Comedian Draws Warm Laughter

The bitter cold of winter did not stop some students from checking out the free comedy show put on by the Student Union Board of Governors (SUBOG) at the Student Union Thursday night.

Wil Sylvince put on an entertaining performance in front of an interactive, personable yet miniscule crowd. The show, kicked off by opening act Ryan Reese, included interaction with the crowd. Reese filled his set with plenty of jokes about the college student lifestyle. His discussion of habits like drinking and relationships really hit the right note with the students in attendance. Sylvince then hit the stage dressed in full winter gear, which was a clever tie-in to his opening bit about how weathermen are always quick to explain nonsense that the average person never is able to understand. He backed up this point up by discussing how the weather channels say it's 56 degrees with a wind chill making it feel like 10 degrees leaving him in confusion of whether to wear shorts or a winter coat.

"I really thought that Wil Sylvince is really clever and funny act," said Sarah Bellmeyer, a 2nd-semester undecided major. "I've seen him on TV numerous times and it was great to finally see him perform in person."

Sylvince successful performance was delivered based on his ability to create diverse material that allowed the crowd to understand his point of view. Making plenty of racial jokes, Sylvince was able to stay on the fence with his jokes leaving much of the crowd smiling and grinning. He talked about his first experience flying in first class on an airplane describing the service way beyond what is offered in coach. Cheating in school was another subject that the crowd was able to relate to. After asking students about their experiences with copying off other kids in class, Sylvince went on to talk about how cheating is a skill and requires talent to not be able to get caught by the teacher. Explaining how he would always cheat off the Chinese kid in math, Sylvince recalls failing a test and then realizing that the student next to him was Filipino.

Sylvince's style poked fun at all races, playing favorite to the crowd. In comedy, people tend to get offended when an act makes fun of one group over another. However, Sylvince spread the laughs out to all different audience members.

Sylvince caught the attention of the students with his material discussing being hit by his mother as a child. Asking audience members if they could relate, Sylvince joked about the terrible belt and how grabbing the belt from his mother prior to the beating was a sign of disrespect. He then described his experiences of working a minimum wage job where he always wanted to steal something until he finally nabbed a mannequin from work and would dress it up in his clothes.

"My favorite part of the performance was the bit about stealing stuff at jobs," said Joe Hadner, a 4th semester finance major. "When I worked at a fast food restaurant, I used to steal food all the time, so I got some laughs out of that part."

Wil demonstrated some comedic emotion with his bit about the seriousness that is seen when watching the actors in Spanish commercials that really stirred up laughs in the audience. Sylvince ended the performance with a series of jokes dealing with the awkwardness of sex that were hit and miss with the students.

"I enjoyed both comedians' acts during the show," said Christina Dardenelli, a 6th-semester psychology major. "They both had plenty of funny jokes and it was a great chance to take a break from studying and school work."

Free comedy on Thursday night at the Student Union brought some warm laughs on a cold night.