Ranging from first-time performers to experienced comics, students of varying comedic backgrounds came to auditions for Last Spartan Standing Wednesday and Thursday night at the Union this week.
Last Spartan Standing is a stand-up comedy competition hosted by MSU’s University Activities Board, or UAB. The goal of the auditions was to choose roughly eight finalists to compete in the competition, marketing and professional writing sophomore and UAB director Natalie Gotko said.
Those who auditioned were judged in five categories by a panel of UAB members. The categories ranged from confidence to creativity of material.
Comedians are judged in similar categories on the day of the actual show.
This show will take place in the main lounge of the Union on March 19. Competitors will have 5-10 minutes to perform.
Ryan Conner, who was a contestant on NBC's Last Comic Standing, will host the show. Following the performance, Conner will perform stand-up while the judges calculate the final scores.
Lewis said it will be less intimidating telling jokes to people who are his own age rather than attending an open mic night at a bar, not knowing the age or demographic of the audience.
Marketing junior Chris Ryan said he has been doing stand up comedy for two and a half years. He got his start with Last Spartan Standing during his freshman year.
“I was looking for a creative outlet and a way to express my humor now that I had come to the city, and the UAB event allowed me to do so,” Ryan said.
Ryan won the "Audience’s Favorite" award for his performance as a freshman at Last Spartan Standing and it gave him the confidence to continue with stand-up.
He has gone on to perform in clubs, bars and colleges and is looking forward to hopefully taking the Last Spartan Standing stage again.
“As a creative-minded person that works in the business field, you always need some sort of creative outlet to express yourself and make people laugh," Ryan said. "I find that comedy is a good way to bring people together and learn about different perspectives and I really enjoy doing it.”
Journalism junior Max Johnston said he is using this event to strengthen his comedy skills and gain more experience.
“Ever since I was a kid I was a stand-up nerd,” Johnston said.
He has participated in open mic nights before and said he hopes his skills will improve with the experience at Last Spartan Standing.
“There’s just some euphoric about getting a laugh from a room of strangers,” Johnston said. “It’s hard to explain once you’ve gone onstage and get a laugh for the first time, you just keep chasing that feeling and that’s really what it comes down to.”
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