By Danny Durkin, Naomi Maurer and Ursula Stickelmaier

BLOOMINGTON, IND.  (April 3, 2025)

The stage is dark as people file into room 015 in the Fine Arts Building. Music blasts from the speakers above. And, as the audience finds their seats, members of IUs sketch comedy group Boy in the Bubble wait backstage for the show to begin. Performing comedy can be intimidating for anyone, but joining an established group like Boy in the Bubble comes with both rewards and challenges.

The group’s newest performers, junior Claudia Logan, sophomore Grace Parton and freshman Jesse Kunst, joined the group in January this year. Shortly after officially joining Boy in the Bubble, the group held their first show of the semester, or their “New Kids” show, on Feb. 1 in the Fine Arts Building.

Despite their prior individual performing experience, this was the first time that the three new members performed sketch comedy in front of an audience. But being comfortable on stage is also something that these performers must be good with. For a new performer, like Logan or Parton, the thought of trying to be funny in front of a crowd of strangers may seem nerve wracking at first.

“It was intimidating,” Parton said. “I’d seen them all perform before, and they’re all very naturally funny. And you’re just intimidated going in. Like, I have a lot of imposter syndrome, thinking I’m not funny, or I can’t write, or anything like that. But the more you’re around people like that, I feel like, the more you’re like, oh, that’s silly. These are just fun people to be around. There’s nothing to be worried about.”

Though all the new members of Boy in the Bubble have had some sort of stage experience – Parton, whose current major is costume design and who acted in high school, has been around the stage more than most. Despite currently working in shows with the University Players, some free time in her schedule allowed Parton to audition for the group.

“This semester, I didn’t have much going on, so I kind of wanted to take the opportunity,” Parton said. “And I’d been to a few shows before, and Bubble was always my favorite, so I wanted to try it out.”

With her obligations to school, the University Players shows and her own social life, the addition of Boy in the Bubble rehearsals and shows to her schedule can become a challenge. But to Parton’s surprise, the sketch comedy group is very accommodating of its members’ schedules.

“Bubble makes it easier, because we meet every other week, so I can kind of focus on my other obligations in the weeks in between,” Parton said. “Three of our members were just in Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind, which is the main stage play this semester, and they just took a few weeks off. So, like, a few weeks is only three shows, and they’re going to be back with us the rest of the semester. So it’s not too bad.”

Writing sketches can also be something that challenges new members during their first tries. Logan, who wrote scripts when she was younger for the global organization Destination Imagination which she participated in, has pitched multiple sketches to Boy in the Bubble and has even had some make it into the shows. As her time in the group has progressed so has her process for writing scripts. Currently this means pulling from things she experiences or hears in her own life to create something funny.

“I find one thing that I’m like, ‘Okay, this would be funny. How do I build up to that?’” Logan said. “Like this skit that got in the show, I got from talking to my neighbor. He was making a pie and said something like, ‘My God, my butter is gonna be melted and not just softened.’ And I thought that was so funny. Then in one of my classes, my professor mentioned, like the redwood forest. And I was like, ‘Redwood forest and butter. How can I add that?’ And then I just kind of word vomited.”

For Logan, inspiration can come from anywhere. Whether it is a random conversation with a friend, a silly remark she overhears or even a professor’s lecture. The beginning of her writing process is less about crafting a structured narrative and more about chasing what makes her laugh, no matter how absurd the connections might seem.

Now this process may seem chaotic to some, but Logan thinks it’s important to recognize that not every sketch has to make sense. Sometimes the funniest sketches aren’t the ones that have a logical beginning, middle and end but the ones that include a little chaos.

“Sometimes we’ll read sketches, and they don’t make any sense at all,” Logan said. “And it’s okay, it’s just supposed to be funny. So I think, like taking that mindset, it really helps me write too.”

For new members, Boy in the Bubble isn’t just about the challenges it brings. It’s about finding a community where they can grow as comedians. And from writing sketches to performing on stage, Logan says they’ve found encouragement every step of the way.

“Everyone in the group is just so nice,” Logan said. “They all welcomed me in like I was already their friend, so that was pretty comforting.”

Claudia Logan and Grace Parton discuss what its like to be new members of a popular comedy group on campus. Logan and Parton both joined IUs sketch comedy group, Boy in the Bubble, in Jan. 2025 and have participated in all the shows of the spring semester through sketch writing and performance.