On Saturday, January 28th, the food court in the International Center was transformed from tables and chairs into a flurry of multicolored lights, cameras, and a single microphone. Twelve comedians shuffled nervously backstage as they waited to compete in the UAB’s Last Spartan Standing.
Modeled after the NBC show Last Comic Standing, this competition brings together 12 of MSU’s budding comedians and gives them a chance to show off their talents in a 5 to 8 minute set. Contestants were competing for prizes including an Apple Inc. iPad 2, a Lansing Connxtions Comedy Club hoodie and an iPod Touch.
Judged by three veterans of the comedy business, contestants were evaluated on their jokes as well as the audience response. The winner for the night was media arts and technology junior Taylor Reschka, while English sophomore Nik Siddall took second and media arts and technology senior Will Chodos came in third.
Jokes took every form, from that 3 a.m. call to Jimmy Johns that we have all made to opening a meth lab to pay for college to comparing the female anatomy to a sea monster. Coming up with this stuff seems difficult, but many like Reschka made it look easy.
“Most of my material is from my crazy brain,” he said, “I like to think out of the box. It’s just about making people laugh. I love, ‘Do onto others what you want done to you.’ I just like making people happy!”
However, not everyone left the night happy. Nik Siddall took the stage and made a snide comment about roofies, or the date rape drug. This upset a few audience members who actually got in an argument with Siddall while he was on stage. After Siddall moved on, they proceeded to chant “Rape is not a joke” until finally they left the show. Everyone was on edge for a few moments, even the comics waiting backstage.
“It was pretty tense in the back room after that whole thing went down. All eyes were kind of on me for a while” said junior Emily Syrja, the only girl competing in the competition. However, most of the comics managed to stay on the audience’s good side.
Veterans of stand-up were a rarity for the night. Many like Syrja or freshman Craig Judy were attempting stand-up comedy for the first time. For many this could be intimidating, but both Syrja and Judy felt good about their performances.
“I feel like I did pretty well,” Syrja said, “I mean I didn’t expect to come in here and win or place, but I think I was received well.”
It seems like a scary thing to try, stand-up comedy. When asked why he started, Judy replied, “I saw it on a table topper in the cafeteria and I thought “Wouldn’t it be crazy if I auditioned? What’s the worst that could happen? They’re going to tell me no if I’m not good enough?” and they gave me a call and here I am.”
Judy is already following the piece of advice that Reschka lives by.
“If you have any inclination to do something, do it,” Reschka said, “This is what I’ve learned at Michigan State most: increase your empathy and increase your drive for what you want, because I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. If you want it, go for it.”