The Lilting Banshees are a
sketch comedy
Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...
troupe at
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...
in North Carolina.
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.
The founders based their name on a CD of Irish harp music that Tomlin found in the theatre department sound booth.
In 2019, they celebrated their 25th reunion.
[The Old Gold and Black (student newspaper), Olivia Field, January 2020]
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.
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.
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]
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
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
''. He has served as a moderator for the Precision Medicine Initiative and interviewed President Barack Obama.
*
Sarah Schneider
Sarah Schneider (born September 10, 1983) is an American writer, actress, and comedian. She got her start in entertainment as a writer and actress for the comedy website CollegeHumor before becoming a writer for the television sketch comedy ser ...
wrote and acted for CollegeHumor prior to becoming a writer for
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
. After leaving SNL in 2017, she partnered with head writer Chris Kelly to create ''The Other Two'', which premiered on Comedy Central in 2019.
* 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
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' after releasing a ten-page feature.
*
Shane Harris
Shane Harris is an American journalist and author. He is a senior national security writer at the ''Washington Post''. He specializes in coverage of America's intelligence agencies. He is author of the books '' The Watchers: The Rise of Americ ...
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
Instagram: LiltingBansheesofficial account
The Tab: Get to know the Lilting BansheesWelcome To The Banshees: How being in the best group on campus shaped my college experience
Wake Forest University
Student organizations established in 1993
Sketch comedy troupes
1993 establishments in North Carolina