The funniest kids on campus are back for another year of comedy shows full of entertaining audience-active performances and improvisation.
The Humor Artists are a group of about 12 students who enjoy getting up on stage and having us laugh at them simply because they are downright hilarious. Similar to "Whose Line is it Anyway," the group performs short, on-the-spot skits that usually involve some sort of audience participation. According to the club's vice president Conor Hanney, the group is just like the cast of the hit comedy show only "less funny and with way more 'Flubber' references."
The first chance to catch the group's fresh first-of-the-semester performance is tonight at 10 p.m. at Legends. After this week of non-stop work and career fair prep, you owe it to yourself to laugh off all that stress. Always including their name in the title, the group named this week's event "HAts off to HAutumn: The Reckoning."
You can never be sure what you'll expect from one of these improv shows, but apparently this is a throwback theme from 2010 when the group "tried to show their respect for the fall season," a "gesture [that] was met with hostility as autumn spit in our faces," according to their Facebook page. When asked what his favorite part of the show is, Hanney said he enjoys watching Alec Vanthournout, the club's co-president.
"[ Vanthournout is] super hysterical," Hanney said, "and now he's super fit and agile on account of all the bike riding he did this summer. He does make a disproportionate amount of Revolutionary War jokes, though. Sometimes they're not super relevant to the scene, but they're still positively rib-tickling."
In case you already made plans this Thursday to visit a South Bend night club or to finish up some homework, the Humor Artists perform at Legends the first Thursday of every month as well as every Friday before home football games in the Carey Auditorium (located in Hesburgh Library). I highly recommend attending one if not all of their shows; they are all different and somehow always fresh and enjoyable.
Are you thinking about how much you would love to get up on a stage and make a hilarious fool of yourself? Great news, the Humor Artists are holding try-outs for the 2013-2014 school year this weekend. On Sept. 15 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. come to the Carey Auditorium for Improv 101. Bring your imagination and sense of humor. If you make the cut, you could become a part of Notre Dame's Club of the Year, according to Student Activities Office (SAO) who, in Hanney's words, "just loves all things 'Flubber.'"
If group comedy isn't your thing, come to Legends early and check out some student stand-up. This group of individual performers is hosting a show at 10:00 p.m. called Summertime Schadenfreude. They also perform on the first Thursday of every month, right before the Humor Artists, as well as sporadically in Washington Hall's Black Box Theater. If stand-up is something you are interested in, just email standup@nd.edu to become involved. You may want to beef up that self-confidence before your first show, though, because Hanney's favorite part about watching stand-up is the heckling.
"The student comedians feel super disrespected. It's hilarious!" Hanney said.
Entrance is free, so come out tonight to watch some of your fellow students make fools of themselves up on stage at Legends.
Contact Maddie Daly at
mdaly6@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
