Mason Student Is A Finalist in DC Improv Competition

By Broadside Staff Writer Emily Sharrer
Video by Connect Mason Video Director Scott Williams

Mark Hendricks, junior business management major, was voted funniest in his senior class in high school and is known as the “funny one” amongst his friends. This year, his talent has helped make him a finalist in the District’s Funniest College Competition hosted by The DC Improv, a comedy club and restaurant in downtown Washington, D.C.

• VIDEO: Shot by Connect Mason Video Director Scott Williams on March 7, Hendricks talks about his fifth time competing in the District's Funniest.

The club hosts competitions at different universities around the area and chooses two winners from each university to advance to the final competition.

This year Hendricks and Brian Platt, who won the competition, last year, are the two finalists from George Mason University. They will compete in the finals on April 16. The winner will receive a paid hosting gig at The DC Improv in addition to other prizes.

This is Hendricks’ third time competing, but his entry this year wasn’t intentional. Hendricks says a wrongly addressed e-mail sparked his interest and he decided to get involved in the competition.

“The first year I got a random e-mail that was only sent to like 10 or 11 people and I do not think I was supposed to be on the e-mail list because it was from a lady at DC Improv that was like ‘great to see you last week’—and I do not even know who this is—and she’s like ‘we’re doing the comedy event at Mason if anyone is interested tell your friends’… I’ve always wanted to but I did not know where to do it, so it kind of just fell into my lap,” Hendricks said.

The Mason competition was held as an Every Freakin’ Friday event by Program Board on March 7 and featured twelve brave souls who tried to make the Mason audience laugh. According to Hendricks, the crowd was pretty big, with all the seats filled and people standing by to either watch the comedians do well or completely bomb.

When he’s not on a stage performing, Hendricks says his friends convince him to perform jokes for groups of party-goers, not to mention how his sense of humor has helped him with the ladies.

“One of my friends at parties always tries to ‘wingman’ for me even when I do not want it,” Hendricks said, “The line always is: ‘this is my friend Mark, he does stand-up comedy’ which is a great conversation starter, but [I haven’t] gotten to the point where [I] do it to, like, every single girl, even though I am not interested.” His nerves usually don’t get the best of him with his friends like they do when he’s on stage.

Hendricks said the first two times he performed for the DC Improv competition his freshman and sophomore years that he was nervous to perform for the large crowds who showed up to watch. Since Hendricks has started performing at other places in DC, he says he is more comfortable with the large crowd atmosphere.

“I think the bigger the crowd is always better for comedy, more laughs,” he said.

Hendricks is currently working at a daycare, which is the focus of his stand-up routine as well as a TV show that he and a friend have begun writing. Ideally, Hendricks would like to put his funniness to good use as a writer rather than a stand-up comedian.

“I cannot see myself becoming that popular in stand-up but I’ll keep doing it as long as I keep getting paid, but it is never anything substantial,” he said.

Right now Hendricks has his hands full with getting ready for his upcoming show at the DC Improv. Since he has not performed his routine since winning the Mason competition on March 7, he’s is still trying to remember all the bits and pieces of his routine without psyching himself out about his worst fear at shows: the bright lights.

“When I perform at shows there is always just a really bright light in your face and I always sweat, so I am going to be applying a lot of deodorant before the show because I do not want to come off as some sweaty guy. People aren’t going to laugh,” Hendricks said.

Though his routine may be a little out of order and he is lacking on practice in the last month, Hendricks is going into the competition with a “standard amount of confidence.”

“I’m excited to do the improv and I think if I do not put too much pressure on myself I think I will be able to go out there and have a good chance,” he said.

Tickets for the competition at the DC Improv can be purchased here.