Spring Sprollies Go to Prom... and Zanies
- Abby Thomas
- 29 minutes ago
- 5 min read
If you smell laundry detergent, you’re in the right place.
In the dingy, fluorescent basement of Patton Hall at Belmont University, you can find the Fall Follies sketch comedy and improv group, rehearsing for two hours every Monday and Wednesday night.
Though they may begin rehearsal by smashing rainbow confetti-filled eggs on each other’s heads, the Follies take their work seriously.
Seriously enough, they are now moving up in the comedy world.
The Fall Follies will perform their spring show, Spring Sprollies Go To Prom, at Zanies Comedy Night Club in The Lab on April 26, serving as its very first time hosting a show at the legendary comedy club.
The opportunity to perform at Zanies is not one the Follies take lightly.
An iconic comedy venue, Zanies hosts the biggest names in the industry, many of whom have their faces painted on the exterior wall.
Nashville native Nate Bargatze used to perform at New Material Mondays, and now fans can watch him on his sold-out arena tour, in one of his three Netflix specials or pose in front of his face on Zanies’ wall.
Sam Sackstein, a Belmont graduate, currently works as a booking coordinator at Zanies, and worked with the rest of the booking team to get the Follies a shot. He knows the significance of performing there.
“It is one of the biggest clubs in this country, like every person that’s playing arenas now has been at Zanies at one point or another,” Sackstein said.
Mia Vrablic, the director of Fall Follies, also acknowledges how big of a deal it was to secure the space.
“It was kind of surreal, because whenever I came to Nashville for my freshman year, it was always like, ‘Oh, have you been to Zanies?’” Vrablic said. “You drive by it and there’s all those famous people’s faces on the side of the wall, like legends have performed there. And so, we got the offer, and it was just wild.”
A seasoned Follie since his sophomore year, senior Eli Moore still struggles to wrap his head around the Zanies offer.
“We've been working with a company called Third Coast, which is a great local Nashville comedy club. The thing with Third Coast is that it's a very small space… Zanies is a nationally recognized comedy club, and when you say the name Zanies, people have heard it,” Moore said.
This opportunity comes with a lot of pressure, but the Follies welcome the challenge.
As far as any Follie can remember, this is the most exciting development for the group.
The Follies have been an official club making people laugh since at least the 1980s, although senior Grace Lappenga, one of the co-producers this year, acknowledges none of them know the official start date.
“It's one of the oldest groups on campus, which I don't think it gets enough credit for,” Lappenga said.
Though the past of Fall Follies remains blurry, the future looks a lot clearer.
The future looks like pranking, dancing and socializing at the beginning of rehearsal, eventually focusing on blocking the whole show.
This spring show is fueled by the Follies’ prom theme, splitting up sketches and improv games with “runners,” short scenes tying everything together.
Runners serve as the overarching plot of the whole show.
“For this year’s runner, we have these students that are at prom, and a DJ group called the Spring Sprollies comes in and tries to save prom. News flash, not a DJ group, it's an improv group,” Vrablic said. “There's so many fun little jokes and everybody’s got their own little quirks, which is a lot of fun!”
The sketches however, stray away from the theme and take the audience to entirely different worlds of comedy.
These are some favorites the Follies want the audience to look out for: the “Twilight” spoof, a new take on Noah’s Ark and commentary on the Waymo takeover of Nashville.
“You're gonna see some awesome characters… We have some people at personal bests, and all of our new Follies are unreal,” Lappenga said.
As they prep for showtime, excitement grows, as well as a bittersweet sadness for the seniors’ last show.
Envisioning the future of the organization, the seniors are hopeful for the younger generation of Follies and what doors this opportunity will open up for them.
“We feel very confident graduating and leaving an amazing group behind, and I have no doubts that they're gonna keep the ball rolling on the positive momentum from this year,” Lappenga said.
Sackstein even wants the Fall Follies and Zanies connection to become an annual or biannual event.
“More broadly, I hope that it can really create more of a partnership or overlap between Zanies and Belmont,” Sackstein said.
In nurturing a partnership between the two entities, Moore feels the potential for this group of Follies to spread its reach even further.
“I really do think that this step towards Zanies could be a step towards a larger, outside of Belmont recognition for the Follies,” Moore said. “I truly believe that this organization has what it takes to do that.”
Still, the Fall Follies refuse to abandon their roots on Belmont’s campus.
“I see us expanding on our connections in the greater Nashville area, while continuing to be a strong campus club,” Lappenga said.
Foundationally, the friendships in the club make the Follies stronger.
“Every week, Monday and Wednesday, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., Patton basement, B13. I have somewhere to go and just laugh and have fun with my friends and talk about ridiculous things,” Lappenga said. “That’s the point of the group.”
This holds true for every Follie: cherishing the stability of relationships forged through comedy.
“The friendships that I've made have been insane, like so incredibly deep. Which is, I feel like, not a normal thing for a club on campus,” Vrablic said. “I really just want to savor those friendships and hopefully they travel with me when I graduate.”
As Moore also prepares to graduate and move on to the next, he plans to take what he learned as a Follie with him.
“It is so easy to get into your head about things, especially getting up on a stage in front of people that you may or may not know, and doing something stupid,” Moore said. “But the biggest lesson I've learned with that is that we have to stop taking ourselves so seriously.”
Vrablic found it difficult to not take herself too seriously when she started as a Follie.
“When I was a new Follie, it was very scary trying to write a sketch and… say things that are not gonna hit. And in an environment like Fall Follies, it's kind of like getting shot, like it’s devastating,” Vrablic laughed.
By having fun and embracing the silly of it all, the Fall Follies became a safe place for Vrablic.
“It's been a blessing to be in Fall Follies all three years that I've been there,” Vrablic said with a smile.
Vrablic also holds big hopes for the future.
“I honestly have no idea where we go after Zanies, maybe Bridgestone,” Vrablic joked.
But before they prepare an arena tour, the Fall Follies will eagerly rehearse in the basement in preparation for their two shows at The Lab Sunday, April 26, at 6:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. respectively.
Tickets are $13.75 and can be purchased on Zanies’ website.
Written by Abby Thomas
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