The Lilting Banshees
{{Short description|Comedy troupe at Wake Forest University}}
The Lilting Banshees are a sketch comedy troupe at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.{{cite web
| author= McKenzie Maddox
| date= September 2017
| publisher= Old Gold and Black (student newspaper)
| url= http://wfuogb.com/2017/09/lilting-banshees-kick-off-school-year/
| title= Lilting Banshees kick off school year
| accessdate= October 10, 2020
| quote=...The Lilting Banshees, led by senior Sam Ederle, is a student-run organization that performs three comedy shows a year with two in the fall and one in the spring....
| author= Jessica Mark
| date= August 2020
| publisher= Old Gold & Black (student newspaper)
| url= http://wfuogb.com/2020/08/how-to-handle-homesickness/
| title= How To Handle Homesickness
| accessdate= October 9, 2020
| quote=...If you have the special skill of making others laugh, join the Lilting Banshees – our comedy troupe on campus....
}} They are notable for launching the entertainment careers of several alumni and for being a popular campus attraction.
History
The sketch comedy troupe was founded in 1998 by Ben Tomlin '94, Matt Jones '96, and several other theatre students.{{Cite web |title=Lilting Banshees Host Reunion Show |author=Lillian Johnson |work=Old Gold & Black |date=January 2019 |access-date=24 July 2020 |url= http://wfuogb.com/2019/01/lilting-banshees-host-reunion-show/}} The founders based their name on a CD of Irish harp music that Tomlin found in the theatre department sound booth.{{Cite web |title=Oh, Those Lilting Banshees! Where Are They (Funny) Now? |author=Cherin C. Poovey |work=Wake Forest Magazine |date=24 January 2014 |access-date=24 July 2020 |url= https://magazine.wfu.edu/2014/01/24/oh-those-lilting-banshees-where-are-they-funny-now/}} In 2019, they celebrated their 25th reunion.The Old Gold and Black (student newspaper), Olivia Field, January 2020, [http://wfuogb.com/2020/01/lilting-banshees-host-classics-show/ Lilting Banshees Host Classics Show], Retrieved July 24, 2020 Over 40 alumni attended the reunion show. They performed classic sketches and unveiled a new fund in memory of alumnus James Buscher ‘98, who died in a car accident in 2010.{{Cite web |title=Lilting Banshees Comedy 25th Reunion at Wake Forest |author=Nick Gray |work=nickgray.net |date=21 January 2019 |access-date=24 July 2020 |url= https://nickgray.net/banshees-reunion/}}
Style and content
Members plan each show three months in advance. They meet regularly to pitch ideas for sketches, and after there are a sufficient number of them, they host a “War Room” session where they choose the sketches; according to tradition, each decision must be unanimous.{{Cite web |title=Behind the Scenes with the Banshees |author=Olivia Field |work=Old Gold & Black |date=March 2018 |access-date=24 July 2020 |url= http://wfuogb.com/2018/03/behind-the-scenes-with-the-banshees/}} Previous topics have included the excessively long lines at Chick-Fil-A and how cavemen first discovered cow's milk. Some performances feature sexually suggestive content.
Alumni
The Banshees have helped to launch the careers of several notable alumni in entertainment-related fields.Karen Newton, Style Weekly, August 6, 2019, [https://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/brothers-in-comedy/Content?oid=14949576 Brothers in Comedy: Siblings from New York give their take on the demanding world of comedy], Retrieved July 24, 2020, "...Bret Raybould began doing comedy when he was a student at Wake Forest University. As a freshman, he joined a sketch comedy troupe called the Lilting Banshees and the experience made him fall in love with making people laugh..."
- Dr. James Hamblin is the author of If Our Bodies Could Talk and a staff writer for The Atlantic. He has served as a moderator for the Precision Medicine Initiative and interviewed President Barack Obama.
- Sarah Schneider wrote and acted for CollegeHumor prior to becoming a writer for Saturday Night Live. After leaving SNL in 2017, she partnered with head writer Chris Kelly to create The Other Two, which premiered on Comedy Central in 2019.{{Cite web |title=How to Start Your Career in Comedy: A Guide for College Students |last=Dieker |first=Nicole |work=Vulture |date=10 November 2014 |access-date=10 October 2020 |url= https://www.vulture.com/2014/11/how-to-start-your-career-in-comedy-a-guide-for-college-students.html}}
- Emma Hunsinger is a cartoonist with work appearing in a variety of publications. She currently holds the record for the longest comic to appear in The New Yorker after releasing a ten-page feature.{{Cite web |title=Treating Myself to Gatorade and Gum: An Interview with Emma Hunsinger - SOLRAD |author=Emil Wilson |work=SOLRAD |date=12 March 2020 |access-date=24 July 2020 |url= https://solrad.co/emil-wilson-interview-emma-hunsinger}}
- Shane Harris is an American journalist and author. He graduated in 1998. Harris was remembered for his portrayal and roasting of Chaplain Ed Christman's "What's in a Name?" freshman orientation speech.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.instagram.com/liltingbanshees/?hl=en Instagram: LiltingBanshees] official account
- [https://thetab.com/us/wakeforest/2016/04/28/get-know-lilting-banshees-754 The Tab: Get to know the Lilting Banshees]
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Category:Wake Forest University
Category:Student organizations established in 1993