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Seth Meyers Visits USC

Sarah Zahedi |
April 17, 2013 | 2:48 a.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Seth Meyers Performing at USC (Sarah Zahedi)
Seth Meyers Performing at USC (Sarah Zahedi)

Hundreds of students lined up outside USC’s Bovard Auditorium to see Seth Meyers perform stand-up comedy on Tuesday night.   

Known primarily for his work as a writer and anchor for Weekend Update on "Saturday Night Live," Meyers said the best part of his job is when he experiences moments in which his written work is performed live in the way he had hoped for. Still, Meyers said "SNL" has also taught him to become comfortable with the potential for things to go wrong given that it is a live show composed of many different skits.

"You learn to celebrate the impermanence of the show," Meyers said. "If you spend too much time lamenting the things that didn’t go well, it’s going to get in the way of what is going to come next."

During the hour-long set, Meyers satirized a range of topics including college life, politics, evolving technology, videogames and relationships. After joining the "SNL" cast in 2001, he has become most widely known for his parodies of political issues as an anchor on Weekend Update and as a featured guest at the 2011 White House Correspondent’s Dinner. As a comedy writer, Meyers said he does not try to remove his personal political perspectives from his writing.

"Comedy is about point of view," Meyers said. "It’s not like you go out and hope a joke will support one political party over another, but if you talk about political policies, it’s silly to put your point of view away just because you want to be even-handed."

Being a stand-up comic, actor and comedy writer, Meyers said he has enjoyed all of his various career pursuits through the past years. Yet, he noted that he prefers stand-up comedy and writing over acting. 

"Stand-up and writing are really fun for me," Meyers said. "I get to write for incredibly talented people but it’s nice to also be able to get up on stage and talk about the things I want to talk about as a stand-up comic."

Since many college students watch "SNL," Meyers said he particularly enjoys performing stand-up for college audiences.

"It’s really nice that there’s a lot of enthusiasm when I perform on college campuses," Meyers said. "'SNL' dovetails really nicely with college audiences, so its fun to go somewhere where people have seen you on TV and are interested in what you have to say."

Given the level of competition in the industry of comedy writing, Meyers advised college students who want to take on a career similar to his in the future to build up a portfolio as to increase chances for a job opportunity. 

"The best thing you could do is just be writing," Meyers said. "That way when someone wants to look at your stuff, you always have something to show them."

As Meyers closed the show and left his audience roaring with laughter, USC students left him with a standing ovation, thrilled with both his witty humor and undeniable talent.

Reach Staff Reporter Sarah Zahedi here, follow her on Twitter here.



 

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