Andy Hendrickson

Jokes fly at CAB comedy night
Posted May 2, 2008
Natalie Croyt
Staff Writer

There was laughter all around the night of May 1 in Founders Auditorium, as comedian Andy Hendrickson performed well-delivered and college friendly jokes that kept the audience laughing the whole time.

Hendrickson, who has shared the stage with Dave Chappelle and appeared on various television programs such as NBC’s “Night Shift,” won over the crowd with his easily relatable and relevant routine geared towards college students.

The joke of the night that most audience members could identify with was about Hendrickson’s over-bearing mother, who still treats him like a kid and asks him in the grocery store by the banana display if he wanted her to buy some “nanners.”

“The mom jokes are always a hit or miss. Some people have a ‘nanners’ mom and can relate, and some people can’t relate, but wish they had a ‘naners’ mom,” Hendrickson said.

In the University of La Verne’s case, the joke was a hit, and as a result “nanners” kept making reappearances throughout the routine.

Audience members also liked when Hendrickson commented about the school, like when he made a joke about Leo dollars, which sent students into hysterics.

“Is it hard for you guys to date in college?” he asked. “I mean, where do you go, the cafeteria? You have some extra Leo dollars and you want them to meet you there for dinner?”

It was these themes, such as dating, Facebook, dorm life and fast food that audience members enjoyed the most because it allowed them to connect better with Hendrickson and relate to what he was saying.

About 100 students were in attendance and kept the atmosphere alive with their comments and shout-outs during the routine.

The shout-outs, however, did not throw Hendrickson off. Rather, he thrived on the energy while he used sarcasm to connect with his audience, such as commenting about the size of the audience, and asking late-comers if he could get them anything, like a watch.

“I loved it when he commented on something from the audience because you know that it’s not planned and it makes it even funnier,” junior sociology major Rachel Ortiz said.


Although part of the routine relied on improvisation, a majority of it was planned ahead of time by Hendrickson himself, who confessed that he loves writing routines almost as much as delivering them.

“Now that I’m headlining it gives me the freedom to focus on writing material, and I usually have specific material for a college audience, but about 70 percent of it is the same as any other audience,” Hendrickson said.

Planning ahead made for a smoother routine that gave Hendrickson a professional feel and provided continuous laughter and applause.

“I think it went pretty well,” said Campus Activities Board Comedy Chairwoman Kristina Vaughn. “I think everyone who came had a good time, and that’s at least 100 people who were not bored on a Thursday Night.”

Other topics that Hendrickson joked about were slightly touchier, such as jabs about vegans, drunk dialing and Mexican food. However, students didn’t find his material too offensive.

“I think he played it pretty safe,” junior music education major Taylor Duling said. “I think if there were more people he might have added a little more, but he wasn’t too controversial and I don’t think he offended anyone.”

Hendrickson ended the night with another joke about dating and getting lost in Southern California, then told everyone to visit his Web site and send him pictures of naners, leaving the audience in laughter.

“Of all the events that La Verne puts on, the comedians are probably my favorite; they’re just so funny and entertaining,” Ortiz said.

Overall the night provided free fun and entertainment and Hendrickson allowed students to let loose and laugh away the pressures of school.

“I loved it, and I thought it was very successful,” Duling said. “I wish there were more comedy shows because this one was a hit.”



- University of LaVerne Campus Times

By: Hunter Sumner, '09

Posted: 11/6/07

Andy Hendrickson, comedian, came to campus this past Friday to perform a comedy routine and ended up with a group of students hunched over in laughter. As soon as Hendrickson took the stage, he began an hour-long laugh fest.


Junior Mike Scherer attended the event and thought Hendrickson's sense of humor was on par with many students on campus. "He began to talk about the mascot that we have, the cougars, and took it to a whole new level. This was one of the best comedians we had on campus in my opinion."


While admitting his own faults, Hendrickson began talking about student life on campus.


"The way he brought everyone into his stories was great, and it made the show that much better," Scherer said.


Sophomore Tracy Mextorf also attended the show. "He had great stage presence, and it really felt that he connected with the students. I was laughing all night there, and had a great time. For a while he pretended to be flamboyant, which was hilarious."


Check more of Andy Hendrickson on his website at AndyHendrickson.com, and make sure to look for more comedians coming to campus on the Campus Life tab on the e-MU portal. - The Highlander

By: Stephen Rocha

Posted: 11/5/07

Performing for a nearly full auditorium, comedian Andy Hendrickson's incredibly funny performance had many Embry-Riddle students laughing and jumping in their seats.

On Oct. 26, students enjoyed a unique comedian that appealed to the college student. With jokes relating to his childhood and jokes from his college days, students were able to relate to the certain circumstances.

Hendrickson did not start his career as a comedian. Before comedy he was in graphic production but was laid off. After taking some time off and honing his comedy he decided to go back to the first graphic production company that had hired him. This company was flexible with his schedule and allowed him to travel and perform in local comedy shows around Atlanta.

It took some time for Hendrickson to move up in the comedy chain. He first moved to emcee and then earned his spot as the feature in a comedy show. The feature spot is the title for the comedian that performs second out of a comedy team of three.

He decided to move to New York City to perform in local comedy clubs. "There's something about New York that makes it the biggest comedy stage in the U.S." said Hendrickson. In fact, Comedy Central is based out of New York. Hendrickson now performs solo stand-up comedy adding the HBO Comedy Festival to his repertoire. He will also be performing in The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas sponsored by HBO in the middle on Nov.

This was Hendrickson's first time performing at ERAU. With an energetic crowd, he really enjoyed entertaining a "ready to laugh" crowd. "I like doing the technical schools," said Hendrickson. "Some of my jokes take a little thinking for people to understand. In technical schools, people connect the dots faster making it a lot better to tell jokes."

Hendrickson gets his inspiration from childhood observations. "There are jokes that are unique to the comedian," he said. This was very obvious in a story about a trip to the supermarket with his mom in which they were buying "nanners and purple juice boxes." He told of her ability to still manage to embarrass him even though he is in his thirties.

Another memorable joke was about the abundance of cacti in Arizona and how he should watch out for them on the drive back down to Phoenix .

Hendrickson also talked about his college years and how he always struggled with the roommate that took the last ice cream sandwich and put the empty box back in the freezer. Hopeful for an ice cream sandwich, he would open the freezer only to be let down when he found the empty box staring him in the face. I think we can all related to this situation.

Overall, the students and Hendrickson really enjoyed the night. "I go to many schools and sometimes my event is not well promoted so I end up performing to a small crowd but here at Embry-Riddle, it was well-promoted, attracting an audience that was ready for some jokes and a good laugh," commented Hendrickson.

After the show, he stuck around to talk to the students that approached him. Even after the show, the jokes were still going and many happy faces were seen all around. - Horizons