The Standups featured the acts of six students whose comedic styles varied to make up a show that was interesting, to say the least. The host was club president Pat McManus, whose rapid-fire jokes reminded me of Demetri Martin’s performance on campus back in August.
Judging by the sea of bleached hair in the crowd it was easy to guess that a Carroll freshman would be performing, but when Marek Mazurek took the stage he warned us about the danger of assuming someone is from Carroll by their hair. This hilarious freshman set the bar high for the rest of the performers.
An outrageous group of comics reached a level of raunchiness that no one could have guess Notre Dame students to be capable of. The show’s closer was crowd favorite, junior Dayton Flannery. Those who had seen him perform before knew enough to cheer at his introduction. This Veteran comic’s story-telling style kept the audience on the edge of our seats. It was a strong finish to the show that left the audience satisfied.
After the Standups, Notre Dame’s improv and sketch comedy group the Humor Artists took the stage with a Miley montage, sporting her array of styles that is quickly becoming classic joke material. Their ridiculous dance moves brought up the energy to prepare the audience for the show and set the tone for the improv games for Team Hannah vs. Team Miley.
HA (an abbreviation I’d like to emphasize) showed off their improvisation skills by taking prompts from the audience, braving controversial topics (read: Ebola) and creating refreshing mix of less common improv games and classic favorites. The comedy varied between ridiculous moments of roaring laughter and subtle, clever one-liners.
You may be under the impression that improv comedy takes less preparation than a pre-written stand-up show, but these comics have clearly put their time in. It takes countless hours of practice and mental preparation to be able to come up with jokes on the spot. The comics have built up an impressive level of creativity and quick thinking.
If you missed the show on Thursday, there will be plenty of opportunities to see these groups on campus, and if this show was any indication, you should be sure to check them out.
