skit Guys and watch their videos, go to www.skitguys.com. You can also subscribe to their podcast for more thoughts on creativity, drama tips, TV show ramblings, and an hour of your life you will never get back.