Meet this week’s Campus Celebrity, Scott Cavanaugh! Scott, also known as the funniest man on campus, is a Senior from Massachusetts and has spent his time here at UNH performing with famous comedians. Keep on reading our exclusive Her Campus interview to learn more about Scott!
Name: Scott Cavanaugh
Hometown: Townsend, Massachusetts
Grade: Senior
Major: Business Administration
Clubs/Activities: Improv Anonymous, Stoke RA
How old were you when you first realized comedy was your thing?
To be honest, I don’t really remember. But it’s fun to get a laugh, I think everybody feels that way. So when I started getting them, maybe in middle school, I just kept trying. There were probably times I tried way too hard, but hopefully most of those kinks have been worked out through high school. College it was able to take off more. There were less restrictions and Improv really let me flourish.
Tell us a little about your first live performance:
My first live performance was for Improv Anonymous. I was the only one who got in my Sophomore semester and I had never been on stage before in my life. But I was pretty well protected, only being in a few games with some of the best players. I was incredibly nervous but once I got up there you kind of forget what’s going on and it’s just fun to create.
I, along with hundreds of other people saw you open for MTV’s “Girl Code” last year, what was that like?
That was a blast. I had opened up for Jay Pharoah the year before and the prep was very different. The two audiences were completely different demographics. There were over 700 people there for Girl Code and I think about 695 of them were female, so that was a challenge, trying to cater the performance for them. It was a blast though, Carly and Jessiemae were very nice to me. We talked for a few minutes before we went on stage, I think they were a little surprised at how well it went, as was I. There are so many nerves and tension before you get up there and then once you’re preforming, it’s so relaxing, like a little escape. Even if you’re doing terribly, it’s still such a fun exercise to go up there and completely bomb and try and figure out how to deal with it. Luckily, it didn’t happen that night, but I’m very thankful for the experience. Jessimae at one point told me not to give up because I was really funny. Which was awesome, but I think she thought I was like 40. Mainly because she said I looked old and was trying to convince me not to give up… when I had only been doing stand up for like a year. But it was all a very fun night in the end.
Do you have plans in this industry for the future?
Yes. After I graduate I’m moving to Long Beach, California. I’m lucky enough to have a job out there to get me started as I pursue standup, improv, and entertainment on the side. Hopefully I can build and get recognized, and get an opportunity to write for something or someone and start building my way up the chain.
If you could perform with any comedian, who would it be and why?
I would love to perform with Robin Williams. He can do it all. He’s such a good improviser, and historically one of the best standups of all time. And he can still act seriously or take a comic role. The guy was a triple threat, and he was so intriguing too. It would’ve been amazing to get a chance to perform with him, he’s one of my comedic idols for sure.