The Cardinal Activities Board hosted standup comedian Mickey Housley, Feb. 18, on the second floor of the Setzer Student Center. CAB supplied pancakes for the attendees.
The night started with Sandrell Ross, Housley’s wife, reciting some of her inspirational poetry. Ross then gave a short standup routine of her own before introducing her husband.
Housley’s set began with jokes about the Super Bowl, but his main focus was on crowd work, responding to comments from the audience.
“As you can see, I like to interact with the audience,” Housley said after the show. “I thought the audience was really receptive and very open.”
Housley has been performing since 2009.
“I ended up seeing a show at a karaoke bar where one of the guys did stand up and he got like two laughs, but it was enough for me to be, like, I think I want to try that,” Housley said.
Housley has performed in 45 states and at notable venues such as The Chicago Theatre and the Apollo Theatre in New York. He has also done shows in Canada, but said he would like to perform in other countries.
“I speak Spanish a bit, so all of the Latin speaking countries, I would love to go there,” Housley said.
Throughout the show, Housley gathered the names of the attendees, and with Ross in the background beatboxing, he ended the performance with a rap that included the names of the audience.
“We were just at the shows, and we figured, with all the interaction that we do and getting audience names, we’ll do a rap at the end,” Housley said. “I can’t even pinpoint the first time I did it, but it’s something we just started doing, and it’s been a big hit at the end of our shows.”
Housley’s book, “Chronicles of a Stand-up Guy: a Peek into the Daily Grind of a Comedian,” is available for purchase on Amazon.