Laughter and cheers filled Hardy Tower on Thursday Nov. 13, as the Skull & Dagger Dramatic Society presented “A Night of Comedy.” The event hosted comedians Connor Waldman, Derrick Murray, and Chip Nicholson with Iota Eta Pi, San Diego State’s improv team, rounding out the night. Advertised as a stand-up comedy vs. improv night, it was clear by the audience that the stand-up comedy acts ruled on this night.
Those acts began with Connor Waldman, a fifth-year senior at SDSU who was extremely happy that he is about to graduate. His act was one that centered on the college student and college life, from one-night stands to money and spending that money. The crowd seemed to relate to his act as most of the people in the audience were college students.
It was easy to laugh and realize that we did the same things no matter how ridiculous or ironic it was. He was also kind enough to add into his act a little advice to the freshmen and sophomores of the crowd, regarding general education classes. Waldman advised students to take the ridiculous classes, such as world history, early so you aren’t bored out of your mind later on and can concentrate on the fun classes that you actually have an interest in.
Second to perform was Derrick Murray, a 31-year-old comedian from Los Angeles. His act didn’t center around student life, but more on overall things in life we find hilarious, such as social media and break ups, cool moms and Netflix. Sex was a huge theme between all the comedians, and Murray was no exception, even going into the topic of his lady friends setting him up with their friends and claiming “She’s really pretty, well I think she’s really pretty.” His absolutely hilarious act was the highlight of the night, going into the topics of zombies, race, U.F.C. and drinking with friends.
The final act of comedians for the night was Chip Nicholson, another SDSU student. Again sex was a key subject of his act, along with race and drinking and friends. Everything was relatable and that brought even more humor to the night; from Vegas trips to harping on the younger generation and their desire for toys.
The night ended with Iota Eta Pi’s improv performance, which was good-natured fun. This group of SDSU students always brings a laugh when they perform. However it felt like after the stand-up acts, something was missing with the improv acts.
The night was definitely a good view of both stand-up and improv, because they are both very different. Many of the students seemed to prefer the punch lines of the stand-up acts, whereas the improv act brought laughter to jokes that weren’t planned. It was all shocking and surprising.
Overall the acts were good for the night. The stand-up acts each tended to concentrate on a more sexual topic or a topic of race, but it was all in good nature and all good fun. The solid lineup of good comedy definitely was worth the late night. The acts had jokes that everyone could relate to and they sure kept the audience laughing, which is their obvious goal.
If the show didn’t make you laugh, I don’t know what will.
