Kelly Templeton is a freshman here at Wake Forest who joined the Lilting Banshees Comedy Troupe last semester. She is planning on majoring in psychology or sociology and minoring in biology. Kelly most recently performed in the Banshees Classics performance last Friday night.
Her Campus: Kelly, why did you decide to join the Lilting Banshees?
Kelly Templeton: I did A Cappella in high school so I knew that I loved to perform, but the best part about it was the community that I felt. I knew that coming into college, I wanted a group that provided the same opportunities as A Cappella did — to become close to a group of people that shared the same passions as me. Humor has always been a big part of my personality, but I never had an outlet for it until I heard about the Banshees. I talked to some current members before trying out and seeing their love for it made me really excited that the troupe could be exactly what I was looking for. After the first round of auditions, I couldn’t imagine the next four years not being in it, so finding out that I got in was one of my happiest moments at Wake.
HC: What is your favorite part of the group so far?
KT: My favorite part of the group is definitely the people. Joining the troupe was like gaining a group of friends that I immediately knew that I could trust and experience my entire college career with. I see them a lot, since we rehearse three times a week and hang out outside of rehearsals as well. Through that, I’ve formed some really amazing friendships with not only freshmen but upperclassmen as well, and I get to learn about their lives outside of the troupe. That was something that took a little time for me to realize — that the people in the troupe are actually just regular people and they have a bunch going on in their lives, not just comedy. It’s made me appreciate them even more knowing that everyone willingly and happily dedicates a lot of their time to the troupe.
HC: Is it hard to balance the work of Banshees and schoolwork? What do show weeks look like?
KT: At first it was hard for me to try to balance it all, for sure. I let it consume me for the first little while I was in the troupe, but over time I figured out how to manage my time better. I was also taking a lot of hours last semester, and with it being freshman fall, everything seemed new and exciting and I think pretty much everyone felt a little overwhelmed. During the regular writing time, we meet three times a week for a couple of hours each session, but during show week it gets a little crazy. Last show, we met every night for a few hours to go read through the sketches and work on staging and how we were going to present the lines. A couple of days before the show, we were working for 5 hours each night. It seems like a lot, but honestly, it moves by decently quickly since we’re with friends and doing something that we love.
HC: Are there any skits that you particularly enjoy performing?
KT: I like performing in kind of ridiculous skits. The higher the energy, the more enjoyable it is to perform.
HC: When’s your next performance?
KT: April 1st, baby! There will be two shows this time so please come and bring friends!