2008 Woodie Awards
Students create sketch comedy group called The Telethon
Amy Gorczowski
Issue date: 11/6/07 Section: Features
When Mike Carlson and C.J. Tuor formed The Telethon last school year, they never imagined how far it might go.
The Telethon, a sketch comedy group with minimal members, focused on comical productions and shorts. Although they have since disbanded, their work is something to talk about.
"It ranged from random comedy to political satire," C.J. Tuor, senior theater education major and co-creator of the Telethon, said. When the group was first started, it was really just a bunch of friends creating scripts and having fun acting them out.
Friends Tuor and Mike Carlson, a recent graduate of ISU, created The Telethon to have fun with what they love doing. "We just started to film stuff in the TV-10 station," A.J. Rahm, junior television production major, said. "We all wanted to do sketch comedy."
Airing on campus television, and often just posted on YouTube, The Telethon served as a hobby and experience builder for its members. Soon, though, their video shorts were becoming something bigger.
"Last year Carson Daly had a comedy competition and we won one of them," Tuor said.
Chosen to be one of the five teams that would be in the pilot episode, members of The Telethon were ecstatic.
The show, called Behind the Scenes, was set to run on NBC. Though it never ran, the recognition fueled The Telethon.
"We kind of cranked out films after that," Rahm said. Frequently entering their work in contests, The Telethon members competed in a contest created by the FX television network. "'Gloomy is the New Clear' ran almost two years ago," Tuor said. "We were on TV for that."
"Gloomy is the New Clear", the three part short film that they were on TV for, is about a college student that has to direct a play. Co-written by Tuor and Carlson, this sketch is available for viewing at theprizepig.com/Gloomyis.html.
While the group was stared on a whim for fun, it turned into much more. Building experience and acquiring resume builders, the members of The Telethon have countless memories and benefits from their years together.
The Telethon, a sketch comedy group with minimal members, focused on comical productions and shorts. Although they have since disbanded, their work is something to talk about.
"It ranged from random comedy to political satire," C.J. Tuor, senior theater education major and co-creator of the Telethon, said. When the group was first started, it was really just a bunch of friends creating scripts and having fun acting them out.
Friends Tuor and Mike Carlson, a recent graduate of ISU, created The Telethon to have fun with what they love doing. "We just started to film stuff in the TV-10 station," A.J. Rahm, junior television production major, said. "We all wanted to do sketch comedy."
Airing on campus television, and often just posted on YouTube, The Telethon served as a hobby and experience builder for its members. Soon, though, their video shorts were becoming something bigger.
"Last year Carson Daly had a comedy competition and we won one of them," Tuor said.
Chosen to be one of the five teams that would be in the pilot episode, members of The Telethon were ecstatic.
The show, called Behind the Scenes, was set to run on NBC. Though it never ran, the recognition fueled The Telethon.
"We kind of cranked out films after that," Rahm said. Frequently entering their work in contests, The Telethon members competed in a contest created by the FX television network. "'Gloomy is the New Clear' ran almost two years ago," Tuor said. "We were on TV for that."
"Gloomy is the New Clear", the three part short film that they were on TV for, is about a college student that has to direct a play. Co-written by Tuor and Carlson, this sketch is available for viewing at theprizepig.com/Gloomyis.html.
While the group was stared on a whim for fun, it turned into much more. Building experience and acquiring resume builders, the members of The Telethon have countless memories and benefits from their years together.
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