Tom Purcell returned to his alma matter, Loyola University in Chicago, on October 18th to speak to a very lucky group of students about the processes behind creating the ‘Colbert Report’. Here’s some of the topics discussed, according to the Loyola Student Dispatch.
“Two-thirds of the scripts are written beforehand, and the rest is written that day,” said Purcell, who has been with the show since its premiere on Comedy Central in October 2005.
Purcell said that each of the 12 writers of “The Colbert Report” get about two hours to write a story before the day’s editing process begins.
“You have to write like your hair’s on fire,” Purcell said. “You have to make yourself a mini-expert on what you’re writing, quickly.”
After the day’s stories are written, the group of writers collectively edits the work, said Purcell. Around 1 p.m. on the day an episode airs, the writers finalize what stories make the cut.
Purcell said three questions are asked to determine if a story airs: Is it funny? Does it mean what we thought it should mean? Do we have time to do it?
Once the best stories are selected, four main writers, including Purcell and Colbert, rewrite the final script for about an hour, and then the show’s rehearsal begins.
I can only imagine the frantic pace of the work that goes on behind the scenes of the ‘Colbert Report’ before the shows air. But the “hair on fire” mental image kind of puts it perspective, doesn’t it?
Tip of the Hat to MsInterpreted!
I remember, a few months after the show first aired, when Stephen was expressing how unsustainable this frantic approach to writing and performing seemed to be. Yet here we are, five years later.
I guess after your hair’s been on fire regularly for several years, you learn not to sweat so much.
Difference makers:
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