Stand-up comedian and original writer for collegehumor.com, Steve Hofstetter, performed live at Burt Kahn Court Friday, as part of Student Programming Board’s Welcome Week.
Opening for him was Quinnipiac’s own Brad DePrima, a senior film major from Ridgefield, Conn. Starting out in high school, DePrima discovered his hidden flair for comedy at a talent show.
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“My first time ever doing stand-up was my senior year of high school in front of a sold out crowd of like 1,000 students and parents,” DePrima said. “I did pretty well, I was very nervous. It was something I never thought I would do.”
DePrima is still new to the comedy scene and is still searching for his defined comedic style that an audience will enjoy.
“I try to be as self-deprecating as I can because I feel like that’s what people can laugh at,” DePrima said.
Freshman Christina Attard enjoyed both DePrima’s performance as well as Hofstetter’s.
“I thought it was great,” Attard said. “I love that a senior was the opening act. Overall, it was really funny,” Attard said.
Visitor Joe Palagonia had a similar reaction to the night’s performances.
“I thought Steve was funny. I go to a lot of comedy shows and I thought he was great,” Palagonia said.
Hofstetter has a much different comedic style compared to DePrima’s.
“I am a social critic,” Hofstetter said. “I try to find things that people accept in life without questioning them and I question them.”
Hofstetter considers his biggest comedic influence to be Bill Hicks and aspires to be like him without hating his audience.
“I do aspire to be as fiercely honest as [Hicks] was,” Hofstetter said.
According to Hofstetter, there is a vast difference between watching a comedian on TV or the Internet and seeing him or her live.
“A lot of people think that they understand stand-up because they see it on television, and there is nothing like going to a live show,” Hofstetter said. “It is the difference between watching Sports Center and actually going to a ballgame. People can watch all they want on Comedy Central or YouTube, but until they come to a live show, they don’t know what stand-up comedy really is.”
