By JESS PEREGOY

jep024@latech.edu

 

Australian comedian James Smith kept Tech students laughing March 14 in Tolliver Hall.

Smith has been in the United States for a year now and makes his rounds in comedy clubs in Manhattan and around the country to spread his humor from “down under.”

Most of his jokes, with a comic timing similar to that of Jerry Seinfeld, dealt with health, culture, politics and 1,900 lines in the United States, sprinkled with of vulgarity.

“It’s sort of a novelty thing really,” Smith said. “I can make jokes about my experiences, and over here, not only are people digesting the jokes, they’re also trying to understand my accent.”

However, Smith said the standard of comedy in the United States is much more advanced than in Australia, and with the industry being much bigger, he has been able to find more work.

Smith said his visit to Louisiana had been enjoyable.

“Louisiana has been in the news so much with the hurricanes; it was good to come down here and see what it was like,” Smith said. “I’ve loved the South so far. Everyone is really attentive, polite and seems to enjoy [my act].”

Many  students attended the event in Tolliver, and Smith involved students in the audience, poking fun at one student for living on a highway and another for hunting, bringing the laughter to another level.

Rachel Baker, Union Board’s publicity chair and a family and child studies major, said she thought Smith was humorous and was happy to see the event bring out a large crowd.

“We try to plan these free events to get students involved on campus with a lot of different things to do,” Baker said.

Rachel Robicheaux, a junior merchandising and consumer studies major, said she thought Smith was “really funny” and enjoyed his style of comedy.

“I loved his accent,” Robicheaux said. “He loves America. It’s so cute.”

Robicheaux said she had “heard good things about [Smith] and thinks Union Board’s events are a great way to bring people together on campus.”

Union Board plans free events for students to get students involved, Baker said.

“[The events] keep people on campus and give [students] a lot to do.”