The twisted mind of Jay Reilly: Chapman student to write 100 sketches in 100 days

Junior television writing and production major Jay Reilly has the goal of writing 100 sketch comedy scripts over the course of 100 days. Photo illustration by SAM ANDRUS, Staff Photographer

Somewhere in New York, Jay Reilly stares at his Playboi Carti poster, waiting for a spark of inspiration. Next to the junior television writing and production major is a whiteboard covered in chicken scratch. Deciphered, the gibberish equates to a whopping 36 sketch comedy ideas. 

The problem is Reilly still has 64 to go. Having started April 1, Reilly has initiated a goal of spending the next 100 days writing 100 sketches. 

“I got so wrapped up in doing school work and regular work,” Reilly said. “Just trying to juggle all that, I feel like I sacrificed my creativity. Instead of putting all my eggs in those baskets and throwing writing out the window, I’ve learned to prioritize writing and force myself to do this. I think it’s going to get me back into a groove.”

Reilly has been digging to the very depths of his imagination for ideas. One of his first sketches was called “Scientology Lessons,” where main character Billy, a college dropout, mistakes a scientology building for science tutoring. Another highlight thus far in the process has been “Rogue Easter Bunny,” where the Easter Bunny exacts revenge on the world for making him a second-tier holiday figure. 

“The main thing is having little to no parameters,” Reilly said. “As long as I’m writing one sketch a day, whether it be three pages or 10 pages, not having a limit on that is the way to go. I set a time for an hour and just write. I don’t care if it’s good writing or bad writing. Most of the time it’s bad writing, but that’s what rewriting is for.”

Reilly first discovered a passion for sketch writing at the age of 16, when he had the goal to join the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) to take lessons — not for credit, but to learn about writing. He petitioned his principal to leave school early so he could depart for one of the centers on a one-hour train and subway commute into New York City. 

The only problem? He didn’t tell his mom until after the fact. Ask for forgiveness, not for permission. She came around. 

“That’s when we figured, here’s a kid who wants to do more work than required and (that’s) when we knew he was serious about writing,” said his mother Mary Beth Reilly. “He had a thirst for it. We fully encouraged it because if that’s what he wanted to pursue, we were going to be behind him.” 

Although the New York location has since closed due to the pandemic, Reilly credits UCB for initiating his passion for sketch comedy. UCB offers classes on sketch writing and improv to aspiring writers, hosting alumni from shows such as “Saturday Night Live,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” With UCB, Reilly honed his skills by taking lessons on sketch writing, producing up to four to five sketches a week.

“When one door opened at UCB, it took me down a path of so many doors opening,” Reilly said. “Having a great support group filled with people who have one common goal was such an important thing. You all want to build each other up.”

Once train fares began to add up and his schedule got busier, Reilly continued his love for sketch comedy by starting his own group, “Clearance Candy,” with his high school friends Mike Klopsis and Peter Roy. The name is a tribute to a time the trio went searching for props at Party City and Reilly bought a massive amount of cheap post-Halloween candy.

The group’s slogan: “Voted Best Sketch Comedy Group in the World by My Mom.” 

“It’s a good way for us to get together and mess around,” Roy said. “Nothing is ever as fun as getting everybody together and getting this idea out from a weird thought (Reilly) had in the shower into a full-fledged sketch.”

Reilly posts the short synopsis of his scripts every day on his Instagram story, but keeps the full versions in a folder on his computer he calls his “vault.” As a part of “Clearance Candy,” the trio will be selecting a number of Reilly’s scripts and making them into short films. Reilly plans to post those and the rest of the scrapped scripts on their website. 

In the meantime, Reilly is balancing work at Dick’s Sporting Goods, classes at Chapman, playing baseball for Stony Brook University thanks to an extra year of eligibility and pitching his scripts to studios. In November 2019, Reilly hit it out of the park and sold a script. 

The first thing he bought was a $12,000 camera.

“I thought, ‘If I’m making this money creatively, I need to spend it on creative things,” Reilly said. “If I’m going to do creative things the rest of my life, I should invest it in something creative. This is something that’s going to be with me a long time and it’s going to pay off.”

As for the future, Reilly wants to be a writer on an episodic series. But, as he said, “if SNL comes calling, (he’ll) pick up the phone.” 

Meanwhile, his mother is thrilled to see her son so passionate about what he does. 

“The sky’s the limit. Anything he puts his mind to, he’s going to be successful with,” Mary Beth Reilly said. “I’m excited to grab onto his coattails and go for the ride with him … I know he’s going to be happy wherever life takes him.”