Published 2011-10-03T21:18:00Z”/>

Miguel Rocha

The room was far from blue Friday night – it was vibrant with laughter at the Blue Room Theatre.

Bustolini’s Comedy Show filled the small dark room with excitement from enthusiasts looking for a night of laughs and no prejudice for jokes.

Light hit the anxious faces of seven amateur stand-up comedians as they took the stage, with stacked rocks wallpaper serving as a backdrop and random staircases displayed all throughout the black wooden stage floor.

Prior to the start, guests were preoccupied with trying to stay under the radar and not be targeted for jokes by the comedians.

“That’s why I didn’t want to sit so close,” said Veronica Jimenez, a friend of returning champion, Angela. All types of comedic monologues were fired at the crowd, but the sexual ones reigned the night as they received the most applause.

With jokes like “I’m blessed with a vagina that looks like a pastrami sandwich,” and sexual moves such as the “seal move,” Angela positioned herself as one of the audience’s favorites.

She was one of the most competitive opponents as she faced the night’s winner, Robert Green.

Although it was Green’s first time doing stand-up, he proved he was capable of taking the crown home.

Green was surprised to be voted as the night favorite, he said.

“It’s better to be lucky than good,” Green said.

The 34-year-old develops his jokes from real life situations.

“I think I’m a funny guy,” Green said.

As any other amateur, he had to deal with the first-time jitters, and the tough crowd with high standards was not helping, he said.

Also taking the stage was August Walsh, a Chico State student and former

Orion columnist.

The 23-year-old liberal studies major watches movies and stand-up comedies as an inspiration for new jokes, Walsh said. He is also the only Jewish comedian in Chico.

It’s not easy being a comedian, but the good thing is that they let him have a beer, he said.

Walsh was not going home un-applauded because he had friends in the crowd backing him up.

For Patrick Mercer, a junior business administration major, it was his first time going to a stand-up event, but he was there to support his friend Walsh, Mercer said.

Walsh has been performing stand-up for a couple of months and is happy he didn’t piss his pants on stage, he said. Comedy is one job that has no limitation with touchy subjects.

“It’s a joke, so it shouldn’t be offensive for any one,” Mercer said.

Mercer was one of the tough critics of that night.

“It better be funny or I want my money back,” Mercer said.

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<strong>Miguel Rocha can be reached at</strong>

<em>[email protected]</em>