New INBLACK members bring class year diversity
The ever-popular campus sketch comedy group INBLACK recently welcomed four new members: Sarin Sony ’18, Colin Alexander ’19, Brigid Duffy ’20 and Emilie Hapgood ’21.
The four will join veteran members Christian Conway ’18, Swannie Willstein ’18, Sam McIntosh ’19 and Lindsey Bertsch ’19. Conway is excited about the diversity of class years amongst the new additions.
“Each of our four new members are from different class years, which I think helps INBLACK act as a voice for the entire student body,” Conway said. “Also, having this age diversity helps to ensure that INBLACK will have members in the future who feel confident and ready to run the planning process.”
Hapgood is the youngest of the group and hasn’t seen INBLACK perform before, but she’s excited to get into the swing of rehearsals.
“I am looking forward to getting to write some awesome sketches with a bunch of really cool people,” she said. “I’m hoping to learn from all of them and to gain experience working collaboratively on comedy.”
Hapgood is involved in numerous other theater and performance organizations on campus, including Scared Scriptless, Deep End APO and Manitou Choir. She also tap dances, a talent that we might be able to witness in one of INBLACK’s 28 sketches.
Duffy is also new to sketch comedy, but she’s seen INBLACK perform before. Her favorite sketch from last year was titled “period sex” and starred Conway and Willstein as a married couple who are working to solve their awkward misunderstanding about intimacy in the therapist’s office.
“[I] am really excited to dive head first and learn all about the ins and outs and just messing around with ideas until I get the right one,” she said.
Duffy is a sociology and anthropology and political science double major, and she’s involved in the Political Awareness Committee, Student Activities Committee, Sexual Assault Resource Network and Students for Reproductive Rights.
Alexander has two years of sketch comedy experience through “Vernon Hills Live,” a play on “Saturday Night Live” at his high school. His favorite part of past INBLACK shows is the monologues. Throughout the night, each performer gets one monologue scene, which range from silly to serious.
Outside of INBLACK, Alexander is an English major with an education concentration and is involved in Ole Thrift Shop, Education Minnesota Student Program, Special Olympics and Greater Than.
For Sony, INBLACK is the few ways he can stay involved with theater and performance on campus. Despite a lack of sketch comedy experience, he has taken acting classes that have prepared him for performance.
“I’ve taken acting classes here with Dona Freeman … so I feel like even though I haven’t done sketch comedy, she has prepared me to be able to do it regardless,” Sony said. “I remember sophomore year we would do improv and scenes and we’d have to write our own collage theater.”
Sony is a biology and psychology double major, and is the social chair for Celebrate South Asia!, UNICEF and an international student counselor.
To keep the show a mystery, none of the members would reveal too much about what sketches we can expect to see this year. Sony mentioned an idea about singing in the shower, and Alexander said that he might try to get Sony to beatbox.
Performance dates are yet to be determined, but Conway expects that the group will debut the show sometime in May.
whitfo1@stolaf.edu
