Though it may seem to many students that Dartmouth already has a thriving comedy culture, a new organization has emerged to bring more laughs to campus: The Dartmouth Stand-Up Comedy Group. Despite having an unexpectedly flat name for a club of humorists, the Stand-Up Group is by no means bland. Rather, the informal team, led by Fred Meyer '08, is breaking new ground in Dartmouth comedy by expanding the previous range of written humor and improv shows to include heavily prepared solo performances.
The Stand-Up Group is Meyer's brainchild. Currently a member of the Dog-Day Players and head of the Jack-O-Lantern, Meyer became interested in bringing stand-up to Dartmouth after getting involved in the Boston comedy scene last spring and summer. Upon returning to campus, he began to organize open mic events to encourage people to try stand-up. These events led to the development of the club, which now meets regularly on Mondays to discuss and polish the comedians' new work.
According to Meyer, stand-up comedy is the hardest form of humor to make successful and its solo nature can be intimidating for comedians. Meyer and the members of the Stand-Up Group, however, believe that Dartmouth students will be very receptive to the new medium.
"Many Dartmouth students love watching stand-up on Comedy Central," said group member Dan Gobaud '10. "So I think it will be fun for them to come see some live stand-up, especially when it's free and their friends and classmates are performing."
The fact that the Stand-Up Group's audience has been made up mainly of friends and fellow comedians has actually contributed to the growth of the group. Though still relatively small -- meetings usually consist of five to seven comedians -- the relaxed spaces of Lone Pine and India Queen have helped members feel more comfortable trying a different type of comedy in front of a more and more enthusiastic audience.
"At first, we had a muted crowd that had mostly come to Lone Pine to drink away their sorrows," said comedian Sam Buntz '11, a member of The Dartmouth staff. "But now we've really moved beyond that point, and the crowds are increasingly receptive, meaning that they laugh at a few of the jokes." The Dartmouth Stand-Up Group's audience currently numbers about 20 to 30 people a performance.
"Writing jokes [for stand-up] came very naturally to me, far more naturally than improv or Jacko-type written comedy," commented another group member, Kobi Tirey '10.
Several members have mentioned the versatility of stand-up as a large part of its appeal. Given the limited resources requied for stand-up comedy -- enough space for one performer at and an audience -- the group feels that it can utilize social spaces such as fraternity basements and smaller dorm commons in addition to its usual Lone Pine venue.
The group plans to increase the frequency of its performances from its current schedule of one Lone Pine performance about every three weeks to once every two weeks in different venues to attract students. The stand-up club is also working towards recognition by the Council On Student Organizations, and hopes to become official after review by COSO this Wednesday.
Though the Stand-Up Group is content for now to focus on growing its membership, venue offerings, and audience, it also has wider long-term goals. Personally connected to comedic communities outside of Dartmouth, Meyer mentioned the possibility of bringing stand-up comics from Boston and other colleges to perform at Dartmouth, either in collaboration with Programming Board, or through the club itself. In the meantime, the Dartmouth Stand-Up Group can be seen performing this Thursday at Lone Pine Tavern.
