Comedian Marc Yaffee wants students to take a break from their studies on Thursday to come out and have a laugh. He will be among the performers when Sacramento State hosts a stand-up comedy show in the University Union Ballroom.

The show will feature two of the three members of the Native American comedy troupe known as “Pow Wow Comedy Jam,” as well as another Native American comedian filling in for the absent Howie Miller. Yaffee, who is one of the scheduled performers, described what he does as “minority niche” comedy that touches on the Native American experience, and likens it in many ways to the work of Latino comedians such as George Lopez.

Unlike the much larger Latino comedy market, however, Yaffee said what makes Native American comedy special is that no one is expecting it. In fact, he said the performers who will be at Sac State on Thursday are some of the only paid Native American comedians in the business.

He said, though, that on Thursday everyone would be able to find something to laugh about.

“Comedy is a universal topic – this is just a Native perspective,” Yaffee explained.

UNIQUE Programs Adviser Zenia LaPorte said there is at least one other big reason why students should make a point of attending the show.

“It’s a free event,” LaPorte said. “These guys play nightclubs and casinos, where you’d have to pay a cover charge and you’d have to be at least 21 to attend. It’s also open to the public, so if a student wants to bring someone who doesn’t go to Sac State, they are welcome to.”

Yaffee explained that all ages are welcome because the subject matter does not get too dark.

LaPorte said UNIQUE is hosting the event in collaboration with Ensuring Native Indian Traditions, a club on campus that will also be putting together a Native American Culture Week in March.

As for the style of comedy one can expect from the performers, Yaffee said the three comedians take very different approaches.

Yaffee describes Vaughn Eaglebear, the other official troupe member slated to appear, as similar to famous jokester Steven Wright, whose deadpan one-liners made him popular in the 1980s.

“He’s real disjointed; all over the map,” Yaffee said.

Charlie Ballard, who is scheduled to take the place of Pow Wow veteran Howie Miller, is the opposite. Yaffee described Ballard as a “giant man” who “stands out in the crowd”. Yaffee also emphasized the word “flamboyant” in relation to Ballard, whom he said is very loud and dramatic.

Yaffee, whose daughter is a jazz studies major at Sac State, said that no topic is off the table.

Similar to other varieties of ethnic comedy, family life and racial issues will be a big part of the act. However, Yaffee stressed this will be a show that will feature “something for everyone.”

Like a lot of stand-up, politics will also be a topic of conversation. Yaffee claimed that the Native American perspective on politics is not something most people hear very often. He said the show will offer students an opportunity to “laugh a lot, and learn something, too.”

“After all, illegal immigration is a 500-year(-old) issue,” Yaffee said.

Overall, though, he said that the Pow Wow Comedy Jam is not an opportunity for Native Americans to castigate other segments of the audience.

“We are not out to beat up the white man,” Yaffee joked. “I’m half-white, and I’d feel guilty.”

Alex Grotewohl can be reached at [email protected]