Sketch comedians Arun Kirupananthan, Braeden Banks, and Maya Cieszynska join us on Close-Up Culture to discuss White Collars. The show is a satirical take on their own day-to-day experiences of working in the real world of the 9-to-5 tech marketing industry.
What was the trigger to make White Collars?
The main trigger was that our annual Christmas tradition of applying for the Toronto Fringe and not getting in went a little differently. We got a spot and suddenly we were on the hook to put together a show. Why did we choose to make White Collars instead of something else? We have worked together in the 9-5 tech universe while also being friends and comedy partners so it was really the confluence of those 3 worlds.
What has been your experience of the 9-5 life?
We all have experience, working together and separately, in the technology world, marketing in particular. We wanted to bring some of that specific experience to bear in creating a show that reflects some of those experiences, for better or worse.
What can audiences expect from the show?
It’s been an iterative creation process. We hope the result is a show that’s dynamic, embraces a fail-fast, breaks things philosophy that’s (we hope) something fun and different for the audience whether they have any 9-5 experience or not. It mixes our sketch, writing, improv and clown/idiot backgrounds. Also office jokes. Maybe some dancing.
Can you tell us about The Bongle Entertainment Division and what brings you together?
We’re a group who met doing comedy, then transitioned into working together in marketing and as a result became friends. We spend a lot of time together. Probably too much, actually.
What are your hopes for White Collars?
That every audience member leaves our show thoroughly and relentlessly satisfied that it was worth the price of their ticket! We take this very seriously.
You can see White Collars at this year’s 2023 Toronto Fringe Festival on July 5th – July 16th