On Wednesday, Sep. 3, the Banshees performed back-to-back shows in the sold-out Brendle Recital Hall, housed in Scales Fine Arts Center, kicking off the 2025-26 school year.
The student-run comedy troupe performed 11 skits, poking fun at student life and Wake Forest culture. Run by student directors and overseen by academic sponsor Dr. Luis González, the group remains free to work outside the parameters of usual academic and student conduct. This means that no topic is off limits, and no organization is above the Banshee’s wrath.
The show kicked off with a skit titled “Freak Wake Alert,” which put a sexual spin on Wake’s safety program, Wake Alert.
Sophomore Banshee Will McKinzie, who originally had the idea for the skit, describes the process from being pitched to being performed.
“From the moment we began working on it, there was so much energy and love for the idea,” McKinzie said. “It was great to see a random idea that I had blossomed into something that was actually performed on stage.”
The skits that gave rise to the most positive responses were “The Wente Show,” “The Machi Ted-Talk” and “KD sleepover at DKE.” Those that were less popular among the audience were “KKG and the homeless,” the “Oversized Zyn Pack” and “The Fizz God.”
In a time when people often take themselves too seriously, the Banshees — many of whom belong to the organizations they poke at — offer us much-needed respite.
Mickinzie, a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, said, “At the end of the day, people need to be able to take a step back from their lives and be able to laugh at themselves and realize how arbitrary Greek life is in the grand scheme of things. Being able to take a joke when someone else is making fun of you is an important skill that is necessary to stay happy at this school.”
Sophomore Banshee Annie Beargie shares a similar sentiment.
“It’s all in good fun,” Beargie said. “Most of the time, the sketches we write are based on fiction. It doesn’t bother me, it’s actually fun for my respective Greek organization to get poked fun at.”
With auditions taking place on Sep. 9, first-year students will be given the chance to see their skits come to life on stage.
Beargie advises prospective Banshees to “be ready to have fun and embarrass yourself a little bit and be a part of the best club on campus that is so ingrained in Wake Forest culture.”
