I have to admit, I initially thought that a comedy night consisted of people nervously cracking bad jokes on a dimly lit stage. That’s what I had been led to believe by movies and television shows. I imagined the stage as a tiny podium in the back of a room, and the audience would sit in tiny circular tables in front. As a result, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to the “Higgins” show. After all, if I wanted a good laugh, I could just watch a funny video on Facebook or Youtube. Why go through the effort of going out to a theater in Manhattan in the middle of the night? I thought it was just going to be a waste of time. However, when I came out of the Upright Citizen’s Brigade theater that Sunday night, the only thought on my mind was “That was amazing”.

Upon entering the theater, I was surprised by the arrangement of the stage and the seats. The audience sat in rows right in front of a moderately sized stage, quite unlike what I had in mind. What surprised me, even more, was the fact that all the seats were filled. I had been informed by my friend, Charles, beforehand that this particular show was popular, but I had not expected it to be regarded that highly. The sheer amount of people present, combined with the cheerful mood throughout the room, drastically heightened my expectations of the show. Needless to say, I was not disappointed in the slightest.

The show started off with the three comedians picking a member of the audience, browsing through his Instagram page, and cracking jokes at the pictures on that page. Afterwards, they acted out a skit based on the pictures on the Instagram page. Finally, they asked the audience for one word and acted out a skit built upon that one word. Everything they performed was 100% improvised and yet, they appeared as if they’d been practicing for weeks. Their acting was hilarious, and they effortlessly transitioned from one scene to the next. Whenever one of the comedians decided to start a new scene, the others followed suit without any hesitation or need for a signal. They all had complete faith in each other’s judgment and abilities, something that could only have been developed through years of experience. Even while I was having trouble breathing due to laughter, I understood the experience and creativity behind each joke, gesture, and reference they made.

After stepping out of the theater that cold Sunday night, I realized just how much I had been taking comedy for granted, especially stand-up. What I watched could not be compared to the rehearsed jokes of internet comedians. Creating and enacting a humorous skit on the spot is much more difficult than making up one beforehand and then recording it being played out. The comedian needs to be able to quickly adapt to unfamiliar themes and still be able to be funny. One of my favorite parts of the show was during a scene where one of the comedians was facing off another in a game of “Magic the Gathering”, and he played “the entire cast of Game of Thrones”. He won the game as a result. It was clear that the comedian didn’t know much about the game in question, and neither did I nor most of the audience.  However, he used what little knowledge he did have and made a reference that the audience understood and found hilarious. I was guffawing like a madman after that one. After seeing that one show, I can safely say that I would come back for another night, without a doubt. Even if I end up sleep deprived and exhausted the following morning.