Drexel Night Live’s stand-up open mic on April 26 in Nesbitt Hall brought big laughs and big energy, packing a room with over 40 students and showcasing both seasoned performers and newcomers to the stage. For a club known for its “Saturday Night Live”-style sketch comedy shows, the event proved to be a refreshing and intimate way to connect with Drexel’s comedy community. It also served as a strong lead-up to their final performance of the year, happening May 23 in the Urban Annex’s Black Box Theater.
Mike Borko, DNL’s head writer, hosted the night’s lineup. With a natural ease on the mic, Borko guided the audience through a tight evening of student stand-up sets, a number of which came from first-timers thanks to the club’s new screening night format.
“This year we had a lot of freshmen and people who’d never done stand-up before,” Borko explained in a post-show interview. “The screening nights were a low-stakes way for them to try it out, get feedback and ease into the process.”
The night served as both a showcase and a proving ground. Some sets were raw, others polished, but the atmosphere was unmistakably supportive. “Anyone in the club who wants to perform is welcome to,” Borko said. “It’s really about helping people find their voice and getting better each time.”
For Borko, who is graduating this spring, the open mic format is especially meaningful—it is a space he hopes to return to after Drexel. “Stand-up is something I know I’ll keep doing,” he said. “DNL has been a huge part of my college experience, and now I want to help others have that too.”
But while open mic nights are loose and largely unscripted, DNL’s mainstage shows are another beast entirely. The upcoming May 23 performance in the Black Box Theater will be a full-scale sketch comedy production, complete with live and pre-recorded sketches. It is the closest thing Drexel has to a live taping of “SNL”—and this year’s finale promises to be especially sentimental.
“It’s our first time back in the Black Box in about a year and a half,” said Borko. “It’s where I did my first show with DNL, and where a lot of other seniors did theirs. Since it’s my last show, our president’s last show and the last for a bunch of us, we wanted to bring it home.”
Returning to the Black Box also means a return to higher production value and more immersive audience experiences. The team is planning two performances in one night, a throwback to a tradition from earlier DNL seasons.
Tickets are $10 for students and $12 for non-students, with proceeds helping to cover the venue and production costs. Past shows have taken place in larger lecture halls like the Bossone Research Center, but the more intimate Black Box space offers a tighter connection between performers and audience.
“It’s a space where we can really do the show justice,” Borko said. “We’ve got some fun stuff planned—and we want to send this off right.”
If the stand-up night was any indication, DNL’s final show of the year will be a packed house of punchlines, sketches and well-earned applause.