One of the oldest comedy groups at Boston College, Hello…Shovelhead! is approaching its 35th anniversary this spring. Unlike the rest of BC’s on-campus comedy groups, people flock to Shovelhead not for improv but sketch comedy.
The group was originally formed by four seniors, a mix of prospective comics and theatre enthusiasts. One of these founders would enter practice by greeting the others with provocative quips in which the person being addressed was described using an object and a body part—“Hello pencil face,” for example. One day, this combination took the shape of “Hello…Shovelhead!,” and the name stuck.
Colloquially known on campus as simply “Shovelhead,” its first show was in November 1989, and the format was almost unrecognizable compared to its shows today. Instead of doing sketch comedy in parts, the original shows were lengthy comedic plays, with a plot and throughline.
After the seniors graduated, one sophomore, Rob Reese, BC ’92, decided to keep the group going.
“Thank God,” said Shovelhead Director Liam Conner, LSEHD ’25. “And the rest is history, I guess.”
These full-fledged theater productions continued for a while and were even ticketed. But, not too long after, the group began producing the sketch comedy shows that Shovelhead is known for today.
The work to create the sketches is truly a labor of love. The group practices twice a week, and members are expected to have an original sketch prepared for each one.
“Sometimes they’re only a couple of lines, or sometimes they’re, like, four or five pages,” said Shovelhead Director Emily Dyer, CSON ’25.
The origin of the ideas for these sketches and how they are developed differ from member to member.
“Any time I come up with a random idea or anything, I’ll just write down a blurb,” said Dyer. “A lot of people do quotes.”
The varying lengths of these rough drafts are reflected in the Shovelhead shows, which are a mix of shorter bits and lengthier, more fleshed-out scenes. Sometimes members will work together to co-write a sketch, finding an intersection in their sketches or just providing one another with a new perspective on the ideas they’ve been brainstorming.
“We’ll just be grabbing lunch together and stuff like that, and you just start saying funny things … and then you’re like, ‘Wait, let’s write that later,’” said Conner.
With this constant regimen, a lot of sketches are penned throughout the year.
“At the end of each semester, we probably write, as a group, 150 sketches,” said Conner.
Naturally, the other aspect of sketch comedy is performing the scenes, which also happens during practices. The creator of each potential sketch gets the opportunity to direct and cast their scene, which is then acted out professionally, as they would be in a show. This helps the group hone their performance skills.
But practices aren’t all about perfecting sketches.
“It’s a good break … to just hang out and laugh,” said Dyer.
Sometimes members will continue to rework a sketch they’re attached to, but even group favorites among these can still fall just shy of being stage-worthy. Grace Hone, BC ’24, now a Shovelhead alum, has an incredibly beloved sketch in which the Blue Man Group performs sad slam poetry, but it has yet to be incorporated into a show.
“She’s brought that in so many times for show consideration, and every time it just barely misses,” said Conner. “But it’s something that is really endearing to us.”
As a result of their practice schedule, which gets more intense leading up to shows, Shovelhead members feel confident performing in front of packed crowds. In February, Shovelhead performed its “Best Of” show, which saw every bit of space in Fulton 511, a very large lecture hall, filled—people crouched on the floor of aisles, standing in the back, or even sitting on windowsills.
The “Best Of” show happens once every three years and features the crowd-favorite sketches from that period. Because of the large gap between these shows, only the group’s senior members knew to expect the massive turnout, causing some pre-show jitters.
“Everyone was tweaking out backstage,” said Conner. “It put things into perspective, like, people still get nervous. But it went really well.”
Among the crowd at the show, as is the case at most comedy shows on campus, were members of other comedy groups, cheering them on.
“That’s one of the highlights of when we perform, is seeing the other comedy groups in the audience, because they know what it’s like as well,” said Dyer. “It’s a hard thing to do to get up in front of people, and try and make them laugh.”
Libby Howenstein, MCAS ’25, of My Mother’s Fleabag—one of BC’s improv groups— similarly emphasized the camaraderie between groups in an interview with The Heights.
“I know that Shovelhead or Asinine are going to come to our show, and we’re going to go to their show, and we’re going to laugh super hard—we’re going to participate as loud as we can,” said Howenstein.
No matter how badly people might want drama, BC’s comedy scene seems to operate harmoniously, and the situation benefits everyone.
“We’re all friends,” said Conner. “I live with the director of Asinine.”
Both Shovelhead directors, Conner and Dyer, will graduate this spring, moving on from life at BC and life as a part of Shovelhead. The pair appreciates what has been a constant during their four years at college, and an extremely special experience.
“It has meant so much to be in this group,” said Dyer. “The friendships I’ve made in this group are lifelong … the alumni coming back is such a testament to that.”
As for their advice to future generations of Shovelhead, it was simple.
“Get weirder, get freakier,” said Conner.
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