Colin Jost: Remember the name

WE HAVE 4 PAIRS OF TICKETS TO THE COLIN JOST SHOW AT THE CIVIC ON FRIDAY NIGHT. Tweet “I want to see @TheColinJost at @civicnola c/o @nolavie !” We’ll notify winners tomorrow night. Bonne Chance.

Colin Jost

Colin Jost. Get used to the name. Most people know him only as the new co-anchor for “Saturday Night Live’s” “Weekend Update,” but Jost’s fingerprints are all over some of the best comedy of the last eight years, and all signs point to the comedian becoming a household name sooner rather than later. New Orleanians have an opportunity to catch the rising star’s stand-up prowess at the Civic Theatre on Friday, May 30.

As co-anchor of “SNL’s” longest-running segment, Jost joins a list that has included Amy Poehler, Jimmy Fallon, Dennis Miller, and Chevy Chase. Those who closely follow the show also know that the newest face to grace stage 8H of 30 Rockefeller Plaza has played a much bigger role in “SNL’s” success than the casual fan is aware. Jost has been a writer on the show since he graduated from Harvard in 2005, as well as a head writer since 2012. His SNL work has garnered three Writers Guild Awards, the Peabody Award in 2009, and seven Emmy nominations. The joint roles of head writer and “Weekend Update” anchor is a promising path to further success: The last two to do so were Seth Meyers and Tina Fey.

Jost’s comedic success doesn’t end with “SNL.” As a stand-up, he has appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, HBO, TNT, and the Just for Laughs Comedy Festivals in Chicago and Montreal, at which he was recognized as a “New Face” in 2009.

Despite “SNL’s” notoriously grueling schedule, Jost reportedly manages to get to three or four of New York’s open mics every week and tries to do out of town specials, like this week’s show at the Civic, as often as possible.

The comedian’s career started as a contributor to Harvard’s renowned comedic publication, the “Harvard Lampoon,” and he has continued writing with submissions to The New York Times Magazine, the Huffington Post, and, notably, The New Yorker’s “Shouts and Murmurs” section. Jost also recently wrote the screenplay for “Staten Island Summer,” which is based on his time as a Staten Island lifeguard; the movie is scheduled for release later this year.

With his increased visibility through “Weekend Update,” Jost is hitting his comedic stride. Whatever knowledge they have of Jost, however, audience members can go to Friday’s show expecting to enjoy his charmingly smart brand of stand-up. They should also expect to leave the show wanting to tell anyone within hearing: “Colin Jost. You should know this name.”