In honor of #flashbackfriday, ORANGE Buzz is throwing back to the time in January when Nasim Pedrad made a visit to the humbled University of Texas at Austin campus.
By Miranda Chiechi
On Thursday, Jan. 29, the UT received a visit from (no, not Kim Kardashian, but close) former SNL actress, Nasim Pedrad. The stand-up comedy event was put together by Headliners, a committee under Campus Events + Entertainment. Nearly 600 people waited in line, some four hours prior to doors being opened. Only 474 were let in, filling the SAC auditorium.
Pedrad started off the night with a story about a recent break-up, making the crowd erupt in laughter. She says she thought buying a Christmas tree right before the split would be the most awkward part of the separation — until a song from Pedrad’s past audition for the part of a singing vegetable played through her iPod on the ride home. She finished the night with her notable impression of Kim Kardashian, a clip of her as Aziz Ansari and by bringing students from the crowd on stage to do a skit themselves. Courtney Lynn Penry, an avid SNL fan and Human Relations senior at UT, says she was excited to play Pedrad in the skit. “Well, I definitely cried my eyes out when I met her on stage,” Penry told ORANGE. “It’s so near and dear to my heart because it’s my dream to be on Saturday Night Live.”
Headliners Chair Samantha Falcucci says she was happy with the turnout of the event. “Being able to have the whole SAC auditorium packed out was really such a huge goal,” Falcucci says. “I was really proud of my members and volunteers of Headliners that helped to organize the whole event from the ground up.” Although there was favorable feedback from students leading up to the event, Falcucci notes it was daunting going into the show. “You never know what’s going to happen until you see that line of people outside,” Falcucci says. “We are thankful for the students who stuck it out in that line, and we are thankful for Nasim for putting on a great show.”
Headliners’ hard work proved to be a memorable night for many, especially for Penry. At least so far, she says, “It was the best night of my whole college career.”
