Working stand-up comics – including 2 alums – add authenticity to class

Stand-up comedy is about more than belly laughs. It’s an art form that delves into cultural impact and work ethic as well as funny jokes.

Students in “The Art of Stand-Up Comedy” – an artist Honors seminar team-taught by communication professor Dr. Julie O’Reilly and marketing professor Dr. Salil Khetani – learned about the intricacies of the profession this semester as they analyzed stand-up comedy material, studied the process of creating and presenting stand-up comedy, and formulated opinions related to stand-up comedy.

They also had an awesome opportunity to learn from some of the best in the business that it takes a lot of really hard work to earn the really big laughs as a successful stand-up comedian.

Last week, the students zoomed with four working comics, two of whom – Brian Regan ’80 and Tracey Ashley ’91 – are ’Berg alumni who have indeed found success on the comedy circuit. 

“Having working comics with varying levels of experience, from 10 years to more than 30 years, talking to our students about their experiences was invaluable,” Julie said. “They shared their writing processes, their favorite jokes and how to recover from ‘bombing’ on stage to give students an understanding of what it is like to perform stand-up professionally, whether on a college campus, in a comedy club or at a corporate gig.”

Both Brian and Tracey have been generous contributors to Julie’s class over the years, either in person or virtually, as has Jay Black, a comic Julie first met when he performed on Heidelberg's campus back in 2009. Jay and Jordan Makin, a friend of Salil's from the Salt Lake City comedy circuit, rounded out the virtual guests last week.

Kirsten Kracht, a senior biochemistry major who enrolled in the seminar to fulfill an Honors program requirement, enjoyed the interactions with the professional comics. “I’ve only watched a few comedians throughout my life, and this class introduced me to so many more,” Kirsten said. “The best part was … talking to them and asking them questions about their life on the road.

“We don’t see all the work they put into comedy behind the scenes, so getting to hear about that was really cool,” Kirsten added. “I liked hearing about what motivates them and how they bounce back from failures. It was really nice to see how down to earth they were and how excited they were to talk to college students.”

For Salil, meeting Brian, even if virtually, was awesome. “I have been a huge fan of Brian Regan since I saw his pop-tart clip in 2013 and it was surreal having him zoom into class,” he said.

Those classes provided an authenticity to the course that Salil – whose hobby and passion is stand-up – really appreciated.

“All of the comedians provided great insights about the art, craft, career, trends and issues regarding stand-up comedy,” he said. “It was great learning, not only for the students but for me as well.”

As the culmination to the course, the students will perform an original, 3-minute stand-up routine they have been preparing. Throughout the semester, they have practiced with joke-writing exercises and prompts, according to Julie.

While Kirsten has enjoyed the course and the “very funny” professional comedians, she has no intention of choosing a career in stand-up. “I like watching comedians but I don’t want to do it myself,” she said. Instead, she has her sights set on a career in organ transplantation research.

In the end, Julie's hope for her students is simple: “I hope they develop an appreciation of stand-up as an art form.”