Spring is in the air, and student-led programs are aiming to bring some light-hearted humor to campus.
Hosted by 7220 Entertainment, UW Stands Up aims to help students blow off some steam by presenting student-led comedy acts and cash prizes for top performers Wednesday night.
“It’s midterm time, students are frustrated,” said Vanessa Alvarez, 7220 Entertainment’s Club Events Coordinator. “They want to let out some emotion, let out any of those emotions they’ve been holding in, and they want to laugh. And so we’re doing this event so that people can come and they can enjoy some comedy.”
7220 Entertainment has hosted other student-focused entertainment nights in the past year, such as open mic nights and poetry slams, but this is only the second time that 7220 has put on a stand-up comedy night.
This year’s event has a new twist: 7220 managed to get a professional stand-up comedian to emcee. Pete Lee, a stand-up comic from Los Angeles who’s been featured on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, will introduce the performers, as well as perform himself during transitions and the opening of the event.
The club also put on a stand-up comedy night about this time last year. Alvarez said that over 200 people showed up to listen, stretching the capacity of the Gardens, and expects a similar turnout for this event.
“People were bringing in their own chairs to sit in,” she said. “It wasn’t standing room only, but it was pretty close.”
Alvarez said she feels that this is due in no small part to the cash prizes offered to the winner. The student with the best 5-minute routine, chosen by a panel of judges, will win $250, with $100 to the second and $50 to the third place winners.
“When we offer cash prizes for events like these, we tend to get more turnout,” said Alvarez. “I guess it’s a bit more of an incentive, cash is a lot more valuable to people than other prizes we’ve offered in the past.”
The pool of judges is diverse. The panel last year featured community members, staff and faculty. Though 7220 declined to reveal the judges ahead of the event, Alvarez did say that performers should expect people from all walks of life.
“We don’t want anyone knowing the judges ahead of time, so that there isn’t any bias,” said Alvarez, “but we have tried to get all sorts of different people to judge.”
7220 Entertainment promises that UW Stands Up will be a fun time for any student who likes to laugh. The event will be held Wednesday night in the Union Gardens at 8 p.m. The event is free, and open to the public. While all the performer’s slots are full, 7220 says that there’s plenty of fun to be had in the audience.
