Black Sheep Burrito & Brews had their biweekly comedy open mic night Wednesday. There were a total of 10 comedians performing, including Marshall students Rebecca Fitzgerald, interpersonal communications major, and Nathan Thomas, senior broadcast communications major.

“This was my first time attending comedy night. I had so much fun,” Katie Norman, junior English and biology double major said. “The comedians had really funny content and being a part of the audience was exciting. The comedians really include the audience in their performance. It made me feel like I was helping come up with their content.”

Part of Thomas’ act was asking the audience to help him make a poem to try to figure out what the rest of the letters in turnpike stand for. There were very colorful words suggested by the audience.

Williams Johns, a comedian from Lexington, made his first appearance at Black Sheep and said it was well worth the two-hour drive.

“It was a cool experience,” Johns said. “The comedians that notified me of this event are very supportive. The venue was unique because of how tight the room was where we performed. It gave me a comforting feeling.”

Johns said he is new to comedy and he started doing standup in March.

Ian Nolte, one of the comedians that helps organize the comedy night, said, “Open mic is really more of an ‘exhibition’. The purpose of performing here is to work on the flow, pace and delivery of your jokes. We really use this event to test out new jokes and see how the crowd reacts to them as we prepare for bigger events with longer time slots. Open mic is really intended to perfect your craft.”

Fitzgerald has been performing at the Black Sheep since 2012.

“Stand-up comedy has really helped me with my confidence,” she said. “As a comedian you need to have a certain element inside you where you command the attention of the crowd.  Stage presence is very important in comedy and developing that aspect of my personality has helped me tremendously.”

Nolte, a crowd favorite, opened his act saying, “Don’t worry, daddy is home.” The audience immediately started clapping and laughing.

“Ian Nolte is the man,” Abby Pullen, a senior at Marshall University, said with a smile. “I come to this event all the time and he’s always a fan favorite. He has such a good rapport with the crowd because, when he performs, you know it. His energy, enthusiasm and presence is definitely felt when he performs his act.”

Nolte said stage presence is something he has been working on since he started doing standup comedy.

“Outside of comedy I’m usually a quiet guy,” he said, “but when I’m about to perform I can be my true self, there is a total transformation inside of me. When I get behind a microphone, I have all the confidence in the world and the crowd loves it.”

Stage presence is not only important for comedians individually, but also for the following comedians after each performance.

“This is really a team effort,” Nolte said. “When you perform you want to get the crowd engaged and establish a certain energy level so the next person rides the wave and continues to build off of what you just did”.

Kyle Camacho can be contacted at [email protected].