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by LINDSAY CRAVEN
Online Reporter
“That’s what she said” was the phrase of the day last Wednesday at Farthing Auditorium.
The Office star and writer, BJ Novak gave a stand up comedy performance/Q & A session to a large crowd last week.
The comedian arrived about 30 minutes late. To make up for the wait, APPS brought in Higher Ground, the all male acapella group, to perform during the wait.
The group got a lot
of crowd interaction performing well-known songs such as “Semi-Charmed
Life”, “Two Princes” and “Dixieland.”
The
group also performed “Gone” by Ben Folds. The band is currently in a
contest on the Ben Folds Web site to be featured on a CD made up of
acapella groups covering his songs.
Novak
took the stage next and proved to the audience that his comedy chops go
well beyond his acting and writing abilities on The Office.
During
his hour long stand up he tackled issues like meth addicts providing
directions for Google maps, particularly the 32 minute prediction that
Google provided him for the trip from Charlotte to Boone.
Novak
went on to talk about the irresistible cuteness pandas and the life he
would lead if he could be a panda, his frustration with the fact that
Carmen San Diego was never located and how crack houses probably all
started out as a really great party.
For an example of some of the jokes you missed, check out this video.
The most
notable portion of Novak’s stand up must be credited to the children’s
book that is still in production. Titled Wikipedia Brown and the
Case of the Missing Bicycle had the crowd rolling and was one of the comedians more clever bits.
See it here.
The show then moved on to Q & A format.
Novak
fielded questions such as who is the funniest cast member off set
(Rainn Wilson), what his favorite episode was (“A Benihana Christmas”)
and how long it takes to film an episode of the show from conception
(two months).
The
comedian also commented on the rumors of a spin-off show of The Office.
He noted that the show would not be an actual spin-off but would be in
the “same vein” as The Office and that he would not be a member of the
cast.
Novak proved just how much of a trooper he was when he did push-ups on stage per request from the crowd.
He also
finished a very odd scenario provided by a crowd member that involved
Novak’s Ryan the Temp character being approached by a two-by-four
wielding Darryl. His solution to the problem: Michael comes in and
carries Ryan away in his arm to safety.
At the
end of the show Novak drew the winner for the raffle of a meet and
greet with him. The raffle was open to any audience members who brought
canned food for the SGA canned food drive. Jon Palmer won the drawing.
Backstage,
Novak met with APPS Concert Council, Legends Night Club staff, and the
raffle winner to sign autographs and take pictures.
When asked about his favorite “that’s what she said” moment, Novak replied:
“It was
in the episode ‘The Deposition’ in which Michael says ‘that’s what she
said’ under oath and they have to go back through all the transcripts
to figure out what he meant,” Novak said.
Novak also expressed his satisfaction with the night’s performance.
“It was
a great drive up even though I was late I could see all the stars in
the sky and the trees,” Novak said. “It was a great area and then the
crowd was really as intelligent and cool as I’ve ever had, they were
great.”
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