‘Studio C’ cast expresses gratitude for GoFundMe donations to benefit Alice Gray
Two days ago, Natalie Madsen and the other stars of BYUtv’s sketch comedy show “Studio C” created a GoFundMe account to benefit fellow cast member Jason Gray and his family after his daughter, Alice, had a brain aneurysm. As of Tuesday afternoon, theGoFundMe campaign is just over $4,000 shy of reaching its goal of $48,300, leaving the “Studio C” family filled with gratitude.
“As ‘Studio C,’ we’ve been able to meet a few families where their child is sick or they’ve gone through cancer treatments or they’re going through really hard things, and … they’ll say, ‘”Studio C” has helped us get through,’” Madsen said. “And we’ve always been so appreciative of people who say that, and it’s always meant so much to us, but to have something happen to us like this … to be on the receiving end of that kind of service is just so humbling and so amazing.”
Following Alice’s aneurysm and subsequent surgery, the cast members looked for a way to help. They waited several weeks before creating the GoFundMe account because they weren’t sure that they would be able to raise enough money to make a significant contribution. Madsen said they didn’t even know if they could raise $10,000, and they didn’t want to ask too much of people.
To read the full article on the Deseret News, click here.
No Fan Left Behind Act: Studio C’s First Live Stream Episode to Air Friday
The popular BYUtv show, Studio C, will be hosting their first ever live-stream episode on Friday, June 19th at 6:30 pm MT/8:30 pm ET, which will feature two sketches and behind-the-scenes action. Viewers are encouraged to RSVP to this event through the provided link: https://www.watchstudioc.com/
Studio C is one of the most popular internet TV shows in the nation with over 174 million YouTube views. The show is currently filmed in Provo, Utah on Brigham Young University’s campus which is also where the show was originally started. Studio C aims to produce clean, family-oriented humor for all their viewers.
The Start of Studio C
Studio C was created by Matt Meese and Jared Shores, both BYU students, in October of 2011 with the first season airing in the fall of 2012. The show grew out of Divine Comedy, a sketch group that is still running on BYU’s campus that provides clean humor directed towards BYU and LDS audiences. Matt Meese wanted to create a TV show that was more of a Saturday Night Live type of show. Matt then met with Jared Shores who was working with BYUtv and pitched his idea of producing a clean, funny show aimed at a national audience. Jared loved the idea and agreed to help Matt create the show.
The show currently stars: Matthew Meese, Whitney Call, Jason Gray, Mallory Everton, James Perry, Adam Berg, Natalie Madsen, Stephen Meek, Stacey Harkey, and Jeremy Warner—all current or former BYU students. Each cast member assists in the writing and acting of each of the sketches that they produce.
Studio C’s sketches receive national media attention with their sketch “Top Soccer Shootout Ever with Scott Sterling” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F9jXYOH2c0) getting almost 28 million views on YouTube. More of their popular sketches include “Death Bed Repentance”
and “Lobster Bisque”
Each one of their sketches receive an average of between 500,000 to over a million hits with their audience laughing at each cast member’s unique sense of humor.
A Sense of Humor
“The key source of my humor,” Studio C actor and writer Stephen Meek says, “has been my close relationships. My brothers are without a doubt my biggest influence on my sense of humor.” Stephen has been able to incorporate much of the humor that he has had with his friends and family over their years into his acting.
Actor and Writer Adam Berg’s sense of humor comes from every aspect of his life which he enjoys integrating into his acting. “Life is often very funny by itself,” Adam says. “I think we all use our experience as the starting place for our comedy. Something will happen, funny or not, and suddenly an idea hits.” Many of Adam’s ideas for sketches include moments that happen to him on a day-to-day basis.
For each of the actors, being able to create something that brings families together is just one of the things that they love about doing Studio C. “It’s an incredibly fulfilling process”, Adam says. “A process with people that have become family. We get to create and refine and laugh together every day and it never gets old.” Mallory Everton, a Studio C actor and writer, echoes Adam’s statement by marveling over the progress that Studio C has made. “I never imagined that all of my weirdo friends and I would be in a position where people would be excited to see what we did next, but we are, and I’m more grateful for that all the time.”
National Media Audience
Studio C has been broadcasted nationwide, reaching LDS and non-LDS households alike. The response to their show has been overwhelmingly positive, something the actors attribute to the fact that Studio C is something that can bring families together.
“There aren’t enough options for family-friendly comedy out there,” observes Mallory. “When we got going we were lucky enough to hit on a niche market that was hungry for entertainment.”
“There’s something for everyone.” Stephen says proudly. “I think as long as we’re still having a great time, others are going to be willing to have a great time with us.”
Adam believes that “good natured humor has an uplifting power. People are drawn to it and they always seem to want more. That’s great for us, because we want to give it them. We want to create an uplifting experience.”
“There’s plenty of comedy out there that is mean-spirited or comes at the expense of others,” Stephen said. “As anyone on the team can attest, our more “unkind” material has never gone well. People want to laugh, and feel good about laughing. I think Studio C legitimately does that as often and as emphatically as possible.”
For Adam, he loves hearing stories of families being able to come together and feel a little bit of relief from the problems that they may be facing. “We hear stories of families, children, and people in general who are dealing with tremendous problems. Some way or another, they come in contact with the show and it makes those problems more bearable. It’s an escape. It’s a relief. In very small doses, the show manages to make lives better. It’s miraculous, really, and we all feel so lucky to be a part of it.”
Mallory states that one of the goals Studio C has is to appeal to both young and old. “We want to write sketches that are entertaining for adults, but appropriate for children. Ideally, we want the whole family to be able to sit down and watch Studio C together.”
Studio C Gives Back
With their national media attention, Studio C will continue to produce their hilarious sketches, hoping to continue to bring families together and make people genuinely happy.
Because of their increasing popularity, Studio C chose to do their first ever live streaming episode this Friday, June 19. The show films in front of a live audience and because the audience rejection rate is 93%, Studio C came up with the idea to allow their fans from all over the world to watch a live taping. “The live YouTube event,” Mallory stated, “is a way for us to give back to all of those fans who’ve tried to get in without success or live in other states (or countries).”
“We want our fans to get as much Studio C as they want and this is a chance for us to give them more and something different at the same time. Hopefully, it will be an opportunity for us to reach new people too.” Adam stated.
Don’t miss the event this Friday, June 19 6:30pm MST. For more info visit: https://www.watchstudioc.com/
