By Zac Bestwick
The 2022-2023 academic year was monumental for student comedy at GW, with student performance orgs like receSs, GW Comedy Nights, and Insert Here putting on successful shows that had their classmates roaring with laughter.
receSs wrapped up their year with their seventh and final sketch comedy and improv show on April 15th. One of GW’s oldest performance orgs, receSs has been an institution on campus since it was founded over thirty years ago. The group offers monthly shows which involve a series of scripted sketches followed by a long-form improv set. A typical receSs show begins at 10pm and gives students a consistently hilarious late-night laugh.
The April 15th show served as a grand finale to receSs’ year as the group said goodbye to seniors Aman Gill and Michael Casey–the group’s president and vice president, respectively. They went out with a bang, pulling a crowd of nearly 100 students as the group presented some of the best sketches it had written all year. The night ended memorably when graduating senior Michael Casey asked the crowd to support him in his first-ever stage dive.
“Improv is all about trust. Trusting yourself to perform, trusting your teammates to listen, trusting the audience to follow all the different threads,” said Michael. “So I figured, what’s a better way to say goodbye to my college improv experience than to fling myself into a crowd and trust them to lift me up?”
Insert Here, GW’s all-improv troupe also finished out the year with a finale show on April 27th. Insert Here’s shows consist of multiple quick-paced, short-form improv games surrounding a single long-form game, such as the Harold–a structured game that many improv groups have their own twist on.
“Our general philosophy is to work in short-form after a long-form (game) because we want people to enjoy the art that comes with a long-form but also not fall asleep,” said Luke Fatovic, a member of Insert Here. “When we’re doing the short scenes, we keep them short, sweet, interesting, and fast.”
Each year, receSs puts on a festival known as Slate, which features improv comedy performances from receSs, Insert Here, and a menagerie of troupes from schools across the Northeast. This year’s Slate, which was held on January 28th in the University Student Center’s Betts Theater, was a hit that drew a crowd of well over 100 people.
“Slate was a great culmination of all our hard work,” said Luke. “We all felt that the pressure was on, because we never performed in front of a crowd that big as a group. We definitely had nerves, but we all left the stage so happy with our performance. That was a peak and pinnacle for our troupe this year.”
Stand-up comedian and former Daily Show writer Josh Johnson, who recently released an hour long comedy special on Peacock, was booked by receSs to headline the event. Johnson delivered a personable and resonant performance that capped off a successful night for comedy at GW.
“One really nice thing about Slate is that (receSs) goes first, and then you get to sit down and enjoy your hard work,” said Ritika Sinha-Chaudhuri, a sophomore member of receSs. Those performing in the show got a chance to speak with Josh Johnson while the show was being set up, an invaluable experience for those involved. Ritika divulged that “[Josh Johnson] was very down to Earth, he’d seem like a normal person and then he’d drop something crazy, like ‘back on the Daily Show’ or ‘I was talking to Trevor,’ like, that’s crazy, you’re insane.”
Improv isn’t the only form of comedy that took major strides this year. GW Comedy Nights, which hosts two shows each semester, has dominated the university’s stand-up comedy scene since it began back in October of 2022. Evolving out of the old biweekly open mic nights at GW Hillel in 2021 and Spring 2022, these shows are an exciting platform for students who want to develop their comedic abilities in front of a packed audience. GW Comedy Nights shows have flourished due to strong marketing and dynamic lineups that combine experienced comics and fresh newcomers. One of the event’s familiar faces is Will Roberts, who typically delivers the show’s opening set.
“I originally didn’t like it, like, ‘I don’t want to go first, no one wants to go first,’ but it made sense since I’ve been doing comedy for a lot longer than a lot of people [in the group] so it makes sense to go first,” said Will. “I like it, after the second time I did it I was like, ‘oh this is really fun’ because if you can start the show on high energy, it can only go up from there.”
Outside of the live performance realm, District Debrief has been putting out quality video sketches over on GW-TV, the university’s student-run TV station. Debrief is perhaps best known for its Instagram content, which has seen an uptick in viewership this year.
“The part of District Debrief that’s been a change from other years is that we’re really focusing on the structure of sketches. The viewership has increased, we’re getting thousands of views on some of our sketches that we’re posting on our instagram,” said Will Roberts, who in addition to performing at GW Comedy Nights, is also an executive producer at District Debrief.
In fact, many of the show’s talented comedians also do stand-up at GW Comedy Nights, including Margaret Korinek, the organization’s president. Members of receSs also appear regularly at Comedy Nights, making the show a place where GW’s broad comedy scene comes together. Comedy Nights will have one last show this year, which will be held in Lisner Downstage on May 5th at 7:30pm.
Whether you prefer live or recorded sketches, short- or long form-improv, or just good old fashioned stand-up, GW’s student-run comedy orgs had you covered this year. When they aren’t putting on shows for their peers, GW’s comedians have formed a strong camaraderie that adds to the value of being a part of this scene.
We don’t have to go to practice, the attitude is that we get to go to practice,” said Luke of his Insert Here companions. “It’s a privilege, being around some of the most creative and funny individuals I’ve met in my life.”
