On Friday ,Sept.14,the Campus Activities Board (CAB) hosted Mike Birbiglia’s “Stand Up and Vote” comedy show in the Carol Woodhouse Wellin Performance Hall. Birbiglia is an American comedian who has acted in productions like

Trainwreck

and

Orange is the New Black

, produced the films

Sleepwalk with Me

and

Don’t Think Twice

, released four comedy albums, and written a book.

Birbiglia stated that he was inspired to create the “Stand Up and Vote” tour for two reasons. First, he claimed that not enough Americans vote during elections and do not consider their lack of participation to be an “emergency.” Second, as a father, Birbiglia thinks that the United States has “gotta figure this voting thing out” before his daughter is eligible to vote.

With these issues in mind, Birbiglia developed an event that tied together stand up comedy and voter registration. In addition to Hamilton College, the “Stand Up and Vote” tour has visited Ithaca College, Hofstra University, Pace University, Princeton University, and Rider University. The tour is donating its revenue from ticket sales to organizations like Headcount, Vote.org, and Rock the Vote, whose missions are to encourage Americans to vote and be politically active.

At the door to Wellin, viewers were greeted by CAB and the Hamilton Votes (HamVotes) committee. HamVotes representatives used the event as an opportunity to register students to vote and hand out information on the voting process.

In the most professional manner possible, Birbiglia opened with a disclaimer that hosting was not in his repertoire. After complimenting the College on its $70,000 tuition and Wellin’s “laugh panels”, Birbiglia recalled his own experience at Georgetown University. A notable component of Birbiglia’s self-deprecating humor was his vulnerability. Birbiglia admitted that he has struggled with health issues like REM sleep behavior disorder, cancer, Lyme disease, and diabetes, and did not feel prepared for fatherhood. However, he tactfully juxtaposed these somber topics by gushing about his wife, “Clo”, and daughter, Oona. Birbiglia’s candid opinions and sly jabs made his commentary on his personal life and American society strong bookends for the show.

In addition to Birbiglia, “Stand Up and Vote” featured comedians Melissa Villaseñor, Gary Gulman, and Phoebe Robinson. Villaseñor is a cast member on

Saturday Night Live

and was a semi-finalist on the sixth season of

America’s Got Talent.

In her routine, Villaseñor humorously criticized summer love, her poor Spanish skills, and living alone. However, it was her impressions that really had the crowd rolling.

Villaseñor highlighted her love for video games by mimicking a Sim and delivering an enthusiastic performance of

The Legend of Zelda

Theme, which she referred to as her “would-be stripper song.” Another highlight was Villaseñor’s real and hypothetical banters with her family, like imitating her mother’s “dirty backseat driving”, mimicking her grandmother’s disapproval, and her pompous rendition of Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me” during her description of her ideal death. Overall, Villaseñor’s quirky stage presence and broad vocal range made for an energetic performance that kept audience members on their toes.

Gulman was a finalist on NBC’s

Last Comic Standing

and has appeared on numerous late night shows, including

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

, Conan, and

The Late Show

with Stephen Colbert. Although many comedians use themselves as a source of humor, Gulman demonstrated a particular knack for this tactic because he was not afraid to exaggerate his strengths and flaws. He announced that he is an “authentic human being” for getting “off of straws,” and jokingly blamed his Jewish background for his inability to play hockey and his “creative” college nickname of “Jew”. Gulman also seamlessly sequenced unrelated topics to make amusingly perceptive conclusions on human behavior. He “blamed” Generation X’s rudeness on a clear lack of hydration, credited Christianity as being the “most successful spin off in history”, and reprimanded Chipotle eaters for “pointing” while ordering. By humorizing daily life and human nature, Gulman allowed the audience to relate to his content and even make fun of themselves in the process.

Robinson is a main actor in the Netflix movie

Ibiza

, created and co-hosts the podcast

2 Dope Queens

, and wrote

You Can’t Touch My Hair (And Other Things I Still Have to Explain)

. Robinson’s raw humor and conversational tone made her routine carefree and casual. For example, Robinson bonded with Ashley Huntington ’20 over a passion for women’s studies and “wanting to change the world,” and every spectator could relate to Robinson’s mortification as she elaborated on her embarrassing encounter in front of a crush. Although Robinson approached subjects like sex, racism, and political protest in a light-hearted manner, she was clearly thoughtful in her delivery, as her jokes got the audience to both laugh and appreciate the world from her perspective. As Robinson left the stage, audience members were left wishing they could receive a voicemail from Oprah too. Birbiglia solemnly closed the show with some advice for students: find a few issues to be passionate about and take time to research candidates before voting.

“Stand Up and Vote” was an event fit for all audiences, as it hosted a diverse lineup of personalities and sustained a relevant and consistently funny dialogue. Not only did the show entertain audiences, but it successfully promoted political engagement on campus through the presence of HamVotes and the messages delivered to spectators by the comedians.