History
The Whitest Kids began in 2000 when Trevor Moore, a young comedian from Charlottesville, Virginia, transferred to New York's School of Visual Arts film program. Moore previously produced a local TV sketch-comedy show in Virginia titled The Trevor Moore Show, but it was later canceled because some people felt offended by the content. Trevor decided to start a comedy troupe with the eventual goal of replicating his earlier success on a national level.
After making the rounds at local New York City comedy clubs, he eventually met fellow SVA film student Sam Brown from Massachusetts and SVA Graphic Design student/actor Zach Cregger, from Arlington, Virginia. By chance, all three lived in the same dormitory. According to an IFC interview, Trevor Moore says that the group's name originated during a freestyle rapping session on a subway, when one of their friends said, "You guys are the whitest kids I know."
The troupe started off as an officially sanctioned club at School of Visual Arts. During the early years, WKUK included Jon Kovel, Brian Fewer, Oliver Lyons, Anthony Mair, and Tina Tiongson. Timmy Williams also joined in late 2001 and was the only member at the time who did not attend SVA. Unofficially, however, the core trio of Moore, Brown, and Cregger tried to keep the group as lean as possible. At its peak, the group had ten members, but a large percentage of the sketches were written by one of these three. In the audio commentary for the first season of the show, though, Trevor Moore mentions the existence of 12 members in the troupe at one point prior to initial negotiations with various cable channels (Sundance being the first) to air the program.
The Whitest Kids U' Know held near-monthly free shows at SVA's amphitheater, which would frequently fill to capacity. Finally, in 2003, as Moore approached graduation, the group separated officially from the school, and all but Moore, Brown, Cregger and Williams left the troupe. Darren Trumeter, an actor and filmmaker who had worked previously with Cregger, was then added that same year.
Starting in 2003, the reinvented troupe started touring the various comedy venues in New York City, concluding in early 2005 with a well-attended show at Caroline's, a famous stand-up comedy club in Times Square.
Read more about this topic: The Whitest Kids U' Know
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