Chicken soup for the college soul: Chris Fleming’s comedy

If I am being totally honest, my attendance of Chris Fleming’s performance was something I did pretty much on a whim. Despite my almost unhealthy level of YouTube viewing, I’ve had no idea about Fleming’s endeavors as a stand up comedian or of his hilarious online content, including his Gayle series and other utterly bizarre videos like Gigi the Christmas Snake (which I highly implore you to check out if you have a knack for unorthodox comedy). A couple of my friends attempting to convince me to go managed to win me over after showing me some of Fleming’s online content, which I got a good kick out of. While waiting for the event to commence, I started to build up this sense of anticipation, though I can’t exactly pinpoint why. Remember, I have seldom seen anything that Fleming has done beforehand, but for some reason I was beyond excited to see him perform.

While Fleming’s performance took up the majority of the time spent whilst in the Great Room, several members of the student group SIT performed their own comedic bits as a preface to the main event. While each of the rotating acts was brief in duration, I did find myself getting invested and having a good laugh at the student performances. Whether it was precision timing on certain puns and punch lines or just plain wit, these performances were a wonderful way not only to prepare the crowd for the main event, but also to exhibit the otherwise shrouded comedic talent of my fellow members of the student body.

After several of the warm-up acts, Fleming finally took the stage and began his performance. It wasn’t even about five seconds into the routine when the audience began to burst into echoing laughter from Fleming’s sheer wit. Incorporating audience interaction with an impeccable degree of stage presence, Fleming absolutely dominated his performance, leaving the entire Great Room in a state of almost constant laughter. What actually surprised me about Fleming’s routine was his usage of visual and musical comedic gags via screen projection. While the projections themselves were indeed funny, they caught myself and the rest of the audience off-guard to the point where it elicited more laughs than any of us could anticipate.

Throughout my time at the show, I would periodically turn to my friends only to see them writhing in the sheer hilarity that was ensuing onstage. Honestly, their reactions alone made me hysterical with laughter, making the already funny show that Fleming was putting on even more hilarious.

During one of those times when I turned to them, a thought popped into my head that didn’t just make me think further about how much fun I was having, but also how comedy shows, like the one Fleming was performing, are so important to the college experience. They give us a moment to refrain from the demanding and stressful routine that is our course loads and commitments and allow us to take time to sit back and laugh with our peers.

Honestly, you really do have to appreciate how the medium of comedy can join everyone together in a college setting. For that, Fleming, I thank you so much for putting on such a wonderful show.

Let’s face it; everyone loves comedy in some shape or form. While everyone’s sense of humor differs from one another, there is something unifying about being able to have a good laugh with a group of people. From this notion, I think it begins to make a lot of sense that comedy events on campuses, such as ours, are so popular. They give us the opportunity to get together and escape the stress and pressure of our daily routine that we take so seriously and lets us not only relax but also see a silly side of others that we would otherwise not see.