PennWest California’s Student Activities Board (SAB) hosted renowned stand-up comedian Cody Woods on Tuesday, Feb. 11. Woods has been doing stand-up comedy for 18 years, since he was 17 years old. He has currently amassed over 60,000 subscribers on YouTube and almost 10,000 followers on Instagram.
Though much of Woods’ material was unfiltered and edgy, it was still funny and relatable. Having a mature audience helped drive some of the punchlines as well.
“His crowd work was amazing. He talked to almost everyone in the theater and got them feeling a part of his show,” freshman Rylee Kendro said.
Since there was a relatively small audience, Woods was able to interact with the entire crowd, making jokes about students’ majors, playing football, and the activities they were involved in on campus. The crowd work was a highlight of Woods’ performance. Being able to ad-lib about information he had just learned showed his strengths as a seasoned comic.
“Cody is probably one of the best comedians (PennWest) Cal has seen with crowd work. Engagement with the audience is key to ensuring that they are listening,” Student Activities Board sponsor and Assistant Director of Student Development and Engagement Darrek Harshberger said.
Another aspect of Woods’ performance that stuck out was how personal he was. He spoke about how he grew up in a trailer park and talked about his experiences with living in the Midwest and surviving three tornadoes. He also spoke about his marriage and did several crowd polls about our future plans.
“I personally thought that his comedy was very funny,” Kendro said. “He was also a very personable man which I feel like made the crowd love him more.”
According to Cody Woods’ official website, “[w]hat sets Woods apart is that he is a massive hit with every demographic.” His background living in the midwest and then moving to the Compton and Los Angeles area as well as touring the country has given him cultural experiences that he can relate to all audience members.
Woods has worked with actor and comedian Kevin Hart on Comedy Central and SiriusXM. After winning a comedy competition at a soul food restaurant, Hart chose to showcase Woods’ talent.
“He is really funny in person, he’s fast. His energy feels like a child,” Woods said of Hart. Woods has also competed at other comedy competitions, including winning first place out of 500 comedians at The World Series of Comedy in 2024. Woods is currently touring parts of the United States and has toured all over the world.
“I think comedy lets people really feel laughter and creates a space to get away from the stress of academics or whatever else may be happening and simply just enjoy,” Harshberger said.
Both Harshberger and Kendro thought that Woods’ performance was successful for the student body.
“I think it is important to have a wide variety of different events on college campuses for students to attend,” Harshberger said. “Attending events like this really unites our campus community. I also think that it is one of the best ways to meet new people and get involved.”
Kendro agreed and said, “It’s important to attend these types of events on campus because it gets you out of the room and allows you to meet some pretty cool and famous people. Plus, I also feel like for these events being free it should be an easy yes.”
Harshberger noted that SAB is planning to bring in another comedian on March 13, with an official announcement of the performer coming soon.
