For LSA senior Caroline Schaper, comedy is serious business. Well, sort of.
“I’ve known for a pretty long time that I wanted to be a television writer, so I came to the University of Michigan knowing I wanted to do something with writing,” says Schaper, a Pittsburgh native.
After taking writing courses with lecturer Oliver Thornton and a pair of sketch comedy classes with Terri Sarris, she was hooked. Schaper declared a major in screen arts and cultures and decided to pair it with one in French and Francophone studies.
During her time at U-M, Schaper has served as a writer and actor for the student sketch shows “College Town” and “Staying In,” designed the sketch comedy site Cold Cut Comedy, and was a key member of the Midnight Book Club, an improvisational comedy group on campus.
“Caroline is a fearless and creative improviser,” says Sarris. “In my classes she proved to be an excellent collaborator with the positive, generous attitude that is a central tenet of improv comedy.”
“Improv is dumb fun,” adds Schaper. “I have a free license to do and be anything I want without fear of judgment.”
Schaper, 22, also spent a semester in France while working on her second major, during which she combined her passions by documenting her experiences in a short film. Sarris also credits Schaper with volunteering her time to speak to other students in the Screen Arts and Cultures program about studying abroad.
For her final semester, Schaper is in New York, serving as an intern on “Late Show with David Letterman.” She helps circulate scripts, pass out assignments, and finds the funny — and sometimes ridiculous — clips that Letterman uses on the show. She also has appeared on the program, posing as an audience member during a segment called “Who Asked for It?”
The “Late Show” gig is the first stop in a long career that Schaper hopes to build in the world of late-night comedy.
“Eventually, I’d like to be writing for a late-night show or maybe performing on one,” says Schaper. “I’d also like to stay in New York City rather than Los Angeles, because I’m a grump.”
