New comedy club looks to take improv comedy to a new level
When it comes to clubs on campus, Ryan McDonnell ’20 and Chris Kenkelen ’20 noticed a need for more comedy.
McDonnell and Kenkelen are both members of SJU Improv, which inspired them to create a club solely dedicated to scripted comedy, called St. Joe’s Live.
“There really isn’t a comedy club at St. Joe’s,” Kenkelen said. “There are a lot of people [interested in comedy], I notice when a lot of people try out for improv. I think, ‘Wow, that person is so funny, but improv is not their thing. If they had a written thing, they would be so funny.’”
McDonnell and Kenkelen said they will hold auditions to select their comedy team. According to Kenkelen, students who audition will do a script reading, followed by 30 seconds of improv. From there, they will hold a callback where students will have 24 hours to prepare a script.
The variety of scripted and unscripted comedy allows comedians who are not interested in improv to have a place on campus, according to McDonnell.
“I was always the kid who was better with a script than when I was thinking off the top of my head, so I can only imagine that there are other people out there like me,” McDonnell said. “We just wanted to start a club with other people who are passionate about comedy and want to improve their writing.”
McDonnell and Kenkelen said they have always had a love for making people laugh, and their biggest comedic inspirations come from Saturday Night Live (SNL), including John Mulaney and Pete Davidson. They said St. Joe’s Live is modeled after SNL and the sketches on the show.
Once McDonnell and Kenkelen build a comedy team, they plan to practice once or twice per week, writing and blocking scripts. Starting next semester, they hope to put on two to three shows each semester.
“We are trying to go beyond the standard of live performance,” McDonnell said.
McDonnell said St. Joe’s Live is planning to work with the film department to film sketches, as well as the music department for jazz musicians that will play between sketches, SNL style.
Matt Homiak ’20 is also a member of the improv club who is auditioning for St. Joe’s Live.
“Seeing [McDonnell and Kenkelen] perform on stage, I knew the guys were hilarious and had crazy good chemistry, so the club would have a very relaxed atmosphere with a, ‘We’ll see what happens’ inspiration,” Homiak said. “I’m a big SNL fan to begin with, plus I’ve wanted practice writing comedy for a long time.”
McDonnell and Kenkelen said they know what they are looking for in members of their comedy troupe.
“Creativity is huge, if they are able to come up with a weird funny idea for a script,” Kenkelen said. “Having an idea of what is funny and what isn’t, delivering things with comedic timing. We’re looking for skills like that.”
