There have been several comedians in the past to come through the Mississippi State University campus, but the Campus Activities Board is bringing a 20-year-old to entertain the student body this month.Taylor Williamson, who has been doing stand-up comedy since he was 17, will perform in the Union Ballroom at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
CAB found Williamson at the National Association for Campus Activities Conference. The conference has booths with different comedians, artists, performers, magicians and other acts that can be brought to college campuses.
“Taylor was the highlight of the comedy [showcase],” said John MacArthur, the entertainment division head of CAB.
Williamson has performed at clubs in Los Angeles, including the Comedy and Magic Club and Hollywood Improv. He has performed at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, and he was on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
MacArthur said unlike other comedians who use crude jokes, Williamson presents his jokes in a tasteful way that students can relate to.
“He has a very dry sense of humor, and it was something very different from what everyone else was doing. It was smart humor, not just raunchy sex jokes,” said Patrick Young, the student director of CAB.
“He’s not over the top. It’s not jump in your face kind of humor,” Young said. “You have to stay with him to get the joke. He’s quick, but in the psychological quick [way].”
Young said that the chance to see a comedian in Mississippi is pretty rare, so he’s excited about the show.
“Spend an hour-and-a-half from studying for a laugh. Everyone likes to laugh. I guarantee that he will make you laugh,” MacArthur said.
“You can see a couple of his clips on Myspace. I just thought he was so hilarious and fresh.”
This is the first show CAB will host in the new Union Ballroom.
“It will be our first event in there, and I’m a little nervous about that, but hopefully it will go well,” Young said.
MacArthur said he hopes to fully use the resources of the new ballroom.
Chase Booth, an industrial engineering major, attended a couple of the previous comedy shows put on by CAB, and he said they seemed successful.
“[Comedy’s] a good way to entertain people. I think it reaches a wide variety of people,” Booth said. “So many events seem to single out certain groups, but who doesn’t like to laugh?”
“[Williamson will] probably draw a different crowd, but still be pretty successful,” he said.
MacArthur said he wants this to be the show people remember for this year.
“It is the night before Valentine’s Day, and it’s free, so if you’d like to take your sweetheart or your date to something different, it’s going on,” Young said.
Attendance has increased this year for CAB events, MacArthur said.
“For MSU Idol we’ve had record numbers of people,” he said. “I hope the students take advantage of a free event. I have a feeling that he’s going to be a big hit on this campus.”
CAB will also host Battle of the Bands on March 4, at the State Theatre, which will have all Mississippi bands. CAB will be selling “livefree” wrist bands before this show.
For more information about CAB events visit www.msstate.edu/org/cab.