UMD Off the Wall

Off the Wall is the University of Maryland's only student group exclusively dedicated to stand-up comedy.

Since forming in April 2008, the group has hosted open mics in Queen Anne's Lounge, showcases in the Stamp Atrium and the Artomatic Festival in DC, and its members have performed at venues such as Magooby's Joke House in Baltimore, the Helium Comedy Club in Philadelphia, the Gotham Comedy Club in New York and the Bentzen Ball Comedy Festival.

If you want to do stand-up, get writing, get funny and we'll give you 5 minutes to make it your own at one of our open mics. Dig? It might lead to some pretty boss stuff, not gonna lie.

Keep an eye here for all our latest doings and schemes, including feature shows, open mics, and bake salez

Justin Delano Lightning Cousson

President/Ringleader: Spring 2008-Present

Essential Statistics:

Birthday: 05/25/1989

Hometown: Lanham, Md.

Height: 5′9″

Wingspan: 70 inches.

ERA: 2.97

Shoes: Asics Onitsuka Tigers

Col. Justin Lightning Cousson, II (born Lew Alcindor on March 14, 1928) is likely on his yacht, eating sherbet and changing his clothes.

Stand-up comedian, part-time bassist, first-rate haberdasher and a cartoonist of indeterminable ethnicity and questionable ambition, Cousson is the President/Ringleader of Off the Wall, UMD’s stand-up comedy group. He spends far too many nights out at open mics and dive bars, and can be heard semi-regularly on WMUC’s Justin Cousson Vs., where he keeps a revolving door of co-hosts. He has appeared at Magooby’s Joke House and the Baltimore Comedy Factory in Baltimore, as well as New York’s Gotham, EastVille and Comedy Corner Clubs, and was featured at 2009’s Bentzen Ball, where he performed alongside Reggie Watts, Nick Thune, Tig Notaro, and Ben Kronberg, among others.

His favorite word is “follies.”

He’s not a party person. But he hangs out and does lunch.

He drives a beige 1997 Toyota Corolla that never gets pulled over on account of being a beige 1997 Toyota Corolla.

He collects dust and black-and-white B-movie and is really not good at holding babies.

Just a heads-up.

Influences

  • The movie Black Belt Jones
  • Horsefight videos.