A comedian entertained Eastern students with jokes about race, cultures and his own experiences Tuesday.

Paul Varghese said he uses three jokes to gauge how the audience will react to different types of comedy.

“I usually base my set off of the first two minutes of my show,” Varghese said.

Varghese told jokes about his experiences including times when he had been drunk and his experiences on planes.

One of his jokes was: “Have you even been drunk and sitting on the couch and looking for the seat belt?”

Varghese said he did not always plan to be a comedian.

“I took a workshop on comedy that was a couple of months long, and when I did my first set, the managers of the club kept asking me to come back,” Varghese said.

Varghese said he only took the workshop for something to do and found that he liked being a comedian and was good at it.

Varghese said he hopes students connected with him and understood his jokes.

“There are some crowds that get you, and some crowds that don’t,” Varghese said.

“I like the challenge of getting in front of new crowds.”

Varghese said that while he gets nervous before each show he likes the challenge of getting over his nervousness.

“I hope (the show) is a good one, that it’s fun,” Varghese said. “Most don’t know who I am and if I do well, hopefully I will get more fans.”

Shauna Miller, the comedy coordinator for University Board, said she watched many videos of Varghese and thought he was funny.

“He does different material that people aren’t use to hearing,” Miller said. “He is an Indian comedian and his comedy is universal, people can understand and relate to it.”

Miller said she thinks students had a good time.

“We try to make the comedy event a good time,” Miller said. “It’s a break from normal routine.”

Kaycie Brauer, a freshman mathematics major, said the comedy show gave her a good place to let her mind wander.

“It helps me take a break to let my mind wander in a better situation than in the middle of doing my homework,” Brauer said.

Rachel Angus, a junior art education major, said she usually attends most of comedy shows because it is a good break from homework.

“You are in a good mood and you don’t want to ruin it by doing homework,” Angus said.

Varghese is a comedian from India, but now lives in Texas.

Samantha McDaniel can be reached at 581-7942

or [email protected].