Battlewhale: one word, around 30 student actors and countless hearty laughs. MU Battlewhale is the premiere sketch comedy team run by students for community members of all ages. What started as a group of guys performing comedy for their close friends in 2007 turned into something much bigger than they could have ever imagined.
As described by the team’s Instagram biography, think “SNL but cuter.” Battlewhale President Haley Broughton shared some insight on this growing extracurricular activity.
Broughton has been a member of MU Battlewhale since her freshman year and has since worked her way up to the president position. She describes her time in Battlewhale with an enthusiastic smile and passion for the group of students she leads. As president, Broughton is the front figure and represents the team throughout campus. She started out by explaining how the rehearsal process begins with the basics of sketch comedy.
“[Rehearsal] starts a lot with learning what it takes to write a sketch and learning what makes something funny,” Broughton said. “As time goes on, we have people read the sketches they have written casted out by other members of Battlewhale. Then we give feedback.”
Battlewhale is an open joining organization and is currently recruiting new members. According to MU Battlewhate, all that is required is a great attitude and a strong time commitment to rehearsals and show times. The team is always looking for new members who can bring their creativity to the table.
Throughout all this hard work, Broughton has made some of her best college memories. She believes the process to be fun and the end results to be rewarding. The lasting memories she has created has been her favorite part about being a member of Battlewhale.
“Nothing is better than when someone reads a sketch for the first time or after it has been through a couple edits and we’re all just laughing so hard about it, we’re crying, and we can’t even get through the line that they wrote,” Broughton said. “It really feels just like hanging out a lot of the time and laughing with your good, close friends.”
The MU Battlewhale team loves making others laugh and wants to see students and community members at their shows. The group performs three shows at the end of each semester with this fall’s dates being Nov. 29-30 and Dec. 1. The performance’s locations are to be determined.
You can follow up with the team’s progress as well as witness its multimedia through its social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @mubattlewhale.
_Edited by Alexandra Sharp | asharp@themaneater.com_