It’s time for a female comedian.

On Wednesday, February 18, The University Program Board hosted its annual comedy act in Wilson hall with it’s chosen comedian: Andrew Dismukes. The 30 year old Texan has been a Saturday Night Live writer since 2017 and became a cast member in 2020, and if you want to dive deeper into his life, here’s his Wikipedia page. 

Before Andrew took the stage on Wednesday night I had already made bets with several of my friends about the over-under on how many jokes would be making fun of women. Most of them guessed at least 4 jokes would be at our expense, but personally, after attending the Noel Miller comedy act last year I was guessing that it would be at least 10 or so at our expense. The 2025 Mad Laughs starring Noel Miller was a huge hit last year, with a line wrapped around the Quad and a full Wilson hall (damn). Noel was HILARIOUS and had people in the audience crying real tears at his jokes, and I was at one point doubled over in my chair after he joked about his almost home invasion. However, it seemed that the butt of a lot of his jokes were women in his life, which even included his wife who had just recently given birth. One joke I remember was when he asked if JMU was an “art hoe school,” now which even if it is, let’s lay off my girls, ok? 

Moving on, let’s get back to Andrew. The crowd this year was noticeably smaller, which for his credit, might not have been his fault (I know my Wednesdays are always booked, so maybe it was just a bad time?) but it let me know before the show even started that it could be a rough night for him. Anyways, here’s a quick summary of my opinion on the 1 hour performance. 

• Jokes: 6/10, had some good riffs, but most jokes only gained a few chuckles from the audience. Also got heckled a few times, but always turned them around and made the audience laugh at them instead.
• Stage Presence: 6/10, best unintentional impression of Trump’s stance I’ver ever seen honestly and he also kept flipping through his notes and turning his back to us? Pretty odd.
• Charisma: 5/10, felt like your average white guy comedian which is the best I can say.
• Total Rating: 6/10, decent, but would never spend my own money to see him.

Now here’s the part you’ve been waiting for: why do I, attagirl, think that it’s time for a female comedian? Well I’m glad you asked!

Mainly, I am tired of being the butt of a joke so a guy can earn a few laughs from the audience, which half the time aren’t funny in the  long run. We are constantly the punchline from being the crazy ex-girlfriend, the nagging wife, the weird girl, the one that dumped you, or even a Karen (and yeah I’m including Karen’s even though I don’t agree with them!). When do we get a turn to laugh at all of the men, or at least not listen to an entire set that’s focused on bashing the other gender. While Andrew Dismukes may have beaten my bet (he only made fun of women once or twice I think), he was truly just another average male comedian with the same 10 jokes in his pocket. Sorry Andrew.

It’s time that JMU picks a new comedian, one with a different view of the world, and who’s less likely to make a joke at their audience’s expense. There are plenty of women out there that could fill that role. Brittany Broski, Ziwe, Sarah Sherman, Ego Nwodim, Ashley Padilla, and hundreds more. We have the time to look into who we are picking and I know we have the money (I’m looking at you football…) so it’s time we make the switch. For a school that is 56% female, we deserve to see some representation on the big stage, and we deserve to laugh alongside them too.