What makes a good comic? Is it their material or their stage presence? Is it the audience? Can anyone do it?

Someone outside of the comedy game may ponder these questions when they see someone onstage with nothing more than a microphone and their wit — they are by no means easy questions to answer. Ultimately it comes down to what each comic is comfortable with, and that idea can lead to some odd performances.

In all honesty, I was not looking forward to the comedy stylings of Drew Lynch who performed in the Maucker Union Ballroom Thursday. I was not familiar with his material and all I had really heard about him was that he had a stutter and that he was the runner up in the last season of America’s Got Talent. Armed with this minimal knowledge, I went to the show and came out pleasantly surprised.

Maybe it’s because I’m a comic myself but I am very critical of comedians and I’m leery when someone tells me, “This guy is so funny!” But laughs cannot lie, and Lynch struck a good balance between witty material and a relatable and charming stage persona.

Lynch was injured in a sporting accident years ago and this left him with a permanent stutter. Since comedy is essentially talking for long periods of time, one might think that this would hamper his comedy but that’s not the case at all. He is very quick and has excellent comedic timing. His material is mostly clean but does include some risqué moments (including a joke about Bill Cosby), but they are uproarious nonetheless.

I think what makes his act is actually what some might think of as his handicap. His stutter makes him take time in delivering his jokes, giving a feeling of anticipation to the audience. When he finally gives the punchline, he almost has to force it out. This makes the end of his jokes just land so well.

It’s interesting because I can say from experience that finding a stage persona is difficult. Some comics search for it for a long time and never find it. Some just have that quality to them. Lynch got his in a softball accident. I see so many comics trying to fit into a niche. The casual nerd niche. The awkward bookworm. The alpha male. Lynch’s evidently came to him by accident.

He also has the ability to improvise. This is not easy for most comics. He made several jokes at Iowa’s expense, often forgetting the difference between us and Idaho.

As a side bar, I want to use this platform to voice a request: If you are in the audience during a comedy performance, do not speak up towards the comic.

This may seem like a given and I wish so much that it was. During Lynch’s performance, there were several instances of people trying to add their own touch to his bits or commenting on them. One girl actually told a full story, yelling it to him onstage.

I applaud Lynch for making the comments part of the act but I was fuming. A comedy show is not a panel discussion, it’s a performance. Let the man do his job. I promise you he’s funnier than you think you are.

Lynch also was able to take the audiences reactions to his jokes and turn them into his own bits. He seemed very fond of callbacks as well — that is, referencing previous jokes that often worked for him.

It is difficult for a comedian to make his mark on the world. It takes discipline, sacrifice and endless hours. We do not all have the ironic gift that Drew Lynch does but he, in a way, is the perfect embodiment of modern stand-up comedy. He can take tragedy in life and see what’s funny about it. He can joke about anything. In this era of overt political correctness, we could all be reminded that it is okay to laugh.