Quintessential Kenyon: Student Life, Uncut

Comedy at Kenyon

Adam Egelman
October 3, 2013

“You know how professors sometimes call on random people for really specific questions? There’s that moment of shock, a sense of impending doom, the same feeling of misfortune you get when your freshman CA asks what went on at 9:45 last Friday in your Norton double, and you tell him that you and ten other friends were drinking solo cups of various juices - we’re doing a cleanse, ok? - and that smell was maybe just some rubbing alcohol somewhere. Sometimes, professors warn, ‘Well, I guess I’m just going to have to call on random people now,’ and half the class is thinking, ‘Well, I guess I’m just going to have to be in the bathroom for the next half hour.’”

I’m putting together a set for an upcoming show for Two Drink Minimum, Kenyon’s stand up comedy group. That was about thirty seconds worth of jokes and I’m aiming for ten minutes, so it’s coming together. Just another Wednesday.

At 9:55 PM, I’ll head over to the basement of unnamed academic building where ten other funny people and I workshop jokes we’ve been writing. Everyone in the group has something unique to offer, whether it’s self-deprecation and brutal honesty (yours truly), the ramblings of a crazy person, or some pure, genuine wit. We do one-liners, impressions, stories, or just weird and elaborate scenarios that make no sense at all. Last year Mike, a senior, told a hilarious bit on the Amish that would probably get me fired if I told it here...

There isn’t much that’s considered off-limits for us, and we love jokes that hit close to home (sorry KAC people, I just don’t understand your ways). So yes, some of our jokes are raunchy, but we’re not offensive. That doesn’t mean we want our audience to be comfortable. Bringing people to an (appropriate) level of discomfort, challenging norms and confronting insecurities to the point where all you can do is laugh, is what drove me to start writing and performing stand up during my senior year of high school. I took classes at the Comedy Cellar in New York, went at open mics almost every day, and performed at comedy clubs throughout the city. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to continue to make people feel awkward here at Kenyon.

We usually hold our shows, two per semester, in Peirce Pub, and somehow we always fill the room. You can also catch us at various open mics around campus, and starting soon we’ll be performing outside of Kenyon at various clubs and mics in the Columbus area. So if you enjoy hearing people in plaid or an ironic t-shirt tell an embarrassing story about middle school or an Old Kenyon party last weekend, you should come check us out!