Saturday Night Live cast

Cast members of Saturday Night Live.

Writers

All cast members on Saturday Night Live are expected to write as well as perform. Those that don't write end up with fewer parts and face-time and often eventually leave the show. Three groups serve as ?farm clubs? for the cast and writing staff: The improvisational comedy troupes The Groundlings and The Second City, Harvard Lampoon, and recently the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.

Related Topics:
Saturday Night Live - Farm clubs - Improvisational comedy - The Groundlings - The Second City - Harvard Lampoon - Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre

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Each of the three brings a different perspective: http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?031103fa_fact

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• performers from the Groundlings often end up creating the vivid recurring characters which are one hallmark of the show;
• writer-performers from Second City are known for ?aesthetic perfectionism?; they tinker obsessively with the wording and inflections of a punch line or the behavioral details of a character;
• writers from the Lampoon emphasize the conceptual premise of a sketch, taking a boyhood fantasy to an extreme, for example.