If you’ve read my other blogs, (1) omg I’m so flattered, and (2) you know I’m a big fan of Yale’s academic calendar. Yale did not ask me to say this—I genuinely believe that compared to other colleges, we have one of the most generous academic calendars of all when it comes to offering time-off. Now, don’t get me wrong, time on campus is my favorite part of the year, but a little rest and relaxation never hurts.
Me taking my 3rd break after working for 14 minutes.
This most recent spring break, we had a full two weeks off from class in the middle of March. Historically, I’ve mostly gone home over spring break to spend time with my family. While I didn’t get to go home this break (sorry Mom), one thing I DID get to do was go on tour with my comedy group, The Fifth Humour.
The Fifth Humour is one of Yale’s many comedy groups on campus. We are known for sketch comedy, but there’s also improv, stand-up, and probably any other group you can imagine.
“Tour” essentially just refers to any time a Yale-affiliated group leaves campus. For The Fifth Humour, that meant that a contingent of us spent a night of spring break in New York City to perform at a comedy club. However, tours can look very different depending on the group, and most other performance groups on campus have their own way of conducting these off-campus excursions. The Fifth Humour’s NYC tour pales in comparison to what some a cappella groups do, for instance. On my Instagram feed, I’ve seen singing groups traveling as far as India and South Africa, and those are just the groups I’m aware of.
Why go on tour? How much does it cost?
The reasons vary, but generally, groups go on tour as a way to see the world, bond as a group, and gain financial support for group activities. Improv groups, for example, might perform at middle schools, high schools, or retirement communities and get sponsored by them to do so. A cappella groups might perform at public or private events and be supported by alumni.
Me in shock when I saw that an a cappella group was performing for Drew Barrymore circa my sophomore year.
The Fifth Humour decided to go on tour in New York City to get some more eyes on our material and spend time together. Needless to say, it was NOT a lucrative endeavor… but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t worthwhile! We got to watch live sketch comedy and perform at New York’s Upright Citizens Brigade, an institution originally founded by Amy Poehler and some other comedians in 1990 in Chicago. One sketch we performed was called “Fedora Twins at the DMV” — and you’ll have to trust me that it got some amount of laughter.
Some “humours” trying to hold straight faces on the UCB stage.
Next year, the Fifth Humour aims to spend a larger chunk of our spring break on tour, maybe checking out a new city and some new venues. Yale definitely provides adequate enough time to do so. The harder part is getting a bunch of comedy divas to plan a vacation together. Wish us luck!
