"Everybody's been behaving kind of strange around me. They seem to be up to something.... I really don't know what's going on. That's what she said," said President Brodhead.
No, this is not some Brodhead imitator-after all, who could truly recreate that soothing, if slightly discomfortingly silky voice? This quip is only one of a few "That's what she said" jokes featured in Inside Joke's new YouTube video entitled The Allen Building, a teaser for their upcoming performance Two Shows, One Cup. A spoof of The Office, the video stars President Brodhead as an overzealous middle school boy (or an accurately immature Michael Scott) and is an ideal introduction to Inside Joke's trademark humor: sharp, timely and sure to cast some aspect of Duke's culture in a refreshingly non-serious light.
Created in 2001, Inside Joke is a comedy group that is scripted, setting them apart from Duke University Improv.
"We try not to have a rivalry because we're completely different types of comedy," said Petra Rasmussen, a junior member of Inside Joke.
Scott Peppel, a sophomore who used to be a member of both Inside Joke and DUI but who ceased his planned comedy days in favor of improv, agrees. According to Peppel, there exists a constructive lack of animosity between the two organizations.
"We overlap some, but [for the most part,] the two groups have their own thing and are both really strong," Peppel said. "It's nice to work together and not dilute the talent too much."
Consistently gasp-worthy humor aside, Inside Joke's appeal can be attributed in part to the diversity of its members.
"We crosscut the Duke population with the types of people that we have, which is good because you get comedy that appeals to all types of people," said senior Kyle Knight, president of Inside Joke.
Such a varied assortment of members has other advantages-the more types of people represented in the group, the more acceptable targets there are for the actors' satiric barbs.
"We try [to] only talk about stuff that [our] members are a part of," Rasmussen said. "But there are times when we re-read a skit and we're like, 'Wow, do you think we can perform that?' It's a lot about how far we can push people."
However, sometimes students think that the group pushes with a little too much muscle. In a recent performance, some show attendees complained that the humor was too keenly focused on a small, distinct population of undergraduates.
"I heard from a lot of people that it was sorority heavy-and I don't think that the problem was the content of the jokes so much as that we had like fourteen in one show. But at the same time, we're very proud of what we do and we were just poking fun," Knight said. "[Most of the jokes] are making fun of the stereotype more than making fun of that type of person, and that's what we're hitting on."
Despite whatever negative clamor they may attract, Inside Joke certainly has a fan base that believes that most of the subjects of the organization's satirical commentaries are more than fair game.
"I think that they are incisive without being offensive," said Ben Bubnovich, a sophomore and Inside Joke enthusiast. "Part of comedy is being able to laugh at yourself. If you can't laugh at yourself, you have no business laughing at anyone else."
Students whose curiosities are piqued by the mild controversy surrounding the group will soon get a chance to rate the group themselves. Inside Joke has two shows at the Duke Coffeehouse this weekend, with the first tonight and the second Saturday night. The shows will start at 9:30 p.m. both nights.
When asked what she thought about the upcoming shows, Rasmussen said, "I'm excited, plus [the Coffeehouse is] BYOB."
Judging by the hype surrounding the show, even those who are sober will likely be in on the joke.
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