Scripps College’s Garrison Theater was full of energy as hundreds of 5C students and Claremont residents filtered in to watch an evening of stand-up performances. Comedians Jeff Wright and Joey Avery visited campus on Feb. 27 to perform as part of Scripps Presents’ “Laughing Matters” series.
“Laughing Matters” has brought several other comedians to campus, most recently Janelle James, who stars in Abbott Elementary. The series is an opportunity for students and Claremont community members to see stand-up performances without leaving Claremont.
“Usually you would have to travel to LA for something like this, so I think that having something on campus just made it more accessible,” audience member Geeta Karlcut SC ’26 said.
Also invited to the event was Wally Baram, stand-up comedian, actress and writer; however, Baram was unable to attend due to illness.
Wright, who has done stand-up performances across the country and written for “Late Night with Seth Meyers” since 2020, kicked off the night. He told lively stories full of colorful details about his childhood in Florida, the quirks of living in New York City and the challenges of having a positive demeanor.
“I’ve been told that I’ve got a smiley face and I’m a smiley person,” Wright said. “But the smile is why I couldn’t become a doctor. Because you can’t give bad news when your default face is a smile.”
Wright laughed with the audience throughout the night, especially while doing crowd work. He lightheartedly poked fun at the demographics of the room with quips like “It’s good to see your white faces,” and “Some of y’all are old, y’all know what y’all look like.”
As the second half of the event began, Avery built off Wright’s good-natured banter from the very beginning of his set.
“Where the fuck are we, dude? I’m very confused,” Avery said. “How many colleges do you have? You’re only supposed to have one, dude. Has anyone told you that?”
Avery, who often headlines comedy clubs, has been featured on Comedy Central and hosts his own podcast called “The Joey Show.” He first discussed topics like dating and technology before beginning some crowd work. He called on several different students in the audience, asking them about their majors, the stereotypes of their respective schools and their college’s mascots.
Upon learning that Sagehens are the Pomona-Pitzer mascot, Avery joked, “We’re a town made of 95 schools and colleges. We don’t want to get too aggressive. We just want a nice calm bird so that our football team spends their time reading.”
Although the friendly teasing of the Claremont community was received with laughter, later material in Avery’s set left many attendees quiet or unsure of how to react. Several jokes seemed to not fully resonate with the audience, and tension was sometimes palpable in the theater.
“There were quite a few comments that feel misogynistic at heart,” Karlcut said.
While joking about Scripps, Avery said, “So you have a whole college for women and you study women at that college? Okay, alright, that sounds cool. So I’m not allowed. I can’t learn about ladies. Everyone in the crowd is like, where the fuck is he going with this?”
“Have fun. Get fucked up. Get fucked up,” Avery said.
“I just want to know what’s going on over there, y’all staying up late, having pillow fights? I know, I’ve seen videos … Alright, those are different videos. But we all learn in our own ways,” he continued, laughing.
Bridget Kilpatrick SC ’26 also expressed concerns over misogyny in Avery’s set. She brought up the importance of comedians being aware of the space and community that they’re performing to, particularly in terms of making jokes about women that could be considered derogatory while at a historically women’s college like Scripps.
“I think it’s also kind of knowing your audience,” she said.
Karlcut added, “If you’re going to a Scripps Presents event, maybe not making misogynistic comments would be in your best interest.”
This is not the first time that a professional stand-up comedian was met with criticism during a “Laughing Matters” event. Just two years ago, comedian Mo Amer received considerable negative attention from the 5C community after a performance at Scripps wherein he used the N-word and mocked Asian accents.
While there were some poorly received moments throughout the night, it proved to be an opportunity for students to engage with comedy.
Some helpful words of wisdom from Avery helped end the night.
“Have fun. Get fucked up. Get fucked up,” he said. “Study, as well.“
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