By Mia Ingui
Correspondent
The Traditions stage was set for the first time on Friday, Sept. 9, to host the College Union Board’s (CUB) Student Comedy Night. Presented by CUB Alt and organized by CUB Alt co-Chair Max Falvey, a sophomore communication studies major, and CUB Alt co-Chair Dana Gorab, a junior communication studies major, the night proved to be a fantastic evening, filled with lots of laughs, talent and, most of all, fun for the audience and the performers.
“Student Comedy Night started about a year or two ago, and every time, there’s a better turn out,” said comedian Jonathan van Halem, a College alumnus (’16). “The crowd tonight was awesome.”
The intimate venue quickly filled up with students, all of whom were eager to beat the heat and let off some steam after a stressful second week of classes. Sean Delanoy, a sophomore economics major, was the first to take the stage, poking fun at life at the College. Following Delanoy was Connor Meany, a senior communication studies major, who joked about reaching his last year at the College and likened the feeling of waiting for graduation to “your grandparents retiring and moving to Florida, while you just wait for them to die.”
After Meany was seasoned performer Garrett Verdone, a marketing major in his final year at the College, who was surprised about the selection of the Brower Student Center as the venue for the evening.
“It’s definitely not legal for anyone without a hardhat to be in here, but here we are,” Verdone said.
Following Verdone was van Halem, and he reflected on his birthdays over the past few years.
“My birthday’s really unique. I only celebrate it every four years. Not because my birthday’s on a leap year, only because my parents hate me,” van Halem said, closing out the solo acts for the evening.
The audience was then pleasantly surprised to find van Halem and Verdone back up onstage. They are also in the comedy troupe Kiss on the Lips and perform monthly in New York City. Their sketches were nothing short of hysterical, from their “unfortunate last names” skit to playing construction workers and delivering terribly funny pick up lines. Verdone thought the night turned out well.
“Tonight was fun,” Verdone said. “It was the first time in this space, so it was a little weird, but it worked out great.” Van Halem agreed and said that they had a great crowd. Both performers are interested in pursuing comedy and entertainment in their respective futures.
The College’s improv comedy troupe, The Mixed Signals, concluded CUB Alt’s Student Comedy Night. The Mixed Signals are a group of five students who feed off of one another’s wit and come up with skits right on the spot in front of their audience.
Interacting with the audience can be vital to the performance, as folks in the crowd must provide inspiration for the skit. They played a series of games with the audience, including “Switch Off,” where at any time during the skit another actor had to come and fill in their place and resume the scene without a hitch.
Another game required two audience volunteers to move the performer’s arms and bodies for them as they acted out the scene. After their show ended, The Mixed Signals said they were very pleased with their performance, as were the students who attended the CUB Alt event.
The College’s students and performers will be looking forward to the next Student Comedy Night.
