By: Kristen Tomaiolo
Posted In: News
Photo credit: Kristen Tomaiolo
Comedian Steve Caouette performed for over 100 students in Bazarsky Hall Tuesday night, in an hour and a half of sidesplitting laughter.
Caouttte began by getting familiar with the audience asking where they lived. One brave male student from Maine raised his hand and unexpectedly became Caouette’s target for the rest of the night. Poking fun of Maine’s naivety, Caouette justified himself by letting the audience know he grew up there himself. Throughout the show, Caouette selected several audience members whose names he included in his renditions of everything from getting on a ski lift to picking up a guy at a bar where he introduced his forte: sound effects. With the aid of the microphone, Caouette created realistic sounds including a fireworks display, creaky doors, and crashing waves which he compared to the waves Salve students hear every day. The sounds were highlighted by his portrayal of shattering glass. Before performing, Caouette explained that he heard shattering glass was extremely difficult to replicate. He set out to learn the art of shattering glass. He succeeded. He demonstrated a martini glass breaking, a windshield smashing and a glass eye. For the glass eye, Caouette drank water for a ‘fluid’ effect, but spit it on stage from side-splitting laughter. Being an impressionist, Caouette brought several celebrities to life including Bob Ross, Arnold Schwarzenegger and his favorite, Robert Stack. He explained that his girlfriend forces him to watch “Unsolved Mysteries,” frequently and said that his girlfriend loves Stack’s ‘sexy’ voice. So after watching several episodes, Caouette learned to replicate the voice. However, Caouette poked fun at the show, arguing that Stack’s voice is what makes the show scary, not the stories. Circling back to Maine, Caouette spent the final portion of the show demonstrating how New Englanders wear hats. He said the more northern the state, the higher the hat on a person’s head. Adjusting his blue cap, Caouette’s cap laid low covering his eyes which illustrated Connecticut. Then, he took his cap a placed it on top his head for Vermont. What was Maine? From his back pocket, Caouette pulled a neon-orange cap and placed it on top of his head. The laughs didn’t stop. Caouette has performed stand up for over 300 colleges and clubs in the past 10 years. He graduated from the University of Maine, later to pursue acting. He has appeared in a few Stephen King TV movies including “Thinner,” and has successfully completed five independent films to date. In addition to acting, Caoutte interned at Late Night with David Lettermen in production where he later participated in a comedy contest. “As soon as I got on that stage, I knew it was for me”, Caouette said. “I loved it,” said freshman Andrea Luff, who won the night’s iPOD video giveaway, “I really liked the sound effects, especially when he did Arnold Schwarzenegger.” Caoutte enjoys college performances because they remind him of his college days. “I miss college,” said Caouette, “I had a lot of fun.” The show was sponsored by the Campus Activities Board who host several comedy shows each semester. Being the last show of the year, Caouette made sure his impressionist style would leave an mark with the audience. The closing round of applause spoke for itself.
