Patrick Tobin | The Crow’s Nest
By Carrie Pinkard
The Laugh-a-bull comedy show began in an unusual way — with the hosts asking the audience to submit their own jokes.
Harborside Activities Board coordinators told the crowd of roughly 75 students in the University Student Center ballrooms to tweet their jokes so they could be read before the show.
Student body president Jazzy Duarte raised her hand to contribute her own zinger.
“Would you rather eat a jalapeno pepper or a matter baby?” Duarte asked the host.
“What’s a matter baby?” the host questioned back.
“Nothing, what’s the matter with you?” Duarte concluded the joke, earning giggles from the audience.
Many of the submitted jokes produced groans, forced laughter and a palpable desire for a real comedian to come on stage.
When Jenny Zigrino, 32,finally arrived, it was obvious she knew how to work a room of college students. Her jokes revolved around online dating, parents, and identity.
Zigrino said her mom is a Jewish-Russian woman who gave her a Groupon to get botox. Her dad is a politically conservative Catholic who tries to keep Zigrino from “corrupting the mind” of her 12-year-old sister.
She said she gave her tween sister a book about being a feminist, but her dad hid it in the cabinet above the refrigerator.
Halfway through the show, Zigrino wanted to record a video of the crowd for her Instagram story.
“Do you guys have some kind of stupid school chant you do?” she asked the audience.
“Yes!” the room full of Bulls responded, breaking out into the USF fight song.
The vast majority of Zigrino’s jokes were dirty.
She shared that her kink was historical reenactments, and joked that she’s not allowed within 50 miles of Gettysburg.
She asked who in the audience had sent a “dick pic,” and only one redheaded student in the front row raised his hand.
“Well thank YOU for being honest,” Zigrino said to the student before joking about how she loves getting unsolicited “dick pics” on social media.
Zigrino kept the students laughing throughout her set. The energy was still high when she said she had to leave to drive back to Orlando.
Students filtered out of the ballroom, kicking the green and gold balloons that covered the floor. The laughter therapy seemed to work, as they were smiling in a way that only 19-year-olds who just listened to an hour of raunchy comedy can.
