Emma Schaible/Fourth Estate
Sherman invites Mason to her interactive comedy show
BY EMMA SCHAIBLE, SOCIAL MEDIA AND GRAPHICS EDITOR
The Center for the Arts welcomes a current Saturday Night Live (SNL) cast member and comedy actress, Sarah Sherman, to continue the tradition of spring comedy headliners. Sherman shared how excited she was to perform at Mason, while being so close to Washington, DC.
Sherman’s show began with around ten minutes of disclaimers, in which she was distracted by the crowd’s antics before she introduced her opener, Jack Bensinger, a comedian from Stephen Colbert’s show Tooning out the News.
Bensinger started by admitting, “I did grow up around here.” Then proceeded on a long rant to prove he’s truly from Brooklyn. Bensinger spoke on wanting to “change the world” and gave the audience a few ways in which he plans to do so.
Emma Schaible/Fourth Estate
For the main act, Sherman took the stage. Sherman’s jokes centered around the college experience, such as exploring your sexuality, city bikes and voting. Audience interaction was a key feature throughout the three main bits of Sherman’s show.
The first bit highlighted the late-comers arriving at the show in a tardy manner. Ever felt embarrassed walking into a performance late? Well, imagine if the performer called you out on it. For about three groups that walked in late, Sherman got a spotlight on them and asked them why they were late. She used this as an opportunity to lean into college stereotypes such as overloading homework and getting high with your roommate in a Rick and Morty t-shirt.
Sherman’s second bit poked at the CRIM major at Mason. What started with “ate and left no crumbs” led her to ask about the misunderstood “CRUMBS” major. Two front row members told Sherman that it was actually a criminology major, more commonly known on campus as “CRIMS.” The bit continued with Sherman asking about other majors at Mason, making quips about the importance and social significance that they would have in the future.
Sherman’s final bit was about a nurse watching from the audience. This was Sherman’s longest bit of the night, as she spent time describing her symptoms, looking for a diagnosis. She acted out an interaction she has with her boyfriend on a regular basis. Sherman would come home upset and her boyfriend would have to ask again and again what was wrong. Sherman then went on a tangent where she impersonated her father, suggesting that he was left unsatisfied by her career choices.
To close out the show, Sherman welcomed five Mason students on stage to cold read two rejected SNL sketches. One written by her and the second by Bensinger. “Study Abroad” was the first sketch. Five college students greet their friend who has just returned from a slippery study abroad program. But in reality, it was just a cover-up to avoid sharing an embarrassing bathroom story.
The second cold read was unnamed, as Bensinger claimed he was “forced to write against his will” when applying to work at SNL. The sketch was about support groups for regular people with celebrity names, but with one imposter.
Even walking out of the show, the crowd was buzzing with predictions on who next year’s comedy headliner will be. This is now the second year with an SNL cast member. Last year, on Jan. 24 2024, Mason announced Marcello Hernandez as its spring comedy headliner. Spring 2026 headliner possibilities seem endless.
