There’s always something funny happening at Northwestern (comedy-wise, we mean). On January 20th, Lipstick Theater presented a stand-up show called “Ha/Ha/Ha.” Ella Barnes chatted with some of the first-time stand-up comics.
COMEDY IS ENGRAINED IN NORTHWESTERN TRADITION. IT SEEMS LIKE EVERY WEEKEND THERE’S A NEW COMEDY SHOW BEING ADVERTISED ON INSTAGRAM, FROM TITANIC TO MEE-OW TO THE BIX TO ODB TO NSTV TO THE BLACKOUT… YOU GET THE GIST. NOTABLE COMEDIANS LIKE SETH MEYERS, SARAH SHERMAN, ZIWE AND MORE HAVE RISEN FROM THE TRENCHES OF COLLEGE COMEDY TO THE BIG LEAGUES. BUT WHILE SOME STUDENTS HAVE YEARS OF COMEDY TRAINING UNDER THEIR BELT, OTHERS ARE JUST NOW GETTING TO THE PUNCHLINE.
ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 20TH, STUDENTS CONTINUED THIS COMEDY TRADITION WITH A STAND UP SHOW IN LUTKIN HALL, CALLED “HA/HA/HA”, AND THAT’S THE ACTUAL NAME OF THE SHOW, NOT JUST ME LAUGHING. LIPSTICK THEATER PRESENTED THE SHOW. THEY PRODUCE ART THAT CELEBRATES FEMINIST IDEALS, PUTTING WOMEN AND NON-BINARY PEOPLE IN THE SPOTLIGHT.
13 STUDENTS PERFORMED – THE SHOW WAS ABOUT 2 HOURS LONG WITH EACH STUDENT GETTING THEIR OWN FIVE TO TEN-MINUTE SET. AND, FOR A LOT OF THEM, IT WAS THEIR FIRST TIME DIVING INTO THE WORLD OF STANDUP.
CASEY WEISMANN IS PART OF TWO COMEDY GROUPS ON CAMPUS, ODB AND THE BIX. BUT, THIS WAS HIS FIRST TIME VENTURING FROM THE SKETCH AND IMPROVISATIONAL COMEDY HE USUALLY STICKS TO.
CASEY WEISMANN (from set): So, I’m gay. Gasp! No! I was shocked by that as well! So, I’m gay, and basically I wanted to take you guys on a journey through my identity because I think it’s been very interesting to explore, and as a white gay, I think I’ve had a pretty unique experience.
MANY OF THE STUDENTS’ SETS FOCUSED ON THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH SEXUALITY, GENDER, RELIGION, AND MORE.
CASEY (from set): I’m also Jewish! And as a white, gay Jew, I’ve discovered a couple of things about society. There’s this thing in society, it’s really hard to notice it, blink and you’ll miss it. It’s called…oppression.
WHEN ASKED ABOUT HOW HE THOUGHT HIS SET WENT, THEY HAD A FEW THOUGHTS.
CASEY: Uhm, from what people are telling me it went pretty good. I mean, when I was doing it, it was kind of like an out-of-body experience. I was kinda nervous. But it was also super fun in the moment! I was like, getting laughs and it was fueling me on. And I was like, I could get used to this! And like stand up, it’s just you up there all alone. You got no one to rely on. And you just, you gotta like use all of your own funny to make something happen.
DUNE ZAWADZKI WAS ALSO A PERFORMER IN FRIDAYS SHOW.
DUNE (from her set): Let’s talk about my childhood!
I WAS ABLE TO GRAB AN INTERVIEW WITH HER POST-SHOW TO ASK HOW SHE FELT ABOUT HER SET.
DUNE: I feel like it went good. I feel like, I was the second to last, which is a fact, and… I don’t know! Some of them didn’t hit quite as I’d imagined, but some of them, I think, I got people moving! You know, might be my last time doing it, but I feel like I went in, changed the game, subverted the genre, and I’ll retire! Like an early retire, still leave hot.
THE AUDIENCE REACTION WAS OVERALL POSITIVE, AND THE CROWD JUST ABOUT FILLED LUTKIN HALL. FRESHMAN EMMA NELSEN LEFT THE SHOW ENTERTAINED.
EMMA: I thought it was super funny. Everyone who went up on stage had a different style, they were all still very funny, and I felt that the energy in the room was great! And there were some great laughs in the crowd. Mainly, particularly one person who I’ve got in the brain.
FROM WNUR NEWS, I’M ELLA BARNES.
