An Evening with the Stony Brook University Sketch Comedy Club
By Andy Polhamus
In a well-worn room on a Thursday in the basement of the Student Union, something strange is happening. It’s not dangerous, but it is highly unusual for Stony Brook. It’s the Stony Brook University Sketch Comedy Club, rehearsing and honing their skills for the sake of providing homegrown comedic talent on campus. That’s right—something funny. At Stony Brook.
The Cast of Monroe University
Stony Brook senior Theophilus Hamblin, who founded the club this semester after years of studying performance and production, says that later this year, the Sketch Comedy Club will team up with other campus organizations to perform live. Although the club is brand new, they’ve already garnered some attention with the web show “Monroe University,” that can be viewed on the group’s Facebook. Furthermore, they’ve built a sense of camaraderie that would normally take years for more “serious” clubs to develop. But in a crowd where everybody constantly makes jokes, it’s easy to get comfortable.
Standing in a room full of aspiring comedians is a strange experience. Casual insults fly around the room like ammunition in a water balloon fight. Cast members toss passing remarks to their colleagues, hoping for the gratifying splash of a successful dig. “Everybody secretly hates Relicia,” says junior political science major Matt Maran with a smile, gesturing towards his fellow Stony Brook student.
“No way. I would die for Relicia,” says Jason Thompson, a cinema and cultural studies major who is also in his junior year at Stony Brook. “Write down that I’m the most talented,” he says, turning to the reporter. He laughs.
But the performers of the Stony Brook University Sketch Comedy Club take being funny very seriously. As the warm-up for tonight’s rehearsal begins, Theo gives increasingly strange instructions. And no matter how self-conscious the cast may feel about carrying out those orders, nobody hesitates to hop up and down while shaking their arms or to scream at the top of their lungs for no reason.
As the group moves onto improvisation games, Colleen O’Connor, a junior, takes her place in a scene where she’s supposed to be a stripper. “I apologize for what you’re about to see,” she says to the group. She receives peals of laughter in response. “Come over here, girl,” says Reginald Ceus, pretending to be a strip club patron. “I’m sorry your daddy didn’t hug you enough.” As different cast members move in and out of the scene, topics move from a funeral, a fast food restaurant and two lovers sharing a walk on a tight rope.
The weirdness continues for an hour or so before the cast calls it a night. Soon, they’ll be expanding their catalog by writing, performing and taping a new series of web shorts about corporate office drones. If your daddy didn’t hug you enough, check out their work on their Facebook page.
