Roaring laughter came from the Owl Cove in Mitten Hall Thursday, Oct. 18, during a comedy show hosted by the Public Relations Student Society of America. Five comedians performed, including current and former Temple students.
“I was surprised it was so funny because I expected it to be amateur,” said junior kinesiology major Regina Snyder. “It was similar to some professional shows I’ve been to.”
The room darkened with just a spotlight focusing on an empty stool on a small stage. The show was introduced by Aaron Hertzog, who opened with a few jokes about the typical Thursday night at Temple. [Hertzog is a columnist for The Temple News.]
Brendan Kennedy followed with raunchy humor, causing the audience to cringe in discomfort when joking about topics that included fetal alcohol syndrome, AIDS and Jesus. Kennedy began doing stand-up a year ago at Comedy Cabaret in North Philadelphia.
“I think that college students have definitely taken an interest in comedy because of Dane Cook,” Kennedy said.
Julie Smith, the only female comedian, nervously approached the stage, but dominated against her male cohorts. The York College of Pennsylvania graduate discussed such topics as bad relationships, online dating and drunk-dialing.
“My material is mostly all true with slight changes from my personal life and occasionally the news,” Smith said. “I did alright earning respect, but people did treat me differently because I was a girl.”
Jonathon Graham, a 2004 Temple graduate, opened with a joke about how being a comedian is an example of what not to do with your degree. He made jokes about being the only black comedian performing that night and grazed the topics of race and dating.
Show closer Pat House, a former Temple student, made jokes about the football team and weird roommates. House made his comedy debut at the Laff House on South Street when he graduated high school.
“I liked the fact that I did well,” House said. “It was something I never felt before.”
As for preparation for shows, House keeps it to a minimum.
“I don’t really prepare,” he said. “I write all the time about things that happen in my life and add a degree of fiction to it.”
House performs three to seven times on a weekly basis and said he often gets bad reactions to jokes, but a different sense of humor doesn’t stop him from performing.
“Every comedian bombs and bombs often,” he said. “It makes you want to get back on stage and redeem yourself.”
Sophomore sports and recreational management major Suzy Higham enjoyed the show and found House particularly hilarious.
Director of fundraising for PRSSA Lindsay Bues expressed her excitement about how well the event went.
“I had a lot of help from my fundraising committee,” Bues said. “We met once a week to discuss what we needed to accomplish.”
Bues was impressed with the turnout of about 70 people, raising about $300.
“I think everyone had a good time,” Bues said. “I would definitely consider another comedy show in the future.”
Jessica Lawlor can be reached at jessica.lawlor@temple.edu.
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