Just weeks after “Saturday Night Live” star Darrell Hammond yucked it up for Yalies, Comedy Central wannabes are brushing up their funny for a night of splitting sides and fancy tickling.
This Saturday, WYBC brings you a Battle of the Bands-esque competition, “The WYBC Comedy Hour,” featuring seven of Yale’s favorite comedians. The Comedy Hour stage is not the only platform on which these solo comedians will be showcased. Yalies can tune into WYBC’s 1340 AM for live coverage at 8 p.m., “with a five second delay because these comedians are prone to profanity, as are the rest of us,” said Zach Jones ’05, WYBC director of marketing and promotions.
Many of Saturday’s performers are members of popular comedy troupes on campus, including Just Add Water, Suite 13 and The Sphincter Troupe. Funnyman David Friedlander ’05, director of Just Add Water, will act as master of ceremonies for the evening.
Jones said he wants to attract solo comedians to WYBC and hopes each comedian might consider hosting a show.
“We’re looking for people at WYBC of all personalities; not just serious news,” Jones said. “We’re open to the possibility of having entertainment at WYBC. Why not create a vessel through which fun, talented performers can showcase their talent on the air?”
Jones said he believes that while there are comedy groups on campus, there is little support for individual acts.
“There are funny people at Yale. There is funniness going on. We have sketch groups, but we don’t have solo comedians,” Jones said.
WYBC’s seven “funny people” sat down with scene earlier this week for a friendly meet-and-greet turned warm-up joke session. Read on for a glimpse at the Saturday action. Or you can tune in to 1340 AM Friday afternoon to catch a recording of this “funniness” on “The World this Week with ZJ and Kitty.”
The Saturday night line-up
Laura Gary ’05 — co-director of The Sphincter Troupe, an all-female sketch comedy group. Gray interned at Dad’s Garage, an improv comedy theatre in Atlanta.
“I got into writing and performing comedy when I was a sophomore in high school, but it wasn’t until I got to Yale that I was given venues where I could perform my comedy. I’ve also performed music at venues around Atlanta. I write musical comedies, one of which was published by Baker’s Plays. Why should I get the vote Saturday night? Well, I combine music and comedy, which, although not completely original (i.e. Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Lynch) will be something different at Saturday night’s show. Plus, I rock.”
Dan Berger ’05 — president of Suite 13 Sketch Comedy Group.
“I’ve been doing comedy for three years at Yale and a bit before that in high school.”
Satya Bhabha ’06 — member of Yale’s Just Add Water and the Fifth Humour.
“(I’ve been doing comedy) since I could speak.” Previous experience: “Here and there — I was in a high school play once.” What makes Satya so funny that you should have the vote this Saturday night? “My suave and debonair demeanor.”
James Salzano ’06 — “I’ve been funny my entire life.”
Eben Smith ’05 — “I’m a junior at 70 Howe Place, and I’ve been doing comedy never,” Eben said. “I’m not in any comedy groups, haven’t ever done comedy, so, I’ve never done it anywhere and therefore have no reason to believe I’ll win on Saturday. However, my life is just absurd and if I can communicate that at all to the audience on Saturday maybe they’ll laugh at me or with me.”
Zac Soto ’06 — Director of Red Hot Poker, a new sketch comedy group. “I don’t do comedy because my parents say it’s a waste of my time.” Zac also said he won a high school talent show.
Mike Warner ’04 — “I’ve unofficially been in comedy my entire life.Officially, as in never been in comedy.”
The comedians as rappers and wrestlers
Mike: I’m Mike War. It’s also my alter-ego wrestling name. Pretty hard to come up with since my name is Mike Warner. I’ve gone through the long, creative process of cutting out my last name.
Laura: I would go the J. Lo route and say I’m L-Gay but that makes me sound like some sort of homosexual Mexican wrestler.
On MTV’s “Real World” casting call at Yale
Zac: They said they would take me if I was gay, but then they didn’t take me, so I guess I hooked up with that guy for nothing.
Eben: Didn’t Carson Daly go to Yale?
Laura: Do they have affirmative action for the “Real World?”
Mike: What, is a Catholic at Yale a minority?
Laura: My roommates were always threatening to secretly videotape me and send it in to the “Real World.” I just get really depressed because [we] Southerners sound like such idiots on the “Real World.” So I guess Yalies wouldn’t sound as stupid as that.
Satya: “The only world faker than the ‘Real World’ is Yale.”
On dating at Yale
Mike: I’d say all the advice should go to the women out there, because they’re the gatekeepers.
Zac: Transfer to Quinnipiac.
Mike: My favorite thing about women at Yale is I don’t know what it is about them, but somehow they manage to reject you when you aren’t even hitting on them. So I went to a bar the other day and I asked for a chair. I asked a girl about a chair beside her, ‘Chair taken?’ and she looked at me like, “Uh, I don’t own it” and just gave me this brush off and made me feel like I as four inches tall and it’s annoying because she wasn’t even cute. Hey, if she’s listening out there, you’re not cute!
Laura: Can I get a show of hands here? How many guys here are gay? That’s the first thing I’d write in an article about dating at Yale.
Dave (the MC chips in): The most troubling part of dating at Yale is the “scorched earth policy” adopted by most women after dating one of my roommates. The problem with guilt by association is if you have ever had a conversation with someone they may have hooked up with, gone on a casual date with, seen in a dining hall, ran into on the street, that you are all of the sudden, you know, a carrier of some sort of terrible, terrible disease and so, you know, I’ve encountered fleeing people, diving into traffic, just walking down the street. I feel that is a little unnecessary. A simple no. A simple, ‘I don’t own this chair’ would be fine for me. I’m not asking for a lot here. I’m the pauper of dating. I just need a little kickback every now and then.
Mike (again): The major problem with dating at Yale is that Naples does not exist anymore. For those of you that are seniors or juniors, you know Naples was possibly the single greatest contribution to sex life at Yale. That place was a breeding ground. Unbelievable. If you could walk, you could get drunk there.
On “That Guy” in section
Mike: I think the greatest thing about that guy is two weeks ago I was talking in my “Crime and Punishment” section, very opinionated, I was talking for about 15 minutes, just lecturing and then I realized I was looking around, looking for that guy, hoping that maybe he would respond, because “that guy” is always there, and realized, slowly, and surely, that of course, I was that guy, and I came to the policy that if that guy is not in section, if you think there’s not that guy, you’re definitely that guy.
On Yale as joke material
James: Yale is a good source for humor, because they’re always walking around here like the world depends upon whether they get an A on a midterm or not, and they’re always freaking singing!
Zac: I feel bad for a cappella singers, because I don’t think they’re going to be recruited by JAG.
The Comedy Hour will be held at the Off-Broadway Theater at 8 p.m. Saturday night. The show is free to Yale students, who will choose the comedian-extraordinaire and winner of $250 at the end of the performances.
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