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Preacher Lawson Keeps Crowd Laughing With Stand-Up Act During ‘Campus Comedy Night’

Comedian Preacher Lawson, along with stand-up comedian Kate Sisk, took the stage on Wednesday night at Eisenhower Auditorium for “Campus Comedy Night.”

For the first time ever, the Center for the Performing Arts Student Advisory Council brought together the two comedians and Dirby, a Penn State comedy troupe for women and non-binary people, for a night filled with laughter and entertainment.

Lawson was a semi-finalist on the hit TV show “America’s Got Talent” back in 2017, which is when he made his on-screen stand-up debut. In 2019, he was then invited back to the show to compete in “America’s Got Talent: The Champions” and “Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions,” where he placed in the final round.

The comedian most recently appeared on an episode of “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” in late March and will be performing on tour internationally in June.

The comedy show kicked off at 8 p.m., with Sisk performing bits about their dating experiences, sex life, dating apps, and life as a gender-nonconforming person.

Although Sisk is currently a comedian by trade, they are also an amateur drag king and contributing writer for “The Onion.”

Throughout the act, Sisk interacted with the audience and included some members in the bits, which provoked laughter from the crowd.

Sisk asked the crowd if they were on any dating apps and where people meet each other. Members of the crowd shouted out “high school” and “the gym,” which led Sisk to talk about their experience and thoughts about hookup and dating culture.

Towards the middle of the performance, Sisk told the audience a story about how they “bought a d*ck at the store.”

“I wanted to get a realistic one, and I realized I had no idea what it would look like if I got one,” Sisk said.

Sisk continued the act by sharing stories with the audience about previous performances, where some people in the crowd weren’t very fond of her jokes.

“You guys are a fun crowd,” Sisk said. “Sometimes I’ll encounter a transphobic person in the crowd… I think it comes more out of confusion than anything else sometimes.”

After Sisk’s act, the members of Dirby — Alexis Altimont, Krista Hauseman, Lauren Langan, Olivia Long, Kylie Putt, and Kate Vera — performed an improv skit, “Bartender.”

During the skit, one of the members acted as the bartender and had to guess which fictional characters the other members of the group were posing as. One member of the group performed as Shrek, using a half-Scottish, half-British accent, which caused abrupt laughter from the crowd.

Before the headliner took the stage, Penn State senior Alexis Altimont performed a stand-up with topics ranging from college life to “The Hunger Games.”

Soon after, Lawson entered the stage energetically with a long round of applause from the audience, which was amped up and ready for some more comedy.

Right from the jump, Lawson was fully engaged with the audience, asking the crowd what Penn State was known for. Some members of the crowd then shouted “ice cream” and “the Den,” leading to immediate reaction from the audience and Lawson getting side tracked from his act.

“I get distracted a lot, I’m going to be honest,” Lawson said. “I have ADHD, ADD, ABCDEFG.”

Some of Lawson’s bits included jokes regarding an audience member being vegan, his first time drinking, and being bullied when he was younger, among others.

Oftentimes, Lawson would tease and interact with not only various audience members, but also the sign language interpreter, who stood beside him throughout the performance. Lawson praised her for being able to keep with his act and translating all the random jokes he came up with on the spot.

During his act, Lawson showed off his quick comedic timing, as well as his comical physicality and impressions.

Lawson would frequently callback to one of his bits earlier on in the show about how he wishes he was a superhero called “Suck-Man,” who got his powers from a radioactive mosquito.

Toward the end of his act, Lawson chugged several water bottles, leading the audience to burst into laughter. The comedian then poured his last water bottle all over himself, threw his shirt into the crowd, and started dancing, causing them to hoot and holler.

The comedy show ended with a pleased audience and Lawson slightly wet.

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About the Author

Evan Halfen

Evan Halfen is a senior broadcast journalism major from Newark, DE, and is Onward State's community manager and an associate editor. Evan loves all things Penn State, tomfoolery, tailgating, being loud, just about any beach, the Birds, and his puppy, Wentzy. You can direct all your tips, roasts, and jokes to his email: [email protected] or Instagram: @evan.halfen.

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