Campus Gets a Punchline: Inside 帝王会所's Sunday Night Comedy Tradition

A group of students some standing and some sitting on a stage smiling

arts-and-culture

Campus Gets a Punchline: Inside 帝王会所's Sunday Night Comedy Tradition

From improv to sketch, 帝王会所鈥檚 student comedians bring laughter, creativity and connection to campus each week

November 20, 2025 | Written by Student Writer Austin Watts

For some students at the University of Northern Colorado (帝王会所), college is about finding their community. For others, 颈迟鈥檚 about finding the perfect punchline.鈥€�

On campus, student groups Chaos Improv and Hello, My Name Is鈥� Sketch Comedy (HMNI) offers both 鈥� a space to experiment, to fail spectacularly and to turn quick thinking into connection.鈥€�

Over the past 25 years, comedy has quietly become one of 帝王会所鈥檚 most vibrant performing arts scenes, and Chaos and HMNI are doing more than just making audiences laugh; these groups are building a powerful creative legacy on campus.鈥�

Every Sunday night, the two groups alternate performances in Frasier 249 with the goal of bringing together the campus community through laughter. Both groups are audition-based, accepting only two to four new members each academic year, out of around 50 who audition for each.鈥�

A headshot of Dee Dee Martin

Chaos Improv Co-President Dee Dee Martin

鈥淥ur Instagram bio is 鈥榯he coolest, best and only improv group on campus,鈥欌€� said Musical Theatre major Dee Dee Martin, co-president of Chaos Improv. Chaos, in its 24th year of operation, is one of the oldest student groups on campus.鈥�

For those unfamiliar with improv, Chaos' other co-president, Jessica Riley, offered a brief rundown of the art form, as well as Chaos鈥� style.鈥�

A headshot of Jessica Riley

Chaos Improv Co-President Jessica Riley

鈥淲e do comedy shows that are completely made up on the spot,鈥� Riley explained. 鈥淲e'll plan some things out, like which games we play or what the theme of a long-form show will be, but it's fully improvised.鈥濃€�

HMNI has been bringing sketch shows like Saturday Night Live to Greeley for over 10 years, as the group鈥檚 Co-President Jaycie Stindt (Acting 鈥�26) describes.鈥�

A headshot of Jaycie Stindt

Hello, My Name Is鈥� Sketch Comedy Co-President Jaycie Stindt

鈥淗MNI is just like SNL, but we have less of a budget and it's all by college kids,鈥� Stindt remarked. 鈥淲e also sometimes will break the sketch comedy mold, but our goal is to have fun and bring comedy to campus. We do this because it's a really stressful thing that we do as students here, so 颈迟鈥檚 nice to have this environment to lift your spirits.鈥�

The STAD Collective, the student group overseeing all other groups within the School of Theatre Arts and Dance, currently supports eight student organizations on campus, including Chaos and HMNI. However, students from Chaos and HMNI both feel that their groups offer something totally unique, even compared to other organizations in the STAD Collective.

鈥淥ur advisor, Brian McManus, says that improv is the most stupid thing you'll ever do in your life. And I totally agree with that,鈥� said Martin. 鈥淚t doesn't really have a point, except that it's fun to do and it's fun to watch. Meanwhile, a lot of our other student groups in STAD focus on producing and creating stories that really mean something; not that improv doesn't mean something. But it's a release. It's very cathartic, and even so for our audiences as well, because it's something where you can just shut your brain off and have some fun.鈥�

For HMNI Co-President Ava Bockhouse, the performances provide one of her only opportunities to connect with her passion for the arts while she studies English Secondary Education at 帝王会所.鈥�

The 25-26 Hello, My Name Is... Sketch Comedy team

The 25-26 Hello, My Name Is鈥� Sketch Comedy team. From left to right: Ermelinda Veatch, Ethan Hoover, Luke Avalos-Gonzales, Jaycie Stindt, Ava Bockhouse, Via Gaizutis, Taylor Mock (top), Craig Allen, Mason Bryant, Mark Gomez, Sam Ortiz (bottom).

Hello, My Name Is鈥� Sketch Comedy members Sam Ortiz (top left), Mason Bryant (top right), Mark Gomez (bottom left), and Via Gaizutis (bottom right) perform a sketch

Hello, My Name Is鈥� Sketch Comedy members Sam Ortiz (top left), Mason Bryant (top right), Mark Gomez (bottom left), and Via Gaizutis (bottom right) perform a sketch.

