By Gage Miskimen
Parties are common in college towns such as Iowa City, but there’s one party that happens once a month with a comedic twist.
Around 50 college students packed into a hot, cramped living room and took their seats on metal folding chairs to watch their peers perform standup comedy on Sept. 22.
“The Secret Standup Show” is a group of young Iowa City comedians and friends who host comedy shows around the city every month.
Evan Hull and Alex Moore, both juniors at the University of Iowa, are the hosts of the shows, continuing the tradition started by improv student groups in 2014.
Hull said the purpose is for young comics to have a chance to perform standup in a safe environment.
“The point is to create a safe, fun space not only for the comics but also for the audience,” he said. “It’s not a place where you will get heckled and booed. You don’t have to feel like you’re on stage. You can feel like you’re with your friends just talking.”
Moore said the show started two years ago when he was a freshman. His older brother and his friends started the show.
“They were involved in the improv scene and wanted to dabble in standup,” he said. “At the first Secret Comedy Show, my brother was performing, and I was just in the audience, and I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to do that next time.’ ”
Moore said the show is a good way for students to try standup for the first time, and the show has gained attention.
“It’s just really fun,” he said. “This is my first year hosting. People graduated, and they passed down the hosting to Evan and me. It blew up last year as far as people wanting to watch it as well as participate.”
Hull said performing in front of a crowd can be terrifying to some people, and the Secret Standup Show offers a comforting alternative compared with other places in Iowa City.
“Open mics suck,” he said. “There can be 30 to 40 comics, and the only other people there are other comics, and nobody’s genuinely laughing.”
Moore agreed, saying though the comedy scene in Iowa City tends to be a social one, it’s better to have a close group of comics performing at the secret shows.
“There was interest in standup before the Secret Comedy Show, but students had to go to open mics at local bars, and those aren’t the most friendly crowds, so our show offers a space to not only give standup a try but to keep coming back, and continuing to perform and work on material,” Moore said.
UI student Elaine Stewart, a comic who hosted the first show this semester, performed for the first time at the most recent show.
“I went to most of the shows last year, and now it’s at my house, which is cool,” she said. “I did standup for the first time at this year’s show, and it was really fun. I just really like the atmosphere that these shows have, and I hope to carry it on.”
Hull said the Secret Comedy Show has a Facebook page in which the organizers create events and invite people who have been to past shows or people who want to come.
“If we don’t get enough comics for the lineup, we usually reach out and ask around,” he said. “Usually, we can get seven or eight comics a night. Whoever really wants to perform can perform.”
