University Park, Pa. -- Two Penn State student comedic efforts are under way this week. Students of Phroth, Penn State's humor magazine and producer of the Phollegian, host the first Phroth Alumni Comedy Show this Saturday (April 24) in honor of its centennial year. In addition, a team of four Penn State students compete in online voting beginning Thursday, April 22, during round one of the 3rd Annual Rooftop Comedy National College Comedy Competition (NCCC), presented by cable television network TBS.
The Phroth Alumni Comedy Show is scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday, April 24, in the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center. The two-hour show, which features four of Phroth’s most successful comedic alums and consists of a mixture of sketch, stand-up and video comedy, is free and no tickets are required.
Performances are scheduled by Matt Little (Late Show with David Letterman, SNL), Jeff Rubin (CollegeHumor.com), Dan Hopper (BestWeekEver.tv) and Nate Kushner (A Week of Kindness). The opening act includes a performance by Penn State’s Full Ammo Improv and two sets by Phroth's own stand-up comedians.
Phroth, a premier college humor magazine, is written, produced and distributed by Penn State students. It is one of the oldest publications on campus, tracing its roots back to 1909. Phroth produces two magazines and three newspapers every academic year.
For more information about Phroth and its Alumni Comedy Show, visit www.phroth.com or e-mail Rebecca Eisenberg, editor in chief, at rye5003@psu.edu.
In March, four Penn State students were chosen during a live event to represent Penn State in the National College Comedy Competition. The NCCC invites 32 colleges across the nation to compete against each other to find the funniest stand-up college. Three elimination rounds of online voting in a bracket system will advance the four funniest teams to the 2010 Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival, held June 10-13. Four "MVPs" also will perform at the TBS Presents a "Very Funny" Festival: Just For Laughs in Chicago, held June 15-19.
The NCCC's first elimination round, the Regional Rival Match, begins Thursday, April 22, and pits Penn State against Temple University. The public will vote April 22-26 on individual performance clips from each team to select their favorite 16 teams to advance in the competition.
Penn State's comedy team page is at http://www.rooftopcomedy.com/college/standup/schools/PSU online.
The bracket listing all 32 schools competing is at http://www.rooftopcomedy.com/college/standup/bracket online.