Nick Offerman said he was touched by the great privilege to come make the University of Wyoming laugh.
Coming from a small town in Illinois and attending a public state university in Illinois, Offerman attached a certain charisma when coming to Wyoming.
“Towns that are fueled by the creativity of a learning center, to me, have a humble charisma compared to a big city,” said Offerman.
He said he favors college shows over the “hard-to-get” theatres he often books in big cities.
“Rolling into town, I saw that it was just a nice, small town with a beautiful stone campus, that’s my jam,” said Offerman.
Offerman said he hated to say that smarter audiences are fans of his show, so the publicists choose smarter universities, but he knows that there is often an organization at the university that makes the choice.
“If I am somehow chosen by the students,” said Offerman, “that is incredibly flattering and I am grateful for that.”
The comedian said that at college shows he likes to add substance to his show and that he feels like a freshman in the comedian business.
“I feel clumsy, because I’m a theatre actor,” said Offerman. “A few years ago colleges started inviting me, I said, ‘you know what, I want to tell people to have good manners.’”
Sophomore Chandini Dahlberg who is studying anthropology said she is a big fan of Parks and Recreation and almost cried her eyes out when she found out Nick Offerman was coming to UW.
“My favorite part was definitely the relationship advice,” said Dahlberg. ‘”Write I love you on a piece of paper and for extra points glue some nature to it,’ because I totally believe that people should make more things than they buy.”
Offerman said he found a way to be a humorist and get his agenda across.
“I’d like to become more kindly and folksy,” said Offerman. “I feel like there is an element of the country to my work.”
Throughout his stand up show Offerman spoke about creativity and how it is an integral part of a happy life. He said he likes university shows because of the creativity that is in the audience and on the campus.
“I never get bored or depressed because I make things with my hands,” said Offerman.
Concerts and Convocations Lead Student Programmer Madison Graham said she loved how he tied in motivational messages into his set. She organized the event and said she would like to work with Offerman in the future. She said she liked the Q&A portion of the night, as well.
“I think the students enjoyed being about to have some dialect,” said Graham. “We hadn’t really done a Q&A with a comedian in the past, but I think that it was a nice touch I’d like to do more often.”
on Swanson from Parks and Recreation is a large part of what Nick Offerman is known for. Local restaurant and bar Born in a Barn made a custom burger for the celebrity.
Offerman stopped by Born in a Barn to get a Swine-son burger to go. UW alum and Born in a Barn Owner Clayton Scholl said the host organization asked them to do the burger to promote the show. The Swine-son ended up being a good hit for the restaurant, said Scholl.
Offerman commented on it at the show by showing his belly and giving Born in the Barn credit for a delicious dinner.
In the Q&A portion, the fact the Parks and Recreation would someday end was not avoided.
“What will you do when Parks and Rec is over,” asked Junior communications major Kristina Mireles. She said she loves his character on the sitcom.
“I’m going to go home and cry like a baby,” Offerman said.
He said that the magic behind Ron Swanson is the writers of Parks and Recreation.
“It’s ridiculously lucky that I find myself in this position,” said Offerman. “It’s crazy to me that I get to come do this, I’m grateful for it and I continue to keep working hard so I can keep doing this.”
