The Black Box Theatre in Collins Auditorium has become a second home for Henry Tremblay, FCRH ’26. The theater is where he performs stand-up and improv comedy in front of a live audience of Fordham University students throughout the school year. His experiences have allowed him to grow his comedic skills and become part of a fun community on campus.
Growing up in Providence, R.I., Tremblay found interest in comedy while watching stand-up specials “Saturday Night Live” and Mad TV. Robin Williams specifically had a large influence on forming Tremblay’s comedic approach. What attracted him to Williams was his fun energy and warm nature: “A lot of comedians can be a little mean, but Robin Williams was pretty kind.” However, it wasn’t until arriving at Fordham that Tremblay decided to become a comedian.
During the first week of his first-year, he went to Gotham Comedy Club in Manhattan and saw comedians perform their sets in person. This experience inspired him to pursue performing comedy. While in Providence during Winter Break in 2023, he had the opportunity to perform at The Glue Factory comedy club, where he performed a set about dogs and their odd behaviors. The set was a success, and his comedy career began.
Tremblay auditioned for the Black Box improv team during his second semester and got in. Throughout the semester, he performed improv routines with his teammates and was able to grow his skills as a performer. What Tremblay likes about improv is the teamwork and the friends he’s made: “I really like working with teams and being around other funny people is one of the most fun things to do.”
As Tremblay got into improv, he continued to work on his stand-up skills. Over the summer between his first- and sophomore years, he performed at comedy clubs in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. At the start of the fall semester, Tremblay auditioned for the Black Box stand-up team and got on. Since then, he’s done sets with other team members and has loved every minute of it. His favorite part of performing stand-up at Fordham is the audience: “The audience at the Black Box is some of the best audience members you can ask for.” He loves the audience’s high energy and thinks it’s great to make his fellow classmates laugh by making jokes about everyday Fordham experiences. He thinks joking about these experiences makes his sets more impactful and allows the audience to get more into the show. Since Tremblay started, he has performed many sets on stage. One of his favorites is a slip-and-fall gag he did during one set. “My body didn’t like it,” he said, “but I thought it was really funny at the time.”
One aspect of comedy that the audience doesn’t see is the process of creating a set. While Tremblay’s jokes may seem effortless on stage, it takes a lot of work to get there. A seven-minute set can take him around six to seven hours of writing and editing to complete. “It’s a weird process… you’re thinking about it throughout the day,” he said. Once comedic inspiration hits Tremblay, he likes to jot down joke ideas in either a notebook or the notes app and then expand on them. When writing jokes, Tremblay likes a dry and sarcastic comedic style inspired by Micheal Che and Mark Normand. While it may not be easy to develop a set, the feeling of accomplishment when performing makes the work worth it.
Tremblay’s hard work has paid off. Last semester, he won the Last Comic Standing during Spring Weekend. He was also voted by his peers to be the captain of the Fordham Stand-Up team. Tremblay considers his new role to be an honor. “I love the team and the people on it… Being able to represent and help the team out is really cool… I’m super honored,” he said. Tremblay wants the Fordham community to know how thankful the Black Box is for their support. “I hope they keep coming to shows and more people keep trying out,” he said. So next time you have a free Friday or Saturday evening, see Tremblay and others perform a show at the Black Box. You’ll always be in for a good time.
