Kyora Wallace, Contributing Writer |
As part of SUNY Oneonta’s celebration of Pride Month, the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center hosted the Gay AF comedy special. The event was held in the Hunt Union Waterfront Room and decorated accordingly. The room was set up as if you were walking into an actual comedy club, with white tablecloths, drinks, and a projection of a brick wall. There were also little LGBTQ+ flags on the chairs. Cute!
Sam Morrison went up first and had the audience laughing pretty quickly. Morrison is an upcoming comedian based in NYC. He’s made appearances on Travel, Sirius MX, and a bunch of commercials, and is set to appear in a PBS documentary. He’s also performed at over 30 colleges across the country, and has a one man show called “Hello Daddy.” Sam was great to watch. He made jokes about him being attracted to older men and what it was like for him dealing with his sexual urges growing up. “This was so much fun and well produced,” he said after the show.
Next up on the list was Ashley Gavin, a touring comedian who has been featured on Hulu, Fox, Sirius MX, AXS TV, Refinerey29, Elite Daily, and The Kicker. She’s also performed at colleges, along with many clubs around the country. She has a web series called “Gay Girl Straight Girl” that has over 400k views. She was hilarious as well. She made some interesting points about how horoscopes for women are what sports are for men (she’s a Scorpio by the way). She also made some jokes about her experience of being a lesbian but still getting hit on by guys. Gavin actually performed here once ten years ago. She said that “only ten people showed up, but it was a great ten people.” I asked her what it was like to come back to a bigger audience and she said, “I felt redeemed.”
When asked what kind of effect they think their comedy has in the world, Ashley said, “If my work makes them feel better that’s great. I’m one of many and that’s great.” Sam mentioned that “gay comedy in general has a place in the social dialogue.” He continued with, “There’s no gay male comedian part of the conversation.” I asked about them about their influences and they both mentioned Hanna Gatsby. Ashley said, “It took too long to get her on Netflix.” I spoke to some students who were at the show and they all had nothing but positive things to say. Freshman student Mitchell McMahon and he “loved it.” He said, “I’m glad that they have diverse acts.”
This event was a huge success. There was nothing but positive energy and both the performers were amazing. It was just what we needed on campus, and I hope to see more of it.
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