Comedian Emma Willmann performs stand-up at WCU

Comedian Emma Willmann performed stand-up in UC Illusions on Feb. 24. Photo by Yustin Riopko.

Emma Willmann has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and headlined her own sold out show in the New York Comedy Festival, and on Friday, Feb. 24, she performed in the UC Illusions Room at WCU.

The NY comic was generally well-received by a small crowd of about 40 students, as she sprung from topic to topic, delivering silly personal observations and anecdotes on such points as dyslexia, boy bands, sexuality, sibling relationships, and much more.

“A lot of her jokes went over our heads,” said Tanner Hyatt, a student who attended the show on Friday. “She needed to be more relatable to 20 year olds if she’s going to perform at a college.”

Not every student in attendance thought Willmann needed to change her performance though.

“She didn’t try to be relatable,” said Spencer Hemingway, another student who was at the show. “She talked about a lot of personal things, which provided new perspectives and made me look at situations in totally new ways. That’s what made her funny.”

Willmann was born in a small town in Maine, and began doing stand-up shortly after moving to New York City, where she was recently featured on the cover of Time Out New York as one of 10 Funniest Women in New York.

Last Minute Productions organized the event as part of their ongoing Friday Night Comedy program, which brings in various comics to perform at the UC. The last event in this series featured renowned Canadian comedian D.J. Demers.

The next Friday Night Comedy show is unannounced as of now.