Spring Break
Anderson rolls out the laughs in S.U.
Kaylah Baca
Issue date: 3/20/09 Section: Focus
Amy Anderson performed a crowd-pleasing stand-up comedy show Thursday night at the Student Union Theater. As the petite Anderson ran to the microphone at the beginning of her routine, it was obvious that her energy would be infectious.
With her quick wit, eccentric personality and speedy chatter, it was like she couldn't wait to dish out the jokes.
"The comedy committee wanted to have [Anderson] come to UConn because we were really impressed by what she brought to the stage," said Brian Manotok, the comedy chair for SUBOG, which hosted the event. "Although sometimes she's labeled as a skinny Margeret Cho or an Asian Ellen [DeGeneres], she is really her own brand of comic."
A native of South Korea, or, as she put it, "not the scary we-will-shoot-you Korea," Anderson was adopted into a Swedish family from Minnesota. Part of her comedy routine consisted of poking fun at her Midwestern parents and at her childhood, growing up as the only Asian kid in her town.
"It was just a bunch of white people and me!" Anderson exclaimed, laughing about the fact that she could always be picked out of a crowd.
Asians were the butt of the joke for a portion of Anderson's act and she did not hesitate to pick on herself. Her lists of stereotypes Asians suffer through were well received by the crowd.
One of the fun facts about Asians she talked: they lack a specific enzyme that essentially leads to their getting drunk faster, and they therefore constitute more than half the world's population.
"Another interesting fact about Asians - we can't tell what nationality other Asians are [either]," said Anderson.
She talked about how, before being a comedian, she had originally wanted to be a music teacher.
"After being a teaching assistant one day I thought, 'nope, this isn't for me.' It's a lot of getting up early and being underappreciated," Anderson said.
Anderson's voice impersonations were dead-on and her quirky facial expressions only added to the humor of her material.
"She was funny in random ways, like when she would suddenly burst out into crazy screaming," said Michael Healey, an 8th-semester history and philosophy double major.
The lively comedian didn't hesitate to interact with the audience either, asking questions about UConn such as, "What do we do for fun around these isolated parts?"
Anderson even gave the audience some unsolicited advice: "Have fun in college, and go out and do some deviant crap!
"Also don't get married young, and especially to someone ugly," she added.
With her quick wit, eccentric personality and speedy chatter, it was like she couldn't wait to dish out the jokes.
"The comedy committee wanted to have [Anderson] come to UConn because we were really impressed by what she brought to the stage," said Brian Manotok, the comedy chair for SUBOG, which hosted the event. "Although sometimes she's labeled as a skinny Margeret Cho or an Asian Ellen [DeGeneres], she is really her own brand of comic."
A native of South Korea, or, as she put it, "not the scary we-will-shoot-you Korea," Anderson was adopted into a Swedish family from Minnesota. Part of her comedy routine consisted of poking fun at her Midwestern parents and at her childhood, growing up as the only Asian kid in her town.
"It was just a bunch of white people and me!" Anderson exclaimed, laughing about the fact that she could always be picked out of a crowd.
Asians were the butt of the joke for a portion of Anderson's act and she did not hesitate to pick on herself. Her lists of stereotypes Asians suffer through were well received by the crowd.
One of the fun facts about Asians she talked: they lack a specific enzyme that essentially leads to their getting drunk faster, and they therefore constitute more than half the world's population.
"Another interesting fact about Asians - we can't tell what nationality other Asians are [either]," said Anderson.
She talked about how, before being a comedian, she had originally wanted to be a music teacher.
"After being a teaching assistant one day I thought, 'nope, this isn't for me.' It's a lot of getting up early and being underappreciated," Anderson said.
Anderson's voice impersonations were dead-on and her quirky facial expressions only added to the humor of her material.
"She was funny in random ways, like when she would suddenly burst out into crazy screaming," said Michael Healey, an 8th-semester history and philosophy double major.
The lively comedian didn't hesitate to interact with the audience either, asking questions about UConn such as, "What do we do for fun around these isolated parts?"
Anderson even gave the audience some unsolicited advice: "Have fun in college, and go out and do some deviant crap!
"Also don't get married young, and especially to someone ugly," she added.
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