BYUtv’s ‘Studio C’ cast talks past, present and future
The cast of "Studio C" hugs it out in this publicity photo.
The cast of "Studio C," the sketch comedy show on BYUtv.
Cast members of "Studio C" perform a sketch during Season 4.
BYUtv sketch comedy troupe "Studio C" performs during Stadium of Fire last year.
Cast members perform during a Season 4 taping of BYUtv's "Studio C."
Friday was a pretty monumental day for the 10-member cast of BYUtv’s sketch comedy show “Studio C.”
Not only did it mark one of the first live performances for the cast since they all made the recent transition to full time, but it was also the show’s first livestream production.
“We realized with each season we had to keep turning more and more people away from our live tapings,” said “Studio C” cast member Whitney Call in a group phone interview with the Daily Herald on Wednesday. “People aren’t’ very happy when it’s pretty much a zero chance of you getting in to see a taping. … I think we just thought it was getting ridiculous, and we wanted to try and include everyone.”
“Studio C” has accomplished a lot in the nearly three years since its inaugural season, and, though the show’s wide success came as a surprise to many, according to its cast, there’s plenty more accomplishments to come.
“We didn’t see it getting this far and we’re glad that it’s going,” said James Perry who recently moved from a featured actor to full time on the show. “We’re glad that people are seeing what’s going on. It’s surreal.”
For those not following “Studio C” from the beginning, it’s good to note that the show has roots in the Brigham Young University sketch comedy troupe Divine Comedy. Since the entire “Studio C” cast spent time as a part of Divine Comedy, they had to make a transition from college and Mormon humor to a wider audience on the show: a process that, according to Call, was less complicated than it could have been and has definitely been well received.
“I think that we were used to really just writing what we thought was funny and so not too much changed when we switched over to ‘Studio C,’ except we didn’t do Mormon specific humor,” she said. “Normally we’re performing for a college-age crowd so when an early teen audience started really following us it was surprising for us. We’ve always geared (our writing) for our peers.”
According to Perry, the switch to a broader variety of humor was a natural progression for most of the cast.
“We’d all been in (Divine Comedy) for three or more years and had been writing about college experiences for that long. We’d kind of seen the jokes for ourselves and thought, ‘Let’s expand to a more general audience and incorporate pop culture. Let’s see how far we can go with it.’ … We were really surprised when super young kids got into it.”
But it’s not just the kids that are clamoring for “Studio C” brand humor. Many of their parents are fans, too, keying in to the things about the show to which they can relate.
“To kind of go off what James said, now we’re all older a lot of us are starting families,” said Jeremy Warner, another “Studio C” cast member. “We’re starting a new stage in our lives and are having other experiences that a lot of our demographic, like the parents of our fans, can relate to.”
The ability of the show to provide quality, clean humor for all ages has been a big key in its success and growth, but it’s not the only thing pushing “Studio C” forward. According to Call, a lot of it has to do with the presence of the show on YouTube and social media. With more viewers on YouTube than when it airs on BYUtv, getting a leg up in the digital age has been vital to the success of “Studio C,” and created the perfect opening for not only the livestream online taping, but also some great Internet collaborations.
“We’ve done quite a few collaborations this season where we’ve branched out and reached out toward other entities,” Call said. “It’s been really eye opening in general. We’ve worked with a lot of people who aren’t focused on sketch comedy who are just super excited to get in on it. We’ve really had a fun time involving other people.”
Some recent collaborations include a behind-the-scenes sketch with The Piano Guys as well as a cameo appearance by Warner in a recently released music video by local rock group Fictionist.
Aside from their collaborations, the group has been working non-stop on new content for this fall’s debut of Season 6. A break from the spring and fall season premieres, Season 6 will kick-off a full year after Season 5, allowing for a transition in cast, as well as a switch to a more standard 20-episode season that will run through the spring.
“It’s the first season all of us have been really able to collaborate and work more in depth with each other because we’ve had the time to,” said Call of the upcoming season. “In September, they brought all of us on full time to write.”
Prior to September, just four of the 10 members of the “Studio C” cast were full time. Now, all 10 will be series regulars and contributing to each aspect of the behind-the-scenes creative process.
“It’s pretty exciting and kind of nice,” said Warner, of the changes. “We had more time between Season 5 and Season 6 to write more because we had to write more, but the time we had to dedicate to the show has improved it greatly and hopefully viewers will be able to see the difference and the time we’ve put into it.”
Season 6 will debut on BYUtv this fall, but fans won’t have to wait until then to get more of their favorite “Studio C” sketch comedy. Keep updated on the show and catch new videos by following the troupe on YouTube at youtube.com/BYUTelevision or on Facebook at facebook.com/StudioCtv.