When looking for something to do on any particular evening in Blacksburg, senior English major Patrick McCarthy thinks there are only two ways to really spend your money.
“If you’ve ever paid $6 on a Saturday night just to get harassed on the dance floor at TOTS,” McCarthy said, “why wouldn’t you pay $6 on a Wednesday to get harassed by a professional?”
McCarthy is one of multiple student stand-up comedians who perform during Comedy Night at Attitudes on Wednesdays. Noticing his affinity for stand-up at a young age, McCarthy entered into a competition at a comedy club after he turned 18 years old.
“I was pretty nervous. When I got onstage, I had a series of different stage fright symptoms,” McCarthy said. “I had complete cotton mouth, my hands were shaking, I was speaking a mile a minute. My jokes were coming out like rockets.”
Regardless of whether the crowd was charmed by his uncontrollable nerves or his entertaining nature, McCarthy won first place that night. From that experience alone, he was hooked.
“When you get up there,” McCarthy said, “and you got a joke killing, the whole crowd roaring with laughter, the immediate feedback you get is so rewarding.”
Anthony Quinn, a first-year masters student in sociology and weekly master of ceremonies for Comedy Night, much like McCarthy, understands how enchanting stand-up can be.
“For me, even though it’s only one day a week, it’s like therapy,” Quinn said. “Just getting up there, having people listen to you and then getting that first reaction, that first laugh, is a really good feeling.”
Quinn, a Delaware native, came to Virginia Tech based on a strong recruiting effort by the university at his high school.
“The two chicks from Tech were extremely hot, so I thought it had to be a good deal,” Quinn said.
After arriving in Blacksburg, Quinn got his start as a comedian after finally surrendering to the demands of a close friend.
“One of my best friends at Tech convinced me I should do a show, and then went out with me to pitch the idea to businesses,” Quinn said.
After visiting multiple venues, Bailey’s, which is now Cabo Fish Taco, caught on to the idea.
“The show was awesome. I was a nervous wreck,” Quinn said, “but everything turned out great.”
From that debut, Quinn went on to participate in Hokie House’s former Comedy Night, before being offered a position to emcee at Attitudes.
“It’s great. I’m making about zero to $50 a week,” Quinn said. “Honestly, I just love to go to it so I would however much they wanted to pay me. As any comedian will tell you, it’s addicting.”
While both McCarthy and Quinn had fairly similar comedic paths, sophomore English major Tim Unkenholz took a more unorthodox approach to get his start.
“I was just bored freshman year,” Unkenholz said, who began performing at Attitudes on a Wednesday night last year.
“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.”