Humor U show this weekend

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BYU’s stand-up comedy club, Humor U, will be performing four shows this weekend. Take it as a chance for a fun date, a girls’ night out, or even just an opportunity to experience something new.

Humor U is noted as the largest and cleanest college comedy club in the world, and performs over 30 shows a year to over 12,000 people.

Braden Smith, a sophomore from Idaho Falls, has been to many Humor U shows and enjoys his 90 minutes of stand-up comedy every time.

“I like the show a lot. I’ve been to most of their performances this year and last year,” Smith said.

In the most recent show he attended, Smith said his favorite was when a Humor U member went on a rant about how Harry Potter is overrated since its plot is the same as Star Wars.

“That was pretty fantastic,” Smith said.

All members of Humor U are BYU students who volunteer their time and talent for no compensation. For them, the rewards are making people laugh and being able to connect with the BYU audience.

Trent Leinenbach, a senior from Vancouver, Wash. studying English, has been a member of Humor U for over a year and enjoys telling the jokes that will bring him and the audience together.

“I have a huge crush on the BYU audience,” Leinenbach said. “They have an excellent sense of humor and are very compassionate when I bomb. With the BYU crowd, you’re funny until proven not, rather than the other way around. Where else can you find such a classy group of individuals.”

Growing up, Leinenbach saw himself as an “awkward and gangly” kid who felt he would never fit in with the mainstream kids. One day, however, he had the powerful realization that the mainstream kids could in fact be the outsiders. To him, this was something worth laughing about. This realization has fueled his desire to be a part of a stand-up comedy club.

“You can’t go through life without making a complete fool out of yourself,” Leinenbach said. “When people try to pretend they’re cool, sexy, rich and fabulous they’re actually  just being a bunch of silly goofs and they deserve to be lovingly and mercilessly ridiculed until they start laughing with the rest of us.”

Leinenbach hopes that students who have seen a show will return this weekend for more and especially calls out to those who have never attended before. He explained that with each member having such a unique sense of style, there will be plenty to laugh at.

“It’s fun, it’s art, and it’s therapy,” Leinenbach said. “You’ll walk out feeling those endorphins flowing. You may even notice your dating life improves.”

MaCall Ovard, a senior from Meridian, Idaho, studying communication disorders, has yet to attend a show but feels it would be a good way to spend some time this weekend.

“I have never been to a show, but I would love to go,” Ovard said. “It’s so easy to get stressed out in college. It would be great to just relax and laugh with friends for 90 minutes.”

The Humor U performances will take place in the Maeser Building auditorium this weekend on Oct. 19 and 20. Each day will  have two shows; one at 7:30 and one at 9:30. Tickets are $4 at the Wilkinson Student Center information desk and $5 at the door.

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