DAB brings Nick Swardson to DePaul

In the afterglow of the comedy routine of the opening act, Nick Swardson comes onstage. The cheers of the crowd fill the air of the Merle Reskin Theatre. The crowd knows that they’re in for a night filled with tales of of gay robots, monkeys, booze, and poop jokes, and are ready and waiting for Swardson’s particular brand of humor. But long before he set foot on the stage, a group of dedicated people was working hard to get him there.

On Wednesday the 20^th, the comedian, known for his Comedy Central special and a number of television and film appearances, came to perform at DePaul’s Merle Reskin theater to an audience of Depaul University students. The event, organized by the DePaul Activity Board’s comedy committee, took a lot of time and energy to successfully put on. DAB traditionally puts on one large comedy show a year, with a few smaller performances peppering the academic calendar.

The process starts from the first day of Fall quarter, according to DAB comedy coordinator Bryan McMahon. First, he says, “There's venue research and booking (that always comes first) and then you can start looking for talent.” An offer is made to the talent agency that represents the performer, and once they accept and contracts get sent out, the Comedy Committee starts planning the logistics of the event. This includes tickets, programs, marketing, and equipment such as lights and microphones. “From there”, says McMahon, “it’s just making a list of things to accomplish and making sure all the loose ends are tied up by show night.”

Early on in the process, Swardson was chosen by the Comedy Committee in a brainstorming meeting. After looking into several comedians, “Nick Swardson was a popular candidate and he had the availability and price range we were looking for, so we just went for it.”

According to McMahon, Swardson was not a very hard performer to book. “The agents I spoke with to get the ball rolling were both very helpful from the very beginning. There's definitely still a process to it and things don't happen overnight, but both he and his agents seemed very open and willing to put on a show for DePaul.”

The committee’s choice was vindicated as the comedian performed to the crowd of students filling every seat of the 98 year-old theatre. With a perfect combination of old and new material, Swardson kept the air filled with laughter. According to self-professed fan Caroline Selvig, “The crowd reacted really well, I think the majority of people really enjoyed the show and thought it was really funny.” Ryan Sabin, a psychology major at DePaul, says that Swardson “definitely came prepared with new laughs. It was a good time.”

CCP Nick Swardson

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Multimedia:
Pictures
Swardson performance from Comedy Central Presents

Sources:
Brian McMahon
bmcmaho6@students.depaul.edu
773.325.7446

Ryan Sabin
847.691.5672

Caroline Selvig
cselvig@gmail.com