Naomi Maurer



Projects by Naomi Maurer

Breaking the Bubble: Boy in the Bubble members reflect on the challenges and rewards of sketch comedy

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.

Top row: Grace Parton, Austin Rubin and Claudia Logan Bottom row: Jasper Port and Leah Nykaza
Grace Parton, Austin Rubin, Claudia Logan, Jasper Port and Leah Nykaza pose at end of their dance to NYSNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” on Feb. 1, 2025 in the Fine Arts Building in Bloomington. The comedy group practiced the dance all week leading up to their official New Kids show. Photo courtesy of Claudia Logan.

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.”

Claudia Logan and Jesse Kunst (left to right) perform in one of the first sketches of their New Kids show on Feb. 1, 2025. The....
Claudia Logan and Jesse Kunst (left to right) perform in one of the first sketches of their New Kids show on Feb. 1, 2025 in the Fine Arts Building in Bloomington. The New Kids show served as a way to introduce Boy in the Bubble fans to new members that joined January 2025 after the group’s spring semester auditions. Photo courtesy of Claudia Logan.

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.”

Grace Parton, Simon Mayer, Matt Trzaskus, Harley Babbitt, Noah Sanders and Sarah Warf (Left to Right) perform a sketch on stage in the Fine Arts Building.
Grace Parton, Simon Mayer, Matt Trzaskus, Harley Babbitt, Noah Sanders and Sarah Warf (left to right) perform in a Willy Wonka themed drug intervention for comedy group’s alumni show on March 30, 2025 in the Fine Arts Building in Bloomington. The performance marked the groups 25th anniversary and the crowd was filled with both Boy in the Bubble fans and former members. Photo taken by Ursula Stickelmaier.

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.

Ella Asher, Claudia Logan, Leah Nykaza and Darby FitzSimmons (left to right) perform sketch comedy on stage in the fine arts building.
Claudia Logan performs alongside Ella Asher, Leah Nykaza and Darby FitzSimmons (left to right) at their performance on Feb. 15, 2025 in the Fine Arts Building in Bloomington. Logan played played Crypto Barbie in a sketch centered around a line of alt-right Barbies and Kens. Photo taken by Ursula Stickelmaier.

“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.

Apple Unveils the Apple Watch Series V: The Future of Personalized Technology


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Apple revealed a new grounding product with revolutionary technology–The Apple Watch. 

 

Media Contacts

Naomi Maurer

Lexi Bunting

Matt Novello

 

CUPERTINO, California (Sept. 9 2014) –Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, revealed today, the company’s new groundbreaking product–The Apple Watch. Available in two sizes, 38 mm and 42 mm, the Apple Watch is the most personal device Apple has ever created, featuring sophisticated capabilities that seamlessly integrate into the user’s daily life.

Cook began the presentation by saying, “We love to make great products that really enrich people’s lives. We love to integrate hardware, software and services seamlessly.” Cook highlighted Apple’s commitment to creating technology that enhances the experience of its users, and producing products that are functional and natural to use. 

The Apple Watch is highly customizable, offering the users a variety of ways to express their own personal style. The watch has intimate ways to connect and communicate, and serves as a comprehensive fitness device, a navigational tool, and much more. It’s designed to not just be a device, but an extension of the buyer, fitting into their lifestyle.

The Apple Watch has a rich design story,  with the goal being to take cutting-edge technology and make it more accessible and practical for everyday use. Johny Srouji is Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Technologies saying, “Creating beautiful objects that are as simple and pure as they are functional. Well, that’s always been our goal at Apple. We designed the Apple Watch as a whole range of products, enabling millions of unique designs, unparalleled personalization, both in appearance and capability.” 

The Apple Watch was created to be worn for both special occasions and for everyday use. It reflects personal style and demonstrates how technology can fit seamlessly into that. The combination of Apple’s hardware and software delivers a product that is not only functional but also inspiring

Personalization was a large focus in the design process. “You can personalize both the appearance and the capability of the Apple Watch. Personalization extends way beyond the interface. We’ve designed six different straps, and a mechanism that makes them easily interchangeable, with a level of refinement and precision that also serves a functional purpose,” said Cook. Whether users want the elegance from the 18 carat gold base with leather loop strap or the stainless steel base with practical, sweat-resistant silicone sports strap, they can easily change the look of their watch to match their style.

One of the biggest challenges Apple faced when designing this product was the watch’s small size. To overcome this, Apple introduced the digital crown, a revolutionary input method that allows users to interact with the device. The digital crown functions as a dial that lets the user scroll to find which app they would like to use. This addresses the issues with having to work around a smaller display effectively. So the user can use Apple’s apps such as notes, message, timer, etc.. or third party apps like Pinterest, Instagram, Spotify, etc..  

Cook said, “Apps are designed for lightweight interaction that let you respond quickly to messages. And with digital touch, we’ve developed an entirely new way for you to connect intimately with others. You can get someone’s attention with a gentle tap. You can send a quick sketch, or you can even share something as personal as your own heartbeat. These are subtle ways to communicate that technology often inhibits rather than enables.”

 

In addition to the digital crown, Apple introduced another remarkable technology in the Apple Watch—the ability to sense force as well as touch. This added a new layer to the user interface, creating an intuitive experience that felt even more natural. The Zaconia backing of the watch has four sapphire lenses– infrared with visible light LEDs. Allowing to direct a comprehensive picture of your daily activity, the crystals house a one of a kind inductive charging system. 

Cook continues with “At the heart of the watch is a custom designed chip that integrates many subsystems into one remarkably compact module, which is then completely encapsulated to protect the electronics. It’s essentially miniaturizing an entire computer system onto a single chip.” Those qualities allow the watch to be an incredibly accurate device that was created for everyday use and functionally is user friendly.  It was built with everyday use in mind, seamlessly blending cutting-edge technology with an intuitive design.

 

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