Marissa Loughran, also known as Mookie is a Writing for TV and Film major with a double minor in Political Communications and Political Science ’14 and has found her voice as the host of the new radio show, A Stand up Girl. On Fridays from 10 until midnight, each show is split into two portions, the first revolves around a new topic with clips anywhere from 30 seconds to 6 minutes in length from standup comedians and the second is a rundown of the most recent comedy news.
Mookie has been on a long path to her own show. It all started with her upbringing. Her parents made sure she grew up with the “comedy classics”, which according to her is “anything Mel Brooks.” She even said that at a 9 year old her parents had to block her from watching Comedy Central because she watched it too much. It also helps that both her father and stepmom have plenty of experience in radio, one was a radio broadcaster and the other a long-time radio host in Pennsylvania. There is no doubt Loughran was destined to have her own show, but that has not stopped her from doubting herself.
Mookie says, “I always knew comedy was something that I wanted to do, but I wasn’t always sure it was something that I could do.” Starting A Stand Up Girl though, has helped her realize her way into the Emerson comedy scene. Emerson has embraced comedy in many forms, from sketch to improv, but Loughran’s is more an homage to all great comedians, both popular and lesser-known acts, and a celebration of comedy itself.
Since the beginning of the show this past September, there have been some special moments for Mookie, the first being the 3-minute dance party every week that is almost always dedicated to Beyoncé. She likes to throw it into the show “incase people get tired of listening to comedy.” The other big moment for Mookie was when she got Eddie Brill to come on the show for an hour-long interview during which he talked about all the comedy greats he has worked with during his stint as the talent coordinator and warm-up for David Letterman. The Emerson alum knows everybody from Chris Rock to Louis CK to Bo Burnham and even the late, great George Carlin. Mookie was in awe of his entire career and could say nothing more than “I was honored to have him.”
Despite all the great moments, as a first time host Mookie has run into some challenges. During the first show “the first 10 seconds [she] was on the air [her] microphone wasn’t on at all.” It is also a huge challenge to create a new show every week. Between schoolwork, other extracurricular activities, her “real world job”, and sleep, finding, listening, and editing clips for the two hour segment can prove daunting. Somehow though, it always turns out okay because “it is worth it when somebody will call in or your parents text you telling you it was funny.” Each week the show gets better as Mookie more comfortable in her role as host.
She hopes to continue the show next semester and next year and grow it with more local comedian guests and special cohosts. If you want to find out more about A Stand Up Girl, like the Facebook page and follow Mookie on Twitter, she live tweets the show!
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Emerson chapter.