“And then I found out he was gay!”
“Professor, I just wanted to let you know that I have a very strong opinion on this.”
“Oh, I’m from New Jersey too!”
It was a Saturday night, and Facebook had exploded. AU improv and acting group Mission Improv-able released a video titled “Shit AU People Say”, and the video spread across campus in a matter of minutes.
Gabe Menchaca, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs, was thrilled to see the creation.
“We find it funny because we get the joke — it’s like an inside joke,” Menchaca said.
The video is part of a YouTube trend that mocks quirky habits, sayings and ideas of locals from different places across the country, including “Shit D.C. Says.”
The video depicts a student talking on her cell phone on the quiet floor of the library, and students discussing the deficit of forks in the Terrace Dining Room. The troupe even featured a Bon Appétit worker yelling, “Tenders!”
Members of Mission Improv-able began accumulating potential quips and funny moments over an email thread, said Madeline Wolfson, a member of Mission Improvable and a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences.
“So many of the suggestions that we were all sending independently back and forth were identical, and that’s when we started to realize what the kind of stereotypes actually were,” Wolfson said in a phone interview.
Nate Bronstein, a director and producer of the video, said the “Shit People in D.C. Say” video inspired actors to do something similar for AU.
The acting troupe worked with Michael Conte, Emily O’Connor, Nicole Raz and Joanna Sobieski from ATV to produce the video.
More than 12,000 people viewed the people as of Feb. 13 at 9:30 p.m.
“Another reason we are doing this now is because we wanted to add a new dynamic to Mission Improv-able this year,” Bronstein said. “So we’ve started introducing the ‘digital shorts,’ sort of like SNL [Saturday Night Live] has digital shorts.”
The former Student Government president explained that the “shorts,” in addition to playing during the troupe’s performances, will promote the group’s presence on campus and raise money through YouTube advertising revenue.
“Shit AU People Say” didn’t make a smooth transition to the Web, originally. The film was released early due to a technical error Feb. 4 and quickly accrued around 400 views.
ATV took the video down about two hours after its release, Bronstein said.
“Put it up again already,” wrote one Facebook user.
The video was put back up Feb. 6, complete with credits, under Mission Improv-able’s channel.
The updated video also included three additional lines and a conclusion that thanked the Tavern for its participation in the skit.
Menchaca said he would want to see a similar video in the future.
“I think it’s a good thing to make fun of ourselves a little bit from time to time because I think that a lot of the time people take themselves a little bit too seriously,” he said.
