Stand-up comic Jenny Zigrino graced the Student Center Ballroom stage Feb. 28, sharing humorous stories of her family, her experiences as a plus-sized woman and her sex life.
Zigrino said her material is inspired by embarrassing experiences from her daily life and social-justice issues. She said the focus of her stand-up routines is “crowd work” — a common term comics use to describe interacting with the audience.
“It’s kind of like a safety net for me. If you get [the crowd]to like you, you can almost say anything because people can’t hate people who make them laugh,” Zigrino said.
Zigrino joked about her 11-year-old sister, who was born when Zigrino was 20.
“Whenever I see her, I just think about my dad ‘getting it’ with a hot Brazilian, and me doing nothing,” Zigrino said during her routine.
She also said that in college, she tried to “sell her body.” She said she wanted to have her eggs harvested to earn some extra money, and that as a Jewish woman, she could sell her eggs for $30,000-$50,000 each.
“Guys, I have so much money inside me right now,” Zigrino said. “Every month I lose a Prius, a speed boat and a teacher’s salary.”
Zigrino later discovered she couldn’t donate her eggs because she was overweight. She then joked about her experiences as a plus-size woman and how she adopted body-positive thinking.
“I’m a confident fat girl … I know what I am. I’m a good eight or nine,” Zigrino said.
Zigrino’s material turned raunchy as she poked fun at her sex life, dating apps and “dick pics.”
“Guys build up the courage to send you that picture, and girls, what’s the first thing we do? We laugh. Then we show it to our friends and neighbors,” Zigrino said.
Zigrino said she becomes a more exaggerated version of herself when she’s on stage and that she’s more reserved in person.
Zigrino was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and said she knew at the age of 5 that she wanted to be a comedian. Zigrino currently lives in Los Angeles and is a full-time comedian.
The Student Activities Board arranged for Zigrino to perform on campus after viewing her routine at the National Association for Campus Activities, a conference that SAB members attend every year to select entertainment for campus.
Sophomore SAB Comedy Chair Karen Orozco said Zigrino was brought to campus because she interacted with the audience and was funny and relatable.
“As soon as she started performing and saying her jokes [at the conference]— and she was like, really into it — she was interacting with the audience. So that was a plus for us,” Orozco said. “She had us laughing the entire time.”
Orozco said a comedian can act as a “destresser” for students.
“We want to get the mind off of ‘I really need to work on that paper’ and just be here for a couple laughs and that’s it,” Orozco said.
She said when a comedian interacts with the audience, students get more involved and provide more positive feedback for SAB.
“When a really good comedian is really interacting with the audience, it kind of captivates the audience, and we see more people stay after the show and try to get pictures,” Orozco said. “That’s what makes us think ‘Oh,’ they liked her or him.’”
The next SAB-organized comedy night will feature Ivan Pecal. Pecal will perform at 7 p.m. March 14 in the Student Center Ballroom.
Photo by Caroline Bivens.
