Although ‘serious’ acts performed in talent shows receive impressive attention from the crowds, there is always a place and demand for lighthearted, humorous acts. It may sound little off cliché, but humorous acts always make their way to the hearts of audiences.
“If you have a talent, use it in every which way possible. Don’t hoard it. Don’t dole it out like a miser. Spend it lavishly like a millionaire intent on going broke.”
– Brendan Francis Behan
Participating in a talent show takes a lot of guts, as you have to perform in front of a large audience to showcase your natural endowments. And, if you have decided to enter one, then we sincerely commend you. Performing an act is not as easy as it may sound. There’s a lot of hard work, dedication, practice, and trust (yourself and other team members) involved.
Funny Talent Show Ideas …
For either a solo performance, a modest group of 2 – 4, or a large group of 5 – 8 students is possible. The first task, before finalizing an act, is to figure out how many people are participating. After this, we urge you to browse through the list below and figure out what will your (or the group’s) “talent” be.
‘How To’ Speech of An Activity
The act is to do a ‘how to’ speech in front of the audience on a variety of topics – juggling, burping, playing flute with your nostril, etc.
Parody of A Movie
Choose a few scenes from a movie (example; Twilight, Harry Potter, Narnia, Hunger Games, etc.) and perform their parodies.
Enacting Favorite Cartoon Character Dialogs
Designate a cartoon character―Homer Simpson, Eric Cartman, Stewie Griffin, Peter Griffin―to each member of the group, and perform a skit using famous quotes from their respective shows.
Robot Dance with Hulahoop
While twirling 4 – 5 (or more) hula hoops around your waist, do the robot dance.
Spoof on Commercials
Select a few popular commercials and do a spoof on all of them with a twist in the end.
The Irritable Deity
Do a skit where one person is God and the other is a human. The human asks a series of questions to God, but instead of imparting wisdom, He replies sarcastically.
Nosy Neighbors
Dress as old people at a laundromat having a conversation, where neither of them are listening to each other, and are instead talking about different subjects.
Audio-Visual Sync
Pick a popular song. Have 1 – 2 people lip sync to it, and others enact the words through sign language.
Synchronized Act
Wear bathing suits and trunks (for men), and do synchronized swimming on stage.
There are 2 tables on stage; one with 4 male friends and the other with 4 female friends. The act is about both groups enacting how the opposite sex would react to different situations when in a relationship
Color Spalsh
Do a kick-ass dance routine with everyone drenched in paint.
Enacting a Band
Remember the music video “Just One of the Guys” by Jenny Lewis? The girls can dress up as boys, with the main lead dressed as a boy, and enact the entire song.
A skit where everyone in the group is dressed as a music artist diva―Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé―having a conversation about how their music is better than everyone else’s. Make it more hilarious with guys and not girls dressed as them.
Teach Me How to Eat!
Hold an eating contest where the audience gives you ideas on how to eat the food (pie, ice cream, donuts, burgers, hot wings, Popsicle, etc.) kept in front of you.
It’s All an Illusion
Perform a series of magic tricks where all the acts are failing, but you pretend to be successful at it. The act sounds lame, but with the right attitude and body language, you can pull it off.
Interesting Rap
Pick any of Dr. Seuss’ books to rap it out alone or with a couple of friends.
Off the Note
Pretend you’re all part of a cappella group and are performing in front of an audience. But one person keeps singing off key, and that annoys the heck out of everyone.
Everyone is dressed in black with glow-in-the-dark sticks glued on the arms and legs. The act is to dance in the dark so that the audience can only see the sticks moving.
Imitate the OK Go’s Here It Goes Again treadmill music video.
Transform the stage into a Super Mario video game, and play the game with the music and game sound effects in the background.
The act is that Mr. Miyagi is teaching his students all the karate tricks and moves, but they’re not exactly accurate (sleeping in the car, dancing with ice cubes down the shirt, etc.).
A group (boys and girls) is having a normal conversation in Shakespearean English.
A two-person ventriloquist act where one person is the ‘dummy’ with the human sitting on his lap. Think Jeff Dunham kinda funny, but in reverse.
Do jump rope tricks while doing mime to your favorite music.
Orchestrate a comedy roast about your teachers, professors, colleagues, or parents.
* Warning: This can go sideways.
Tips to Prepare for the Big Day
- Choose a safe act. Avoid coming up with an act that may be hurt the sentiments of other group members, or the audience.
- For a group performance, make sure to meet up everyday to practice.
- Videotape your performance so that you can rectify any mistakes that may be occurring.
- If you or someone from the group makes a mistake, continue the act. Don’t panic and stop midway.
- Do a dress rehearsal before D-day.
Finally, we’d like to say that regardless of your act, how well you performed, and/or what other people/students did, the thing that matters most is that you took the courage to participate. Showcase your true personality, and a huge round of applause will follow.