Collegiate Times

Anthony Quinn, the Comedy Night show's master of ceremonies, entertains the crowd prior to the show.

“I’d found that I could express myself best through humor, and had looked up comedy clubs around Blacksburg,” Unkenholz said, who had to sneak around to avoid telling his roommate. “I didn’t want to tell him that I was going to the club to perform, so it made me feel like a secret agent almost.”

Unkenholz’s first time on stage came as somewhat of a surprise.

“Anthony asked me if I was ready,” Unkenholz said, “and I told him I was even though I wasn’t. I wasn’t really prepared, and God, it was nerve-wracking.”

Although Unkenholz said he was nervous and uncomfortable in front of the crowd, that first experience has somewhat defined his style.

“I think what works for me is I’m a completely awkward person, so people are more laughing at me, but I’m totally fine with that,” Unkenholz said. “It works for me, just being the weird guy.”

Still fairly new to the stand-up scene, Unkenholz feels that the welcoming crowd at Attitudes has helped him begin to develop his own niche in the comedy circuit.

“The crowd is just so, well, usually drunk, but so loving whether you do well or not. They’re very forgiving,” Unkenholz said. “Growing up at this venue is a good thing.”

The openness and excitement of the audience has helped new comedians take those first steps onto the stage and never look back from there.

“Getting on the stage for the first time is the hard part,” McCarthy said. “You have to evaluate what will actually be funny to a mass audience. It’s not just a funny personality — there’s a lot of writing and preparing too.”

For Unkenholz, this passion must be paired with the propensity to meet the challenge presented by performing live each week with an audience that expects a laugh. Still, the payoff and the feeling after a performance are worth it for the young student.

“It’s awesome. Everyone’s giving you high fives, just being there for you,” Unkenholz said. “Then you sit in the back and all that pressure releases, the butterflies in your stomach are gone, and you’re just happy that you pulled through and didn’t suck. It’s a great feeling.”

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A version of this article appeared in the Mar 2 issue of the Collegiate Times.