Behind the Scenes: Second Floor Stand Up Edition
If you find yourself in Happy Valley (or for outsiders) State College, PA, you’ll find the home of Second Floor Stand Up, located in 113 Carnegie right in the middle of campus. This is Penn State’s only club dedicated to the art of stand up comedy.
Every Thursday, starting at 8PM, students and comics begin to stumble in to the Carnegie cinema room, a theatre style room perfect for amateur comedians looking to practice their material or for people who simply just want to watch and laugh.
The club invites all students to come perform a set and even outsiders can come and perform. When a first-timer finishes their set, the silence is filled with the chant “Great job on your first time!” This evening getaway from the usual busy schedule of students is filled with jaw-dropping jokes, raunchy material and punchlines that leave you wanting more.
I wanted to see what motivated and inspired regulars of the club and get an essence of what goes on behind the scenes of these comics.
The comics include:
His funny older brother and the intro sets from Seinfeld is what introduced Matt Mclaughlin to the stand-up comedy scene. I guess you could say it was destined, since laugh is literally in his name.
“The biggest dopamine rush ever,” is how Vivaan Singh described what it feels like when you have a great set. This is how he expresses his creativity and shows off his love of writing.
If you’ve seen any posters promoting the club, it was done by Freshman Trent Lomax, the Director of Marketing. If you haven’t, he promises that the Director of Marketing is actually Nathan, NOT HIM.
The President of Second Floor Stand-up. For those that are unsure about coming to perform, Nathan promises that it isn’t as bad as you think. Even before his first set he had to take a shot (or two.)
And last but not least.
An English major who assures that you’ll leave Second Floor hearing AT LEAST one joke that is “out of pocket,” likely from him.
THE PROCESS.
On Thursdays, open mic night is usually accompanied with auditions for the main shows on Friday.
Once comics are selected for the following night’s show, it’s time to roll.
Shows usually last anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and some change. The shows usually have themed nights like Roast shows, a Dating show, Diversity day, Memory lane, or “Now hiring.”
These themes help keep the audience engaged and provide a fun atmosphere that the comics can utilize to their advantage.
You can find the club’s Social media by searching @secondfloorcomedy on Instagram.
Check out behind the scenes of the club:
