Comedian Sam Jay is scheduled to perform during a Luau Comedy night at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 25 in the 7th Street Underground.

This will be Jay’s first time at Eastern.

University Board chair Nia Douglas said Jay’s witty, sarcastic comedy and diverse perspective make her the perfect comedian for the first comedy night of the year.

“Sam is up and coming right now. I saw her on an MTV show the other day,” Douglas said. “She’s doing big things, and I’m glad we got her when we did.”

When Douglas was in the process of choosing the act for the luau, she said her colleagues’ overwhelmingly positive response to Jay helped her make the decision.

“I wasn’t even showing the video to other people yet and I would hear laughter from different parts of the office,” Douglas said.

Douglas said Jay is a part of the LGBTQ+ community and talks about her relationship and her life in an honest, open way throughout the act.

“We don’t only bring straight or just black or just white comedians to campus. We bring diverse ones,” Douglas said. “(Jay) doesn’t mind opening up herself and then showing you a little piece of the type of person that she is, so I really like that.”

Douglas said planning for this comedy show began in April. While she was originally in command of the event as comedy coordinator last year, Douglas said she is looking forward to seeing the new comedy coordinator, Dallas Lancenese, succeed at running his first comedy night.

“When I was transitioning out of comedy into chair, I was really nervous because comedy was on a downfall before I came in. I actually brought it back up,” Douglas said. “I wanted someone who could take over and take off further than what I did.”

In his interview, Lancenese impressed her and even reminded Douglas a bit of herself.

“The way his mindset is set up is he compliments the things he likes and he also gives suggestions on how they can be better,” Douglas said. “He’s going to be willing to work to improve anything and outdo himself from the past.

Lancenese said he has been going to UB comedy events for years and said he cannot wait to get things set up and in motion for his first comedy night.

“I’m very excited to see if I can put my own twist on it and have fun with it,” Lancenese said.

Chrissy Miller can be reached at 581-2812 or clmiller9@eiu.edu.