Three friends and I attended a stand-up comedy event during my freshman year at Club Downunder. We were blown away by how funny the student comedians were, prompting us to keep going to FSU’s student comedy shows. We soon learned that there are so many different comedy groups on campus! These include 30in60, No Bears Allowed, Friday Night Live (FNL), and The Eggplant.
I’ve been enjoying FSU’s student comedy scene since that first show, and the student comedians never fail to give me a good laugh. However, I feel these groups tend to fly under the radar, and many people don’t know about them. Here is a quick breakdown of everything you need to know about FSU’s student comedy groups!
30in60
30in60 is a sketch comedy troupe that performs 30 sketches in 60 minutes. I enjoy this format because it allows the performers to include various materials in their show, keeping the audience from getting bored.
Upon arrival, audience members receive show menus listing all 30 sketch titles. Numbers corresponding with each sketch are posted along the sides of the stage. Between each sketch, the audience gets to call out which one they want to see next.
This always keeps me engaged and excited to see what’s next. A personal favorite sketch of mine is “New Frankenstein” from Halloween 2023. Don’t tell the other FSU student comedy groups, but 30in60 may be my favorite!
No Bears Allowed
No Bears Allowed is an improv group. Its group members have some seriously impressive skills, and their on-the-spot comedy makes me laugh every time. They always cycle through a few improv games and ask for audience participation in the form of suggested words to include in their improv exercises.
My favorite is an exercise meant to exchange letters between two people but performed by two pairs, each pretending to be one person. One pair alternates words while the other pair speaks at the same time. This always presents a very funny story that has the audience howling with laughter. No Bears Allowed hosts improv jams every Tuesday, so check out their Instagram for more info!
Friday Night Live
Friday Night Live, also known as FNL, is FSU’s version of Saturday Night Live. As someone who religiously watches SNL weekly, I find it exciting that FNL is on campus. They perform once a semester, so you don’t want to miss it! The show has a mix of live sketches and pre-recorded sketches, and they have a host and a musical guest.
It’s cool to see the balance of their live sketches’ heightened energy with their digital sketches’ added mastery. It’s genuinely like watching SNL live in Tallahassee, and honestly, it’s impressive.
The writers, performers, tech crew, directors, hosts, musicians, and everyone else working behind the scenes always do a fantastic job. This organization has so many working parts, and they all come together beautifully. You can watch old FNL content on their YouTube channel.
The Eggplant
The Eggplant is a satirical news network with primarily written content rather than performances, although occasionally, they will appear at shows featuring multiple comedy groups. Akin to The Onion, they publish funny news stories that are silly or untrue on their website. The writers are seriously hilarious, and there are a variety of articles to choose from.
Their website features many categories to click through until you find an article title that catches your eye. I recently enjoyed reading one entitled “Local Business Of 30 Years Closes Doors Because They’re Closing For The Night.” The Eggplant is a good source of content from student comedians that you can access anytime without waiting for a performance.
Stand-Up at Club Downunder
Club Downunder, located on the bottom floor of the Student Union, often has stand-up comedy nights. While these events usually feature many members of FSU’s student comedy groups, other comedians also perform at them.
While the hilarity of the performance varies from comedian to comedian, the stand-up nights are always fun to attend! Sometimes, CDU hosts collaborative events with several student comedy groups, so keep an eye on their social media to see when this might happen next.
FSU has extremely talented and funny student comedians, and I strongly encourage you to attend their performances when you can. You might even decide that you’re interested in joining one of the student comedy groups!
As a frequent audience member, it’s worth coming out to their shows, seeing live comedy, and laughing along with their jokes. They seem to be a passionate and collaborative community, and they always deliver great laughs. They deserve so much recognition, and I hope you check them out!
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