By Sebastian Moronta Blanco, Staff Writer
The UMass Dartmouth community was treated to lively performances just last week as two comedians and one comedienne took to the main auditorium for a special show hosted in “Arnie’s Comedy Corner.”
The three performers came from far across the country and performed half hour to forty-five minute sets one after another.
Crowds of students and some administrators packed the middle section of the auditorium before the 7 o’ clock show began, but by the third performer’s set enough stragglers filled out the right section almost entirely.
“I went to college, I went to get myself a bachelor’s in communications and I graduated with a master’s in poverty.” That was Ben Bergman, the show’s first performer. A young comedian and recent college graduate from Kentucky, Bergman delivered a relatable if unapologetically immature set telling stories about his college experiences and home life.
The crowd was slow to warm up but grew to Bergman’s favor once he started interacting with some of the more energetic audience members.
Bergman has performed in 25 states across the country including festivals, theaters, and the occasional night club, along with a large stage performance at the TBS Just for Laughs Festival in Chicago.
The targeted audience member soon felt the heat after the next performer continued the fun after Bergman left the stage.
The second performer came from Washington D.C., but the audience soon learned of his Nigerian heritage, telling stories of life in Nigeria and one memorable birthday in which he was given a goat as a gift, only to have it prepared as a meal not minutes after he received it.
His name was Opeyemi Olagbaju, although he goes by “Ope” for short. His set concluded with an examination into his philosophy on human interaction and racial issues, as he explained that everything we interact with, everything we see, is all just some kind of spaghetti.
The third and final performer, Dulce Sloan, has seen the most success as a comedienne, as she is the winner of the 2016 Big Sky Comedy Festival and she was recently honored as the 2015 NBC Stand Up Showcase Winner and as a 2015 Montreal Just For Laughs New Face.
She made her late night debut on Conan this past year and can be seen this fall on MTV’s Acting Out and TruTV’s Comedy Knock Out. Her signature sass and confidence is no doubt what led to her great success, as it kept the Corsairs in the audience in constant fits of laughter and applause.
She also shared stories about her home life in Atlanta as well as college experiences and touring as a comedienne. By the time Dulce Sloan was on stage, the entire audience was bursting at every quip.
“The show was great, all the comics were funny, I had a good time,” remarked Umass Dartmouth first-year history major Justin Henderson as he and a group of his friends left the main auditorium.
Many students declared their intention to look up the performers online after the show, and they can be found at http://benbergman.com/, http://www.kpcomedy.com/COMEDIANS/Opeyemi_Olagbaju-bio.html, and http://dulcesloan.wixsite.com/bestsite.
The Dartmouth area has plenty more options for students looking for a comedy-filled evening, namely Café Arpeggio that has weekly Open Mic Nights as well as a featured performer on Thursday nights.
This month the featured performer is a student from Providence College and Mic night regular Molly O’Leary.
The Café is located at 800 Purchase Street in New Bedford. Beyond that, The Zeiterion Performing Arts Center has a frequently updating event roster including musicians, theatrical performances and other events on top of comic shows.
More information about the Zeiterion theater can be found here.