UC Santa Barbara’s comedy club, Laughology, hosted its largest show of the year at Campbell Hall on April 19. The student-led group organized a two-hour event featuring multiple comedians including one of Saturday Night Live’s newest comics, Kam Patterson.
UCSB’s club Laughology hosted an event featuring Saturday Night Live’s newest comic. Kam Patterson. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus
The show was hosted by comedian Johana Coca, who was followed by performances from fellow comics Chris Riney, Jarri Knows and Laughology President and third-year English major Sahara Oberoi. Following the openers, Patterson took the stage for his hour-long set.
Patterson grew up in Orlando, Florida, and first began performing on a more high-profile scale after becoming a regular on Kill Tony, a stand-up comedy podcast. He got his big break last fall, joining SNL as a featured player for their 51st season. In an interview with the Nexus, Patterson explained that his approach to comedy is through storytelling and praised the UCSB audience for its attentiveness.
“Man, a lot of my crowds are very rowdy, and this [was] listening [and] paying attention. I appreciate that a little more because you can get into more stuff,” Patterson said. “I tell stories and stuff like that a little bit easier when people are listening … So [it was] super dope.”
Laughology has been actively performing at UCSB since before 2011, being formerly known as I.V. Stand Up Comedy. In addition to student performances, the club regularly hosts popular comics such as Peyton Ruddy, Nick Thune and Maddi Mays, who all performed at the club’s events during this last calendar year. Oberoi explained her role in helping Laughology bring these bigger acts to UCSB.
“From a leadership standpoint, I am working on reaching out to comics with an opportunity to headline, proposing funding from the school and responding to any emails from those respective headliners,” Oberoi said.
Club meetings are held every Friday, during which members develop jokes, plan future shows and work through stage fright. They also host weekly open mic nights at 8:30 p.m. on Mondays at I.V. Pizza Pub, where up-and-coming comics can test their material while getting in front of a real audience.
Oberoi also spoke about Laughology’s benefits for club members and what she wished more people would know about it.
“I wish more people knew how easy it is to judge someone who goes up on the mic versus how hard it is to gather the courage to even give it a try,” Oberoi said. “I encourage anyone, literally anyone, to give comedy a try. I think so many wonderful people have the potential to turn their humor into something greater, and the reward is definitely worth it.”
These sentiments were echoed by Patterson as well, who discussed his efforts to make it as a comedian.
“Do it every single day. That’s the most cliché thing anybody could say, but every single day. When I first started, there wasn’t a day where I wasn’t on stage,” Patterson said. “My biggest thing is just staying on stage. I think if you stay on stage, it’ll make you such a better comic. Any time you don’t want to do it, or any time you just feel tired — get on stage. That’s the best thing anybody could do.”
Laughology’s regular shows take place at Embarcadero Hall on Saturdays at 8 p.m., with their next show scheduled for May 2. Looking onwards, Oberoi expressed her hopes and visions for the future of the club.
“I hope we continue to impact UCSB students for the better, giving them a sanctuary to laugh, decompress and share cherished memories with their friends,” Oberoi said.
A version of this article appeared on p. 6 of the April 30, 2026 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
