SUBOG prepares campus for Bob Saget With “UComedy Night”

With Bob Saget coming to campus for the Spring Weekend Comedy Show, UConn students have comedy on the mind, as could be seen by the turnout of nearly 100 students in the Student Union Ballroom for SUBOG’s UComedy Night. The diverse line-up of comedians performed stand-up comedy with self-deprecating humor and cracked relevant jokes, puns and impressions about the political climate, gender and sexuality.

According to Erin Hurd, an eighth-semester marketing major and SUBOG’s Comedy Chairperson, this is the first time SUBOG has hosted an event like this. Prior comedy events have usually been competition format or open-mic style. This year, however, the featured comics went through a screening process which included an approximately five minute audition in front of Hurd and other committee members, where they looked for the best content and variety. Featured comedians included Ben Schultz, Roy Graham, Zachary Maloof, Kate Allen, Scott Bosco and Pete Carcia. Each comic drew their position in the line-up at random and performed for an average of 10 minutes each. At the end of the show, attendees would vote for their favorite comedian, who would win a SUBOG prize pack, a Dunkin Donuts gift card, and the opportunity to introduce Bob Saget on Friday night.

First to take the stage was Schultz. He opened with a joke about his appearance, calling himself a cross between Harry Potter and Schroeder from The Peanuts. His first bit was about the “three different types of white guys.” According to Schultz, those three categories are the productive white guy, the old white guy and the girl who’s trying to be one of the dudes. Schultz gave commentary on the productivity patterns of morning people versus night people, calling the latter “alcoholic vampires.” Schultz also poked fun at the stereotypes about the state of Connecticut during his story about a comedy trip to New York.

“People in New York are like, ‘Nothing goes on in Connecticut.’ Yeah, that’s why we like it,” joked Schultz. “There’s nothing to hit them back with. Well we have some women’s basket-… oh.”

Graham followed Schultz. UComedy Night was Graham’s first time performing stand-up. He opened with some religious commentary. Graham also very explicitly talked about sexuality, race, drugs and politics. He incorporated many personal anecdotes to convey his bleak outlook on some of today’s current issues.

Next up was Maloof, who was very appreciative of his opportunity to perform at the show.

“Being such a fan of performing comedy my entire life, to now be here, little old me, at the gauntlet that is the Room 331, I just get emotional. Wow,” quipped Maloof. He also relied very heavily on self-deprecating and religious humor during his act. Many of Maloof’s jokes incorporated his experiences at Emerson College in Boston. He joked about his difficulty in maintaining a girlfriend and his relationship with his father, drawing laughs from the audience with some of his riskier humor and by asking for responses through hand-raising. Maloof was one of the only comics not to explicitly talk about Donald Trump.

Following Maloof was Allen. The only female comic of the night, Allen’s act was riddled with gender and sexuality jokes. As a graduating senior, she poked a lot of fun at the stress she is experiencing going into the working world. Allen also used self-deprecating humor, mocking her own sneeze and being a cat person. But one of her most well-received jokes of the night was about 50 Shades of Grey and Trump.

“Have you ever thought about what that would be like if the guy in that book wasn’t hot?” mused Allen. “Just some creepy billionaire who comes up and is, like, I can do whatever I want to you. Watch me draft all these documents about all the things you can’t do with your body. You’d be like, ‘Oh this does not sound like a romance novel. But hey, maybe you should run for president.’”

Bosco opened up his set with some puns. He was also very self-deprecating, announcing that he wasn’t 16 or gay, and that he dresses “like the cool guy from ‘The Breakfast Club’” to negate these assumptions. He included a lot of humor about his Jewish faith. Bosco also poked fun at Trump.

“I have the power in this situation and I can do what I want. Thank you, that was [an impression of] our president flirting.”

Last to take the stage was Carcia, who opened with some commentary about modern slang and language barriers. Most of his set was a bit comparing frat guys and guys flirting in the bar to animal mating rituals on “Planet Earth.” Carcia also made jokes about Trump and our political climate, which seemed to be the theme for the night. Many of his jokes were about sex, as well.

“I was excited to see what comedic talent UConn had to offer,” said Mihir Nene, a second semester mechanical engineering student. “I’ve been to some professional comedians we’ve had, too, and I’m excited for Bob Saget. But this is different, it’s students, my roommate is actually here tonight.”

The show concluded with a vote for the winner of the show. Zachary Maloof won the opportunity to introduce Bob Saget. Raffle winners were also announced, with the top prize being two front row tickets to Saget at the Spring Weekend Comedy Show Friday April 21, also presented by SUBOG.  

Julia Mancini is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at Julia.mancini@uconn.edu.