Hannah Kiester
On Thursday, January 25th, student comedian Abbi Bryson opened for the Mocs Comedy
event featuring musical comedian Drennon Davis.
Bryson, a second-year student at FSC, describes herself as having always been seen as “the funny one” in her family or among her friends, so she decided to bring her talents to the stage.
As a Business Administration and BFA Theatre Performance double major, Bryson has performed in several shows with the FSC Theatre Department.
She is a member of Studio Box, Florida Southern’s improv group, and serves as their Events Coordinator as well as actively appearing in their shows.
Prior to her performance, Bryson expressed her excitement at the opportunity to open for Mocs Comedy, but also her nerves.
Having only done stand-up once before with Studio Box for a previous Mocs Comedy event, she felt nervous due to the different nature of stand-up comedy versus improv comedy.
Bryson, with other members of Studio Box, opened for the last Mocs Comedy event, which featured MTV comedian, Chris Distefano.
Rather than doing stand-up, the group performed a few of their signature games, which received a favorable reaction from the audience.
When asked how she goes about preparing for a set, Bryson replied that she writes down ideas all the time, whenever she thinks of them. She plans out her set by combining these ideas while also remaining open to audience reaction.
According to Bryson, successful stand-up is about finding the right balance between the audience’s reaction and her material.
Bryson said, “I just have to trust myself and what I’ve prepared, but also be ready to go with the flow of the audience.”
During her performance on Thursday night, the audience was very engaged in her routine and positively encouraged her throughout the set as well as when it concluded.
Bryson believes that it is her life’s goal to “bring laughter to massive audiences.”
She is well on her way considering her success with the audience in Badock Gardens.