A new format and a new location for the Punchline Stand-up Comedy show proved to be a successful experiment. Psi U, a bigger venue than the traditional WestCo Café, was filled to capacity on Friday night with an estimated 230 people watching short comedy sets performed by ten Wesleyan students.
Co-organizers Aaron Sussman ’07 and Adam Stone ’05 wanted to include more comedy acts than in previous Punchline shows, with each set lasting a shorter period of time.
“I think we’re both glad we did it that way,” Sussman, who hosted the event, said. “Even though it ran a little longer than other shows have, we were extremely happy with everyone’s performance. If everyone that participated [wasn’t] in the show, it would have been a big loss for the audience.”
Stone also commented on the new format.
“I thought that it allowed for a bigger group of comics, so people saw different styles, which was really great,” he said. “The new venue also just gave it a different look, and that was nice.”
Organization for the event began several weeks in advance with a record turnout for auditions. There was double the number of people to try out for this Punchline show compared with last semester’s auditions.
After selecting the comedians to perform, Sussman and Stone held several rehearsals and meetings in the two weeks that led up to the show to go over the material and work out the order.
Despite his three years of standup comedy experience, Stone felt the pressure a little more than normal as he was featured as the final act of the show.
“I’ve never gone last before,” he said. “Traditionally that’s reserved for the headliner, so I did feel a little more anxious than normal, mostly because I’m not used to waiting that long to perform.”
In addition to the two organizers, other performers included Naomi Ekperigin ’05, Jordan Schulkin ’06, Todd Stone ’05, Mike Campbell ’06, Liz Jones ’05, Jesse Young ’06, Lea Jacobs ’05, Dan Crossley ’08 and Larissa Slovin ’08.
“All of them had pretty solid material and got a lot of laughs,” said audience member Michael Gottwald ’06. Gottwald performed in last February’s Punchline, and said the new format was a nice change. “I liked watching people do shorter stuff,” he said.
With organizing member Stone so close to graduation, Sussman is taking the responsibility of building up participation in campus comedy shows.
“I definitely want there to be more opportunity for people to do (stand-up comedy),” Sussman said. “It’s not something that people are able to do that often. It can be a pretty miserable experience, so for people who are striving to make it, performing at a place like Wesleyan can be a comforting experience. The crowd on Friday was very responsive to (the comedians). They were a lot of fun.”
In addition to organizing one more Punchline Comedy Show at the end of the semester, Sussman also plans to make it an official university-sponsored club so that, in the future, there can be more formal shows as well as informal open mic nights in smaller venues like the Campus Center.
“With an open mic night, anyone who wants to (perform) can do it,” Sussman said.
“The (stand-up) industry is pretty cutthroat. Such a small number of people make it, but a lot of people want to make it. So it’s nice when you’re able to do it on an informal level.”
“I hope that Punchline continues, and stays alive and well after I leave,” Stone said. “I think Aaron’s really going to take that over and run with it.”
Those interested in auditioning for future Punchline shows or potential open mic nights are encouraged to email Aaron at asussman@wesleyan.edu
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