Madison High School Takes on Between Two Ferns
The comedy interview show “Between Two Ferns” hosted by Zack Galifianakis has taken the internet by storm since its inception in 2008. The show has boasted impressive guests such as Justin Bieber and Barack Obama, and playfully interviews each guest with a specific and off-beat sense of humor. The popularity of the show sparked interest in three Madison High School students who made their own version of the show called “Between Two Perms.”
The three students, Katherine Finnegan, Rileigh Baggett, and Jenna Powers, made a mock interview of Stephen Bernich, a history teacher at MHS. Talking to other teachers and doing a little research helped the girls collect information on Mr. Bernich in order to write jokes. Ranging from classic bald jokes to poking fun at the teacher’s podcast, the girls successfully created a parody of the classic interview show. Katherine Finnegan, who took on the role of Zack Galifianakis, even got into character with a costume taken straight from her father’s wardrobe. Rileigh Baggett and Jenna Powers took control of the behind the scenes aspects of the production. They set up the cameras, set, and microphones that made the episode possible. As for the show itself, the jokes between Finnegan and Bernich completemted each other nicely. According to Bernich, he was unaware of any of the jokes ahead of time and all his reactions and responses were real and unscripted.
Although the two shows bear much resemblance, the girls prefer a completely unscripted show to make the reactions raw and interesting. They do not provide the questions to their guests ahead of time, like the “Ferns” show does.
It has been confirmed that there will be more episodes in the future featuring any slew of students or staff as guests. The parody show is a fun project that the girls have taken on that allows Madison High School to experience the popular show on a more personal level. While the first installment can be viewed here, this and future episodes can be found on the Dodger Media YouTube channel. Be sure to check them out.