For one night, past and present members of Boy in the Bubble weren’t separated by years — they were bound by a shared love of comedy, and they celebrated that love together. The sketch comedy group celebrated their 25th anniversary Saturday in the Fine Arts Building, bringing many alumni of the group together to enjoy the show.
Though most of the performance only included current members in the sketches, it kicked off with a filmed sketch from Boy in the Bubble alumni currently living in Los Angeles. Among the alumni in this group was Aaron Waltke, a screenwriter and television producer popularly known for his involvement in “Trollhunters” and “Star Trek: Prodigy.”
The self-referential bit centered around the former members of Boy in the Bubble on a Zoom call struggling to figure out what they wanted the sketch to be. It garnered a lot of laughs from the audience as the alumni joked about their current careers and what it was like to be in Boy in the Bubble.
Among the audience enjoying the show was Adam Kornya, an alumnus who joined the group during his time at IU in 2004. Looking back at his time performing at IU, Kornya said he was surprised to feel like nothing had really changed within the group.
“I think it's interesting how similar it all seems,” Kornya said. “Obviously comedy is different, and the college experience is different, but there are still things that seem exactly the same as the way I experienced them.”
Part of the similarity is the community that members find within the group. Kornya said he felt like the strongest parts of his time in Boy in the Bubble weren’t just the fun performances, but the friendships formed during those shows.
“I would say, like, it was a way to essentially audition who is going to be your best friend based on how funny they were,” Kornya said. “I mean, it makes me sound like a psychopath, but you know, we are all still getting together and going to each other’s weddings and stuff.”
That community found in Boy in the Bubble group was obvious to non-alumni audience members as well. Bloison Lawee and Isabella Habig both came to Saturday night’s show in support of their friend IU junior Harley Babbitt, a performer in the group.
This was Lawee’s first Boy in the Bubble performance, and he was impressed by the way the group’s lighthearted dynamic infected the audience and added to the overall appeal of the show.
“They just work together very well,” Lawee said. “They’re just a group of friends and you could definitely tell they enjoy doing sketch. It’s like they’re strangers to me, but also I feel like I know them.”
Habig also felt the camaraderie from her spot in the audience. The IU junior was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was for the sketch comedy group to come back from any difficulties they might have had during their set. Whether it was mixed-up lines or technology not working correctly, the performers were able to think on their feet and not let anything hold up the show.
“I feel like a lot of clubs, not everyone's really friends, and so like, when you go the vibe is kind of lost,” Habig said. “But if you’re all friends and you can kind of gauge someone’s humor, you can bring people up. And you could kind of see there were sometimes like moments of improv where something went wrong but they were able to cover for it pretty well because of that.”
Of the sketches performed throughout the night, fan favorites included a skit about an “alpha male” training camp and another about three knights off to kill a witch. Stand-up was also performed by group member Austin Rubin, an IU senior. Beginning their shows with a short stand-up set by one of their members has become a bit of a signature for the comedy group. With a mix of light crowd work, as well as plenty of jokes about his own life, the audience seemed to enjoy Rubin’s set.
But what the crowd seemed to especially love was the music that played between each sketch. The playlist included popular songs like “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out” by ROLE MODEL, as well as “Rasputin” by Boney M. The latter quickly became an audience favorite when AJ Wilson, a sophomore member, gave a quick performance of the Slavic squat kick dance popularized by the song in between two of the sketches.
The group’s 25th anniversary show seemed to be a celebration of the Boy in the Bubble members before them and all the ones yet to come. Lituo Huang, a Boy in the Bubble member from 2004 to 2006, was happy to see the traditions and community built by former members still going strong. It’s something she hopes to see continued as the years go on and the group continues to grow.
“I'm just really hopeful that they'll look back on their experience as well and just have these friends for life,” Huang said. “I mean, I think that all of my friends from the Bubble are much funnier than any of my other friends.”
