|
“Tagging” Sometimes a good sketch is just that. A good sketch. It does exactly what you want it to do. It sets up the weekly message, it provides a jumping off point for your speaking pastor, or it comes in at the end of the message to give your congregation or audience a practical application to what they’ve just heard. A good sketch. But sometimes as you watch the sketch in rehearsal you realize that something is missing. That one “thing” that makes a good sketch even better. That thing could be a tag. What is a tag you ask? Well, we all know what a couple of tags are. One is that metal monstrosity we all have to bolt onto the back of our car, truck, or trailer. The one with the totally illogical set of numbers and letters that you can never remember. That’s a tag. Another tag can be the thing your four-year-old son does to you just as you settle into your most comfortable chair after a ten-hour work day. “You’re it!” he screams and he’s off! That is a tag. But the kind of tag we’re talking about here has nothing to do with automobiles or exuberant four-year-olds. We’re talking about a tag that comes at the end of your sketch in the form of a song. Not an entire song you understand. Just a few bars, or perhaps just a line or two. Comedy sketches are usually the best type of sketch in which to use a tag, but a dramatic sketch can also benefit from a well-chosen tag. As a sketch writer I am always looking for a tag to end the sketches I write. And I, as a Christian sketch writer, you might be surprised to hear, almost always choose a “secular” song as my tag. For instance, I once wrote a sketch about a man who was fighting his inner voices. All day long he had this battle going on in his head between doing the right thing or the wrong thing. At home, at work, in the car he would carry on conversations with these voices (all of which we prerecorded) about what to do. One voice told him not to go to work, to call in sick and go fishing. Later another voice told him to cut someone off in traffic. You get the idea. Well, the sketch was very funny (if I do say so myself). But I felt it needed something else. A “punch” at the end. A tag. So after the last line as the actor freezes and we went to a quick blackout, we heard a couple of lines from Billy Joel’s “You May Be Right (I May Be Crazy).” That is a tag. Another example was when I used a tag in a very serious dramatic sketch concerning the mistreatment of children. At the end of the sketch, I had a very slow fade on three small children as you heard Bob Dylan singing, “Knock, Knock, Knocking on Heaven’s Door.” The congregation was in tears. And why? Well, certainly the sketch was powerful, the actors delivered extraordinary performances, and the subject was tough. But seeing the lights slowly go down on those three small kids as we heard a song about entering the gates of Heaven was unforgettable. Both of these examples of tags were from secular artists. Generally that’s because more people in your audience may know who Billy Joel and Bob Dylan are before they recognize a Michael W. Smith song (all of which are fantastic, by the way). A whole lot of sketches are written with tag ideas already attached. These are always very good suggestions. They wouldn’t be there if they weren’t. But don’t be afraid to watch rehearsals and see if maybe you have one that would fit a little better for your circumstances. You know your congregation or audience better than I do. Don’t forget, of course, that you do need to check to find out what the copyright issues may be on any song you may decide to use. But go on, be bold. Want to really bring that sketch home? Want to punch it up a bit? Want to make it something really special? Go on. Tag it! |
|
