Comic crashes & burns as jokes fall short of funny
When you first hear comedy show, you expect to walk into a crowd-filled room with roaring laughter and one person standing at the microphone belting out their hilarious jokes.But that wasn’t the case for comedian Marianne Sierk, of Los Angeles, Ca., in Huden’s Spartan Room on Jan. 24.
The room was filled with empty seats rather than people, while the noise of the television was all that was heard.
Once the television came off and the microphone was turned on, not much else changed.
The room gained a few more bodies of people passing by getting their food, but the audience stayed at about fifteen people throughout the hour-long routine, with people coming in and leaving after only a few jokes.
With a performance that was more stories than actual jokes, the show seemed like it was struggling for continuous laughter that never came.
The one thing that gained her a chuckle or two was the interaction of certain audience members.
A man, who refers to himself as Moose, asked her to get a beer after the show.
They carried on conversation for several minutes, which brought in more giggles than the jokes she had tried to deliver herself.
Sierk, who mostly sticks to performing at colleges, has in the past opened for Bob Saget and has been compared to other comedians like Jim Gaffigan, Jake Johansson, and Dane Cook. But tonight, few laughs seem to strike deep in most of those in attendance.
The lack of laughter did not stop few audience members from giving her a good review.
“She was pretty funny and had a lot of energy,” said Castleton junior Liz Garibay.
Sierk, who has performed for various crowd sizes, referred to this night as “the little crowd that could.”
“I feel like things would’ve been different if it were on a weekday,” said Crystal Tam, a CSC senior. “She was pretty funny so I wish there were more people there.”
The lack of people may have been the reason for the absence of laughter and applause, but Sierk’s jokes just didn’t deliver in a way you hear most professional comedians.
Maybe he should stick to storytelling.