Duke University Improv

Tom Blemaster

Class: Trinity ‘10

Hometown: Our Nation’s Capital

Likes: The smell of gasoline in the summer heat

Dislikes: Crumbers (for those who don’t know, a crumber is the utensil that waiters and waitresses use to pick up your crumbs off the tablecloth). They make him out to be messy and boorish.

Call him Tom. Some years ago – never mind how long precisely – having little or no money in his purse (yes, he carries a purse, and yes, it’s manly), and nothing particular to interest him in DC, he thought he would drive about a little and see the southern part of this country. It is a way he has of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. It was a damp, drizzly November in his soul (but a dry, clear September elsewhere) when fate landed him in Duke University Improv.

Now a senior, he says, “I go, and I will not be back here again. I’m gone as the day is fading on white houses.”

David Distenfeld

Class: Trinity ‘10

Hometown: Rockville, MD

Likes: Movies, Music, TV

Dislikes: Books…all of them

David is thrilled to be making his improv debut with DUI.  Past credits include Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: CI, and The Biggest Loser.  One day David hopes to become a member of the E Street Band, though with no discernible music talent that could prove difficult.

Scott Peppel

Class: Trinity ‘10

Hometown: Minnetonka, Minnesota

Scott began his acting career when he was but a wee lad and his sister started dressing him up as a woman. Ever since then, he has been hooked on making people laugh and recovering from his lingering identity crisis. When Scott isn’t on stage he enjoys camping, traveling and trampolines. True to his Minnesota ways Scott’s ideal date includes a piece of pumpkin pie, a good board game and a snowball fight.

Alex Ellinport

Class: Pratt (soon to be Trinity) ‘11

Hometown: Valley Stream (Long Island), New York

Like most babies from Long Island, Alex was born a virgin. He is an ambitious young man of many talents. He plays basketball and the saxophone, loves spinning things on his finger and balancing things on his chin, and does magic. Magic runs in Alex’s family, when he was only two years old, his father disappeared. In high school, Alex performed in various talent competitions and in college, eventually found his way to a new home with Duke University Improv where his new family has embraced him like the baby Moses in a floating wicker basket.

Vikram Raju

Class: Pratt ‘11

Hometown: Singapore, Singapore

Vikram joins DUI as the second international and only Asian-of-Subcontinental-origin student in the current group. He has been described as having a very strange accent (much to the apparent delight of fellow member Andrew Tutt) that seems to defy the common stereotype associated with his appearance. It has also become assumed that he wishes to undress himself often while performing in order to justify (or put to rest – depending on whether you’re a glass half-full/half-empty person) the legend that he is, infact, built like a stallion. He can’t wait for all the coming performances and invites all audience members to add him as a Facebook friend before, after or perhaps even during a show. XOXOXO

Wesley Peacock

Class:  Pratt ‘12

Hometown: Boerne, Texas

You may have heard some students referred to on campus as “Frat Stars”, well Wes is one of the original “Pratt Stars” on Duke’s campus.  He has been known to crush MATLAB codes faster than frat boys crush Natty Ice at tailgate.  As an engineer, Wes has notoriously bad spelling/grammar/punctuation/being literate issues, so the group no longer allows him to make the Big Show programs or answer e-mails. (In fact, this bio probably has some glaring grammatical errors in it)  When not improvising, Wes enjoys eating, sleeping, playing pick-up basketball, singing along really loudly to Taylor Swift songs, planning next year’s Project Waves trip, and shenanigans, among other things. You unfortunately can’t follow Wes on Twitter, as he is not a Twat (n. one who tweets), but you can friend him on Facebook or stop by room 003 in the Wayne Manor section of the Wannamaker basement.

Kyle Glackin

Class:  Pratt ‘12

Hometown: Cincinasty, Ohio

Likes: Acting, Painting, Hanging out, Music

Dislikes: Grammar, Being cramped into airplane and car seats designed for someone a foot shorter than him

Kyle was petrified of the stage for a long while due to a fourth grade production of James and The Giant Peach where he flubbed his one and only line of the play.  Since then, he has emerged from his shy chrysalis and metamorphosed into a (deniably) beautiful (but very manly) butterfly.   In this new state he took to the stage and, despite protestation, has not left it since.

Robert Zaleski

Class: Trinity ‘13

Hometown: Wheeling, WV

Likes: Doodling, hiphop, dancing alone in his room, hoho’s. Awkward moments where he can play the awkwordian and get out his awkward turtle. Polishy wordsy.

Dislikes: Having a chapter of my life stolen by the guys who made “Superbad.” 80 drawings later and I still haven’t seen a royalty check.

Cutest pet’s name: WoolyBob (my old hampster)

Somewhere in northern West Virginia’s tar-stained foothills, Wob was born to sibling parents Brad Zaleski, a 400 pound manbeast with the wit of a 6 year old, and his deranged sister Tani who spent her childhood in a closet. Wob was the name that Robert’s imagination gave itself upon birth. Robert’s real parents recognized his creative qualities and gave him plenty of space to become something… unique. Ever since seeing “Up!” Robert’s wanted to be an animator at Pixar or a cantankerous old man with a floating house, whichever comes first.

Julianne Kolb

Class: Trinity ‘13

Hometown: Los Angeles

Likes: green cake from the marketplace, tina fey, family guy, tv in general, singing in the shower, talking to inanimate objects (such as my laptop or other cars on the road) while angry

Dislikes: long papers, people who push over bell tower’s bench

Julianne is ecstatic to be one of DUI’s newest members! She’s been involved in drama since conception, and because she went to an all-girls high school, she had the opportunity to play all sorts of characters, including a flamboyant gay actor, an obsessive-compulsive stage manager, and a kinky 70 year-old housemother. And there are so many more to come! She can’t wait to explore on this voyage of discovery with all of you

Jess Hendin

Class: Trinity ‘13

Hometown:  Chesterfield, Missouri

Likes: sketching, pretending she can actually sing, tripping up steps and over flat ground, forgetting that she actually needs to watch where she’s going when she walks, gymnastics, snowboarding, the cardinals, and awkward moments that make her feel less awkward

Dislikes:  getting elbowed in the face because she’s too short to be seen by those extremely tall people

It was dreary night, that midsummer’s afternoon that Jess burst out into the world in a mere 45 minutes.  Ever since then, she zoomed from place to place, barely seen by those around her.  Much like her birth, she grew up quite fast (no, no not UP , but up), paralleling speeds only seen by individuals with the last name of Gonzoles (first name: Speedy).  As she got older though, Jess shied away from being in the spotlight until she found her calling making a fool of herself in front of people.  Ever since she discovered people enjoyed laughing at her awkward moments, she has continued to accidentally say the wrong things in most situations.

Hunter Douglas