Student Entertainment Events (SEE) hosted the Homecoming Comedy Show featuring headliner Colin Jost at the University of Maryland on Oct. 16. The show featured openers and fellow Saturday Night Live cast members Marcello Hernández and Molly Kearney. Jost performed two back-to-back standup shows to a large audience of University faculty, alumni, and students.
Colin Jost has held a 17-year position as both a writer and cast member on Saturday Night Live.
Nathan Steighner, a junior sociology major, is the current Comedy Director for SEE. He first joined the organization as a general body member his freshmen year and previously acted as the Cinema Director. Steighner said he selected Jost for the Homecoming Comedy Show because of his unique ability to unite alumni and college students due to Saturday Night Live’s mass appeal among viewers of all ages.
“Since Homecoming is a show where we want to bring together UMD people, current and past, I felt like it was the right move to bring someone like him,” Steighner explained.
Gabriella Gordon, a sophomore communications major, recently joined SEE and was eager to attend this year’s Homecoming Comedy Show.
“I actually went to the Jimmy O. Yang show last year that SEE produced and I thought it was so much fun,” Gordon said, “And I am a sucker for comedy.”
Jost began his set by reading from a provided list of fun facts about the university, including the delay of the opening of the STAMP Panera and UMD squirrels’ tendency to chase students.
“Are you guys okay?” Jost joked with the audience, and was met with laughter and applause.
Throughout his hour-long set, Jost discussed the weirdness of the plot of Beauty and the Beast, the chaos of Spirit Airlines, and his regrettable decision to major in Russian Literature in college. He concluded this bit by asking students in the audience to shout out their majors.
Jost finished his set by reading a lengthy list of his rejected Saturday Night Live skits. Gordon said that was her favorite part.
“The funniest part of his whole act was definitely when he talked about the failed sketches that he wanted to do on SNL,” Gordon said, “That was hilarious.”
The Homecoming Comedy show kicked off Homecoming Week at UMD and was the first of many events, including the Diamondback Dash, Tuesday Night Lights, and the Homecoming Food Truck Festival. Homecoming week will conclude with a football game against Northwestern University on Saturday October 22nd.