Stand-up Night confirms laughter is the best medicine
Tyler Stowers (center), and Drew Parkhill (right) were two of the crowd favorites. (Courtney Johnson)
Laughter filled the halls of the Student Services Center building on Stand-Up Night last Wednesday as Saddleback College students and faculty members gathered to enjoy the comedic performances. Some of the comedians were experienced veterans and some were first-time amateurs, but each one received at least a few good laughs.
“Aley was awesome, he’s so funny! It’s a lot of fun seeing the school come together for an event like this,” said Liz Dayvat, 21, pre-med.
Comedians, including Chris Lido, Drew Parkhill, Will Anderson, Richard Solace, and Tyler Stowers, performed.
Drew Parkhill, 20, communication arts, was a crowd favorite.
“I’ve been doing comedy since my sophomore year in high school when I was on the Improv Team at Dana Hills High School,” said Parkhill, “but I’ve been into acting since I was a kid.”
“I liked my performance tonight, it was better than some I’ve done before. It was a different audience than I’m used to, though,” said Parkhill. “Normally I perform at bars for a lot of drunk people and this time there was a big group of students with higher expectations.”
After the performances, many comedians gathered outside to discuss the show. Experts like Parkhill offered advice to the more novice performers, such as Tyler Stowers, 19, business/psychology.
“Tonight was my first performance, but this is definitely something I’m going to pursue,” said Stowers. “I want to perform at an open-mic night in Santa Ana soon.”
Perhaps it was just a nice break from pre-finals stress, but students found the show hilarious.
“I really liked the whole show,” said Jessica Davis, 22, communications. “I couldn’t believe how much I was laughing out loud. There was a pretty good turnout tonight.”
The event itself was free, and the proceeds from all food sold went to help cancer patients. The show was a great way for comedians to gain some exposure while at the same time helping out a worthy cause.
Each comedian was expected to perform for about six minutes. Some went well over the allotted time and others struggled to make it to the six minute mark. A few comedians even said aloud how relieved they were when told they only had one minute left. Clearly, it was not as easy as some of the performers made it look.