Current Members of Duke University Improv
We're DUI! Nice to meet you.
Brett Aresco
Class: Trinity '09
Hometown: Westport, Connecticut
Likes: Food, football, and improv (all life necessities according to Brett)
Dislikes: Walking, the sun, and small animals
Brett is a Scorpio. He wants to give a shout-out to all his boys and girls, including his twelve-year old son Tommy. Good luck in Little League this year, champ!
Alex Berghorst
Class: Pratt '09
Hometown: Winnetka, Illinois
Likes: Cars, The Outdoors, Lemurs
Dislikes: country music
Alex is the tallest member of DUI...arguably the tallest person in the world. His interest in Improv comedy was sparked through a class with the Second City comedy club in Chicago and through his time spent with an improv club at his high school. He, unlike David Distenfeld, actually can be seen in ABC's According to Jim...for one episode...in the bleachers.... He also starred in MTV's Sweet Sixteen where his breakout role of "giggling/screaming friend who wants to be invited" drew acclaim from his grandmother and the fellow residents of her retirement home.
Lawrence Chen
Class: Trinity '09
Hometown: Beijing, China
Other Hometowns: Minneapolis, Pasadena, Boston, and Philly.
Likes: break-dancing, eating bread, and laughing a lot
Dislikes: He does not like humidity.
He can cook Chinese food. He hopes you have a nice day.
Andrew Tutt
Class: Pratt '09
Hometown: Davis, California
Likes: Incessant lying
Dislikes: The man
Andrew has been running the Improv circuit since the late 80’s. Known then only as “tim” he was the first actor to break into the raging California Elementary school scene for both dramatic and improvisational comedy. His escapades won him glory, but he tired of the endless sex and drugs. Urged by his Dr.’s, he gave up the lifestyle, choosing to take on the straight-laced, serious, and implacable persona he still uses today.
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 a manly thing to do), 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. If you’d like to get in touch with Tom, stop by Pegram 3rd floor and knock in Morse code:
.–. . .-. ..-. . -.-. - / … .- -. -.. .– .. -.-. ….
David Distenfeld
Class: Trinity '10
Hometown: Rockville, MD
Likes: Movies, Music, TV
Dislikes: Books…all of them
David is “fantastically” excited to be making his improv debut with DUI. Past credits include Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: CI, and According to Jim. He enjoys making up songs (lyrics not music) and attempting to sing them for the young and old alike. David’s fantasy job would be some sort of a cross between what Steven Spielberg and Kanye West do, but until then…he can just dream.
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
