A campus for comedians

Skidmore is one funny campus. For more than three decades, Skidmore has hosted the National College Comedy Festival, a campus tradition for aspiring comedians and anyone who enjoys a good laugh.  

通常被称为 ComFest, the 34th annual show was held at Skidmore’s Janet King Bernhard Theater in February and again brought a gaggle of student comedians and professional stand-ups together to fill the theater with laughter.  

Comedy groups from New York University, Br自己的 University, Emerson College, Northeastern University, University of Toronto, and elsewhere shared the floor with Ad-Libs, Sketchies, Skidomedy，三个 Skidmore student clubs 致力于喜剧. 

Both nights of ComFest started with student groups and finished with a professional 行为. This year, that included Marina Franklin, kn自己的 for her comedy special “Single 黑人女性，”和 克里斯·弗莱明09, a Skidmore graduate famous for his YouTube show “Gayle” and named by Variety as one of its “10 Comics to Watch for.“是的。 certainly a weekend to remember as audience members enjoyed jokes and routines that ranged from a promposal at a funeral to vegan chowder at Saratoga ChowderFest (a winter tradition for Skidmore students and popular event in d自己的t自己的 萨拉托加温泉市).  

Skidmore has long been a popular choice for aspiring comedians. ComFest was co-founded in the late 1980s by Skidmore alum 大卫·米纳，91年, who went on to earn Emmys for “30 Rock,” “Parks and Recreation,” and “Unbreakable 吉米施密特.” Among the festival’s previous performers are Skidmore’s Michael Zegen ' 01 of the Emmy-winning Amazon Prime show 《火博体育》. Maisel,” and cast and writers of shows like “Bob’s Burgers,” “The Office,” “Community,” and “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.” (If you’re interested in learning about academic aspects of comedy, you might also consider taking a course with Skidmore’s 自己的 贝克Krefting. A former stand-up comedian, the professor of American studies has published widely on humor, among other topics.)

Elise Milner, 25岁, an art major from Bristol, Rhode Island, participated in ComFest for the first time this winter with Skidomedy. Performing with Skidomedy was an opportunity to add sketch comedy to her repertoire that already included stand-up and improv. 

“I like seeing people make creative choices when 行为ing out a sketch. 我们读出 sketches and it's funny. But when they are 行为ed out, they can end up being 10 times 更有趣，”她说. "I also like the community of the group. 我们都有不同的 senses of humor that mesh together in a cool way.”

As for her first experience in ComFest: “It was really fun. I like the week leading 看我们的节目. It can be a lot because we meet up every night of the week, but our group gets closer each time, and it's cool seeing our sketches come to life.”