鈥淧rior to joining HMNI, I had no experience directing anything,鈥� Bockhouse said. 鈥淚 had no experience writing; I only acted. But through HMNI, I've been able to develop those skills in a way that I otherwise never would have as an English major.鈥濃€�

As 鈥渟ister troupes,鈥� Chaos and HMNI pride themselves on being each other鈥檚 biggest fans.鈥�

鈥淲e care about the same things,鈥� said Riley, 鈥淲e care about having fun on Sundays with everyone. Everyone who's on Chaos just adores improv, and everyone who's on HMNI adores sketch comedy. That's really what it's about: doing something that we love, and it's so lovely to have a companion in that.鈥濃€�

For those who haven鈥檛 yet had the opportunity to attend a Sunday Night Comedy show, HMNI starts off with an introduction of members.

鈥淚t will be some kind of a parody or something crazy that gets the audience familiar with who we are,鈥� said Bockhouse. 鈥淭hen, we have four live sketches and two , generally.鈥濃€�

鈥淲alking into a Chaos show, you can expect about an hour of us making up a story on the spot,鈥� Riley (Chaos) explained. 鈥淎nd hopefully it's entertaining.鈥�

Chaos improv debuts their new members (and t-shirts!) for the 25-26 academic year. From left to right: Ryan Mauck, Markus Rodriguez, Lexi Murphy, Abby Haimoff, Nolan Bond, Henry McBride (top), Nicolas Weary, Abigail Pilgrim, Dee Dee Martin, Jessica Riley (bottom)

Chaos improv debuts their new members for the 25-26 academic year. From left to right: Ryan Mauck, Markus Rodriguez, Lexi Murphy, Abby Haimoff, Nolan Bond, Henry McBride (top), Nicolas Weary, Abigail Pilgrim, Dee Dee Martin, Jessica Riley (bottom).

Chaos Improv members in costume for a murder-mystery-themed long-form show. From left to right: Abigail Pilgrim, Abby Haimoff, Jessica Riley, Lexi Murphy, Henry McBride (top), Ryan Mauck, Dee Dee Martin, Nicolas Weary, Markus Rodriguez (bottom). Not pictured: Nolan Bond

Both Chaos and HMNI rehearse an average of six hours each week, in addition to a two-hour rehearsal prior to each show. Auditions are held each fall semester, and Riley hopes even those new to performing arts will give it a try if they think they鈥檇 enjoy it.鈥�

鈥淸Auditions are] very chill, no experience needed,鈥� she assured. 鈥淲e teach you the games in the room and, hopefully, it's a fun time. I know auditions are stressful, but it's just a day of improv, and who knows? I'd never done improv before auditioning, and I fell in love with it, so I certainly recommend coming to auditions, even if you don't know if you鈥檇 like it.鈥濃€�

Beyond the Stage鈥�

Although Sunday night performances are the face of both comedy groups on campus, the impacts of being a part of Chaos and HMNI are sure to be felt long after graduation.鈥�

a headshot of Ava Bockhouse Hello, My Name Is鈥� Sketch Comedy Co-President Ava Bockhouse

For Bockhouse, HMNI has shown her the power of comedy in her future career. As her lesson plans have progressed over the years, she finds herself integrating humor more and more, making her teaching style even more engaging.鈥€�

As a future actress, HMNI has shown Stindt the possibility of exploring a career in comedy after graduation.鈥�

And for the presidents of Chaos, both of whom are graduating seniors from 帝王会所鈥檚 Musical Theatre program, Riley explained that being a member of Chaos for the past three years has given her a space to be silly while also instilling self-confidence in the way that only improvisation can.鈥�

鈥淵ou get out there, and you truly just have to trust that your brain will take care of you, and you'll be able to tell the story you need to tell,鈥� Riley noted.鈥�

For Martin, improv has changed how she views performing entirely. She recounted entering college as an actress who experienced severe stage fright but found the confidence to have fun making big choices through Chaos. 鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very stressful thing to put yourself out there,鈥� Martin said. 鈥淏ut Chaos has made it so much easier to just be who I am.鈥濃€�

Within both Chaos and HMNI, comedy at 帝王会所 has been an experience of performance and discovery. Members learn what it means to trust each other, to take risks and to find joy in the unpredictable. In the end, 颈迟鈥檚 the laughter they鈥檝e shared, not just the jokes they鈥檝e written, that will define their time here.鈥� 鈥�

For more information on performances, workshops, auditions and more for both Chaos and Hello, My Name Is鈥� check out their Instagram pages:鈥