Duke University Improv
Encyclopedia
Humble Beginnings
DUI was founded by a handful of freshmen in the fall of 1996. There have been 39 members in DUI's history, with alumni spanning the globe and many still performing. Some of its alums are members of the Upright Citizens BrigadeUpright Citizens Brigade
The Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational comedy and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The most recent incarnation consists of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh...
Theatre in New York, while others are members of The Second City
The Second City
The Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...
and iO
I.O.
iO, or iO Chicago, is a theater located at 3541 N. Clark St., in Chicago, Illinois, one-half block south of Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. The theater both has performances of, and teaches improvisational comedy. It was founded in the 1980s by Del Close and Charna Halpern...
(formerly Improv Olympic) in Chicago. DUI performs roughly 40 improv shows per year for packed crowds. A typical show includes 10-12 short-form improv “games” similar to those performed on the television show Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway? is a short-form improvisational comedy TV show. Originally a British radio programme, it moved to television in 1988 as a series made for the UK's Channel 4, for a 10 series run...
Some of DUI’s larger shows also include a mix of long-form improv scenes, scripted sketch comedy, and videos. The most well known of these shows is the aptly named Big Show, offering an evening of top-quality entertainment to a consistently sold-out crowd of 1,200 people in Duke’s Page Auditorium. Big Show has become famous for incorporating various campus and national celebrities, including basketball stars Shane Battier
Shane Battier
Shane Courtney Battier is an American professional basketball player . He most recently played with the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association. He has also been a member of the U.S...
, Jason Williams
Jay Williams (basketball)
Jason David Williams , professionally known as Jay Williams, is a former American professional basketball player with the NBA Chicago Bulls. He last signed with the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League, but was waived by the Toros on December 30, 2006 to rehabilitate a nagging injury...
, Nolan Smith
Nolan Smith
Nolan Derek Smith is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, having been selected with the 21st pick in the 2011 NBA Draft after four years at Duke University. As a senior, he was named a first team AP All-American and the ACC Player of the Year...
, Lance Thomas
Lance Thomas
Lance Thomas is a 6'8" former forward on the Duke University's men's basketball team. He is from Scotch Plains, New Jersey. He started at power forward for Duke's national champion 2010 team. Currently for the NBA D-League 2010-11 season, Thomas is playing for the Austin Toros.- High school...
, Kyle Singler
Kyle Singler
Kyle Edward Singler is a professional basketball player for the Real Madrid in Spain. He was a four-year starter for the Duke men's basketball team and was instrumental in their 2010 NCAA Championship run, earning MVP of the Final Four.-High school:Singler attended South Medford High School and...
, Jon Scheyer
Jon Scheyer
Jonathan James "Jon" Scheyer is an American-Israeli professional basketball player. He plays shooting guard for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Super League in that competition, the Adriatic League, and the Euroleague...
ESPN announcer Dick Vitale
Dick Vitale
Richard J. "Dick" Vitale , also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well-known as a college basketball broadcaster and for the enthusiastic and colorful remarks he makes during games. He is known for his...
and Duke President Richard Brodhead
Richard Brodhead
Richard Brodhead was an American lawyer and politician from Easton, Pennsylvania. He represented Pennsylvania in both the U.S. House and Senate. He was the father of U.S. Representative Jefferson Davis Brodhead....
. In addition to its performances across campus, DUI has also performed in venues in New York, Washington D.C., Florida and Chicago.
Rise to Fame
In the fall of 2007, sparked by an abundance of creative ideas and several members who were interested in filmmaking, DUI decided to produce original online content for their website and YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel. The first video, “Dumbledore Gimme More” was a breakthrough success both on campus and across the country. DUI’s second online video was "My New Haircut: Asian Edition,” a Far East themed parody of the popular “My New Haircut” video. This video quickly became a viral video sensation on YouTube and across the Internet, spawning dozens of other “Haircut” parodies. The video amassed over 2 million views in its first three months, and to date has been viewed by over 5 million people worldwide. As a result of these and other online videos, DUI has been featured in The New York Times Magazine and Sports Illustrated blogs.
Giving Back
Shortly after DUI began performing regularly on campus, the group was presented with the question of what to do with the money they were raising from their performances. Several of the members’ lives had been touched by cancer. Scott Carter, younger brother of Cason Carter, a founding member of DUI, had died in 1993 after a three-year battle with bone cancer. His parents had founded the Scott Carter Foundation for Pediatric Cancer Research, and it was unanimously decided that DUI would donate every dollar that it ever raised to this cause. Each August, DUI presents the Foundation with a check at the annual Scott Carter’s Heroes Golf Classic in Tulsa, OklahomaTulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
. All proceeds raised through its performances, approximately $10,000 per year, are donated to the Scott Carter Foundation for Pediatric Cancer Research. Throughout its history, DUI has raised and donated approximately $100,000 to this worthy cause.
Current members
- Wes Peacock (T '12)
- Kyle Glackin (P '12)
- Robert Zaleski (T '13)
- Julianne Kolb (T '13)
- Hunter Douglas (P '13)
- Devon Cottle (T '14)
- Jonathan Wilkins (T '14)
- Keegan Cotton (T '15)
- Nick Chilson (P '15)
- Lawrence Nemeh (T '15)
- Thomas Kavanaugh (T '15)
Alumni
(By Year Joined)- (1996) Cason Carter, Harris Brodsky, John Grant, Matt Kovalick, Nupe Mehta, Porter Mason, Scott Hecker, Sean Loughlin
- (1997) Flynn Barrison, Andy Cies
- (1998) Bobby Jones, Dana Vachon, Laura Bronner, Tom Cass
- (1999) Bret Runested, Seth Weitberg
- (2000) Greg Anderson, John Marnell, Paul W. Downs
- (2001) Rob Painter, Jeremy Chapman
- (2002) Caroline Haubold, Ryan Welsh, Andrew Humphries
- (2003) Steve Cox, Laura Pyatt
- (2004) Brandon Curl (T'08), Matthew Manocherian (T'08)
- (2005) Lawrence Chen (T'09), Alex Berghorst (P'09), Brett Aresco (T'09), Andrew Tutt (P'09)
External links
- DUI's Homepage News, videos, photos, auditioning information and much more.
- DUI's YouTube Channel All of DUI's hilarious videos.
- In the New York Times Blog