Flashback Friday: Gender Wars CIU Improv Team Spoof

At my friend Katie’s birthday party recently, I was reminiscing with another friend, Ben about a Gender Wars skit we did back in 2005. (I’ll explain what Gender Wars is in a bit for those who don’t know). Ben was our intern at BCM that year (I’ll explain what BCM is too) and he got a bit nervous/uptight when the guys did a spoof of show that a CIU comedy improv team did for us (I’ll explain that too). I was telling Ben’s wife Susan about the skit as well because she actually went to CIU. Let me just say that Susan is an awesome person with a great sense of humor. Until I met Susan and some other great folks like her who also went/go to CIU, I pretty much expected most people from there to be like the people we spoofed in the skit. It’s interesting the imprint those first impressions can make. Anyway, Ben mentioned that he would like to see the skit again and Susan wanted to see it too. I realized that I wanted to watch it myself. It still makes me laugh. I’ve posted a bit more of an explanation of the video for those who need it and after that’s the video, so enjoy! (And if you’re from CIU, please don’t be offended).

Each year in BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministry) at the University of South Carolina, we would have a competition to raise money for missions called Gender Wars. The losing gender, which was typically the guys, would have to put on a show for the winning gender (the ladies). Earlier in the year, we invited a group from the local Christian college CIU (Columbia International University) to perform their comedy improv show. “Comedy” was a generous term. So was “Improv.” Mostly we got condescension for being Christians (or maybe in their minds, “Christians”) at a “secular” school. I vaguely remember being lectured at the end of the “show.” BCMers don’t forget too much, so their performance was spoofed during the Gender Wars show.

I would like to add a disclaimer (once again) that I know several of really great people from CIU who aren’t condescending and bland. None of them happened to be on that “improv” team.