Student comedians win chance to open for Lewis Black

Two UNC students won more than laughs on Wednesday.

Ben Long and Brittany Spruill won the chance to open for internationally acclaimed comedian Lewis Black, while competing in the Carolina Union Activities Board’s Student Stand-Up Competition.

Black, a UNC alumnus, will perform tonight in Memorial Hall with Kathleen Madigan, a stand-up comedian, and Jon Friedman, creator and producer of award-winning variety show “The Rejection Show.”

The show and the stand-up competition are part of CUAB’s annual comedy festival, which wraps up Saturday.

Vinny Tagliatela, comedy chairman for CUAB, said the contest draws both experienced student comedians and rookies.

He said the competition offers the initial push for new comedians to start in the business, and that Long and Spruill are certainly on that track.

“Both Ben and Brittany showed that they are strong writers and performers,” he said.

“They’ll do great in Memorial.”

Black judged the competition, in which contestants got three minutes to perform their acts. From a pool of 13, he chose seven comedians to advance to the competition’s next phase — a workshop with him.

Spruill, a UNC junior, started performing stand-up comedy in October after taking a class at DSI Comedy Theater in Carrboro.

“Performing is always nerve-racking but very exciting,” she said.

Spruill said she powered through those nerves during the competition.

“I had the mindset of, ‘OK, I’m gonna do what I do. Hopefully I make the audience laugh, but if I don’t, I’m gonna pick myself up, dust myself off and do it again the first chance I get,’” she said in an email.

Long said competing in the show produced conflicting feelings for him.

“The show was a mix of joy and stress for me,” he said in an email.

“It was great performing in front of a good crowd of students, but at the same time it was stressful to be competing with so many great student comedians.”

Spruill said the chance to workshop her material with Black was a valuable experience.

“This man is one of the best comedians ever,” she said. “It was definitely an experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world.”

Long said the workshop was an unbelievable experience.

“Talking about comedy with one of the greatest comedians working today can be a little intimidating, but he’s a really nice guy and always gives helpful feedback,” he said.

Long said he is excited to open for Black tonight.

“This is the best experience an amateur comedian could ask for, and honestly it doesn’t feel like it should be possible,” he said.

“It’s mind-blowing to perform on a show with such great talent.”

Contact the Arts Editor at arts@dailytarheel.com.