[This is a sample course outline for my five-day sitcom writing workshop.  It can, of course, be modified to meet the needs of individuals and groups.]

WRITING SITUATION COMEDY 

a five-day course

prepared and presented
by John 
Vorhaus

DAY 1: COMIC TOOLS

the comic premise
comedy equals truth plus pain
clash of context
the wildly inappropriate response
exaggeration 
tension and release
defeat of expectation
joke structure
humor and culture
telling the truth to comic effect
telling a lie to comic effect
the rule of three
callback
taboos and tolerance
toolcraft

View and critique an episode of a situation comedy for the purpose of examining the role and use of comic tools

creating comic characters 
the comic perspective
flaws
humanity
exaggeration in comic characters
worldview
controlling idea
primary orientation
fundamental questions
comic opposites

Exercise in creating comic characters and putting them into dynamic opposition

DAY 2: STRUCTURE

the sitcom premise
types of comic stories
a-story and b-story
act breaks
set glue
arc of stability
arc of denial
story and theme
lines of conflict
levels of conflict

View and discuss a situation comedy in the context of comic characters and comic story construction

the comic throughline
story and theme
the needs of the sitcom pilot
comedy and jeopardy
story logic and plot logic
story and taboo
predicament comedy
character comedy
finding ideas
developing ideas
comic stories in brief

Exercise in writing and evaluating comic stories in brief

DAY 3: OUTLINE AND SCRIPT

writing a story outline
rewriting a story outline
appropriate levels of detail
the need for the story outline
ideas in contention
outline in the context of series arc
editing a story outline
mining and refining
write fast, write long

Read and evaluate a story outline with an eye toward maximizing its potential

story to script
the raw draft
the first draft
editing a draft
from first to final draft
the polish
the myth of the last great idea
scriptwriting tools
the big speech
the doorbell effect
the three-dimensional line
the non-linear approach
surrendering your "stuff"
macroconflict and microconflict

Exercise in writing dialogue using comic characters in opposition and multiple levels of conflict

DAY 4: THE PRACTICE OF WRITING

the will to risk
your ferocious editor
the long view
process and product
bosses and buyers
writing as a professional
spec scripts and spec projects
writing partnerships
pitching
serving the work

Exercise in giving and taking notes on creative work, with focus on serving the work

team writing
roles in a writing team
the wince factor
the fraud police
toughness
heart
patience and impatience
the writer's life
the long view
growing an industry
teaching and learning

 

DAY 5: PRACTICUM

Practical exercises in sitcom construction
Practice pitching
Individual consultations/assessments
Question and answer
Closing remarks