Campus Comedy Night
Three Boston comedians, Sean Sullivan, Andrea Henry and Steve Macone made an appearance this past Saturday in the Assembly Hall for Comedy Night. Known for his work with the satirical magazine The Onion, Macone kicked off the night with a bang as he described how scary it was driving to the middle of nowhere (Exeter) late at night. Conversation fervently varied from the creation of bizarre potato chip flavors, such as sour cream and onion, to his fear of lightning and the topic of the strange things we regret saying during small talk on a date. A memorable moment came later in the show when he asked, “Do you guys ever just blow your own mind? Like have you ever thought about how your brain is the most powerful computer nature has ever made and you can’t even explain it?” Macone has been a Boston Comedy Festival finalist and has had his comedic writing featured in papers such as The New York Times and The Boston Globe.
As Macone walked off stage with rapturous applause from the audience, Andrea Henry was introduced soon after. Appearing on Comedy Central’s Open Mic Fight and having been a Nick at Nite’s Funniest Mom in America finalist, Henry knew how to work a crowd quickly. Henry joked about how popular she was in high school, having been cheerleader captain and prom queen; granted, she was homeschooled, but nonetheless boasted some of her many imaginary accolades. Henry spoke a lot about struggles she faced growing up. “My track coach was really hard on us,” she said. “If you missed one practice you were cut. It wasn’t deep, but it was rough.” Another highlight of her performance came around when discussing job interviews. She said, “Where do I see myself in five years? Hopefully suspended with pay. One strength of mine? I will never quit because that way you can’t collect unemployment. And always make sure to write a handwritten thank you note to their home address. That way they know you know where they live.”
For the final act of the night, Sullivan was more than happy to rip on the school’s Assembly Hall, ridiculing the uniformity of white male principals hanging on the wall and the “fake wood backdrop” on stage, saying, “Well I guess you guys can use it for parkour or something.” He then went on to butcher the pronunciation of non sibi, describing how ridiculous latin studies are considering that it’s a dead language. After several moments he saw three different photographers taking pictures in which he said, “This is awesome. I wouldn’t want them to miss my many sides,” referencing his heavy set figure. Sullivan has been featured on shows such as Comedy Central and interned at Late Night with Conan O’Brien while being a semi-finalist for the Boston Comedy Festival. After thoroughly abusing the school’s prestigious history, Sullivan spoke of his struggles as a parent having to constantly deal with his kids’ belief of Santa Claus, claiming that at points they become so annoying he’s ready to just kill Santa in front of them. Another struggle he shared was his frustration with Thomas the Tank Engine. The audience roared with laughter as he ranted about the unconditional boredom of the show, describing the repetitive missions of carrying boxes around an island. “Wow, what a life,” Sullivan said.
Although Thomas the Tank Engine may not have the most appealing lifestyle, the show made for an excellent Saturday night to begin spring term as some left with tears in their eyes from all of the laughter. A great way to take a break from studies, comedy night was nothing short of a success.