When film and television senior Symeon Platts auditioned for Comedy Corner a year and a half ago, he was nervous to subject himself to judgement from the student-run organization’s current members. Platts now serves as Comedy Corner’s producer and will serve as a judge at this semester’s auditions.

“I was very nervous at the beginning,” Platts said. “However, there was a friendly environment at the auditions. It was like hanging out. The people were nice and the process was like milk and cookies.”

Open auditions for the mainstay campus club are Sept. 17 in the Student Union Memorial Center.

More than a year later, Platts said he still gets “butterflies in his stomach” from pre-show excitement. The nature of the group’s material, he added, also keeps him on his toes.

“I don’t want the audience to think I’m a bad person,” Platts said, commenting on the often less-than-politically-correct content performed by Comedy Corner. “We have our own niche that appeals to a certain demographic.”

Zoë Webman, a visual communications junior, said she has been thinking about auditioning.

“Stand-up comedy appeals to me. It would feel good to be funny enough for an established group like Comedy Corner,” Webman said.
This year, Comedy Corner has a performance scheduled for Sept. 13 with Tucson Improv Movement, an upcoming performance for charity, a Halloween show and collaborations with other comedy groups from Arizona State University.

Comedy Corner, founded in 1979, owes part of its success to dedication and keeping performing fun. The group has meetings twice a week to cover exercises and workouts and play games that are featured during their live shows in the Cellar Bistro on Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m.

Platts said he would like to, through various outlets, stay involved in comedy after graduation.

“I’d like to think I won’t stop laughing,” he added. “It seems you can’t laugh when you’re an adult.”