Wyatt Smith
Features Editor
Mamoudou N’Diaye ’14, already well-known on campus for his DJ-ing, filmmaking, freerunning and contagious personality, will share yet another of his talents tonight when he performs his original stand up comedy show “Bad at Girls.” The performance will be at 7:30 p.m. in the UG.
“Bad at Girls” will feature both storytelling and observational humor.
“To be a comedian, you have to have a unique worldview,” said N’Diaye. “I grew up in an African family in Ohio and Illinois, so I have a lot of jokes that I can make about stuff like that.”
He will also draw heavily from his experiences at Wooster, with shout outs to his diverse pursuits and odd adventures.
“He’s had some interesting life experiences,” confirmed Amanda Gittleson ’13, a friend of N’Diaye who got a sneak peek at the “Bad at Girls” script.
The show’s title is a reference both to learning grammar rules in third grade and unfortunate experiences with women, two topics that will appear in N’Diaye’s routine.
“The joke was there’s always all these girls all over me,” explained N’Daiye, “but it’s mostly because I’m not one of those people who’s ready for a relationship or dating or anything. I’m a good friend if you any questions, like ‘Why are guys like this?’ I’m like ‘I don’t know, let’s watch a Lifetime movie and have some ice cream.’ It’s something like that.”
N’Diaye has prepared long and hard for tonight’s performance. It took him two months to write the material and he has been constantly revising it since.
“He’s completely focused on his material,” said Gittleson. “It’s really organized, it’s really well done, there’s constant edits to keep it up-to-date and with what’s going on in real time.”
“Even though it’s really hilarious already, he’s still trying to make it even better,” added Marytha Johnson ’14, who N’Diaye has been practicing with.
N’Diaye used open mic nights in Cleveland, Akron and Columbus to test out his material, seeing which jokes worked and which fell flat. He also voluntarily shared his script with Assistant Dean of Students MarTeze Hammonds to ensure that the material wouldn’t get anybody, especially himself, in trouble. Due to the small size of the College community, N’Diaye had to change names and get permission from people before mentioning them in his routine.
None of this is to say N’Diaye’s stand up is white-bread. “Be prepared to be offended,” said Johnson.
“I’m one of those people who’s not afraid to make any joke, whatever the joke is,” added N’Diaye. “I mean, I do have a filter, it’s just broken at the moment.”