Comedy Central’s Eliot Chang had audience members cracking up at the Union Ballroom on Thursday evening.
The Union Program Council and the Asian American Student Union hosted the comedy show, free for students. The performance, which was followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience, was part of Chang’s “Easily Excited” U.S. comedy tour.
“He’s actually been here before, and he emailed us,” said Elizabeth Yang, AASU president and senior in human resource management. “Since it’s Asian Heritage Week, we thought it’d be a good idea to have him. Everybody loves comedy, and he’s doing a Q&A; about Asians in social media, so it fits right in.”
Chang has appeared on shows on the Showtime channel as well as on “Chelsea Lately” hosted by Chelsea Handler on the E! Network, but he got his start when he appeared on Comedy Central’s prominent show “Comedy Central Presents,” a half-hour program that showcases various stand-up comics from all over the U.S. Chang’s performance on the show was voted No. 2 in Comedy Central’s Stand Up Showdown in 2011.
Since then, Chang has traveled around the U.S. performing at universities like the University of Arizona and Virginia Tech. Chang also performs in comedy venues such as the Comedy Palace in California and the Comedy Spot in Arizona.
Chang’s stories about relationships, intimacy, race and questionable sexualities mixed with his outrageous personality had some audience members tearing up from laughter throughout his routine.
“I thought he was hilarious,” said Mason Carey, sophomore in life sciences. “He was really edgy and dirty, which might offend people, but I thought he was funny.”
Like Carey, most students attended the show for entertainment purposes. For Daniel Neely, junior in food sciences and journalism and winner of K-State’s first annual Last Comic Standing competition, the event provided an educational opportunity.
“I’m excited to get some insider knowledge about the routine,” Neely said. “Any chance I get to see some comedy and learn from it is good growth for me as a comedian.”
Neely, along with other audience members, enjoyed Chang’s style and the way he set up his jokes.
“He talked about subjects I have heard before, but it was in a way I’ve never heard before,” Neely said. “His follow-ups to his punchlines were actually some of his funnier stuff to me.”
After the show, the audience was able to text questions to Chang through a private number, and Chang could answer the anonymous questions.
This is the one of a few occasions the Asian American Student Union has paired with UPC to host an event. Michelle Foster, multicultural co-chair of UPC and senior in American ethnic studies, said she thinks UPC co-sponsoring events with other student organizations is a great idea.
“Some organizations don’t have the budget like we have,” Foster said. “Co-sponsoring is a way that they can bring their events, and we get to help them. Plus, it was very easy to jump onboard because they were already so organized with the event.”
