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When he was 13 years old, Jordan Bullock — who now goes by the stage name Moppn — had an English teacher who would walk around holding a jar filled with prompts which students called the “Jar of Death.” To get her students comfortable with public speaking, she had them choose a random prompt and answer it at the front of the class.

One day, the teacher and her dreaded jar landed on Moppn. “If you could be any mythological creature, which would you choose?” the prompt read. When he went up to the front of the class to deliver his three-minute answer, Moppn did not talk about mythological creatures. Instead, he told jokes to the 30 kids in front of him.

Nearly a decade later, Moppn is a Syracuse University senior studying television, radio and film at the Newhouse School of Public Communications. On Friday, he will perform his taped hour-long debut comedy special and senior TRF capstone project, Ashwagandha, at Westcott Theater. SU student comedians Julia DiCesare, Mary Shalaby and Ronan Mansfield will open for him.

As a comedian, Moppn started participating in talent shows and writing showcases in middle school. Then he did stand-up at clubs at 16 years old until he entered the comedy scene at SU. At the university, his comedy has taken him from the sets of Live From Studio B! and the stages of University Union to Los Angeles.

The TRF capstone is “a challenge” for TRF seniors to produce a project for over a semester, TRF chair Michael Schoonmaker wrote in a statement to The Daily Orange. Moppn’s efforts to produce and market his show have been ongoing since September, he said.

Ashwagandha is a plant used by some as an adaptogen, a supplement to relax and destress, Moppn said. When Moppn is on stage, he hopes to “escape from all the stress and anxiety” with his audience.

Moppn’s dream to produce a comedy special dates back to his Jar of Death-fueled comedy days. As a young comic, he identified with the Wanda Sykes and Dave Chappelle specials he watched.

“They talk the way I talk, they think the way I think. I got to do one of those — I got to do a special,” Moppn remembers thinking at a young age. “I’ve been dreaming for almost 10 years of what (my special) would look like.”

DiCesare is a fellow TRF senior involved in American High Shorts based out of Liverpool. Before both she and Moppn worked on Live From Studio B!, they were freshman-year neighbors in the Brewster, Boland and Brockway Complex, where she first learned of his dream to host a special.

“I remember (Moppn) telling me — and we were 18 — ‘I want to be a Steve Harvey-type, hosting shows and doing stand up,’” she said. “I thought that was so cool, and I hadn’t started doing that yet.”

Although Moppn initially wanted to write an original set for his show, he found that much of his best material already existed. Through a long cycle of writing and cutting, Moppn weaved together his hits and new material to create Ashwagandha.

“I’ve had to cut, and cut and cut because (the set) is almost my whole life story,” Moppn said. “If I was putting out mixtapes before, this is my first album.”

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Moppn’s set would not exist without the progression he’s experienced as a comedian and a person in his time at SU, he said. By performing in the Syracuse comedy scene and in Los Angeles during his time in the Newhouse LA program, Moppn overcame doubts that his comedy is regional or specific to one age group.

Doing stand-up on different stages acted as “stepping stones” toward Ashwagandha, Moppn said. The Playground, a student-run comedy club run out of a house on Comstock Avenue, was one of these stages. Moppn and his three openers are all Playground regulars — DiCesare and Shalaby are co-managers.

“Being on the (Westcott Theater) stage is so different than standing up in front of a group of kids sitting on the ground or in chairs who are basically as tall as you are (at the Playground),” said Shalaby, a senior majoring in English.

Shalaby, who has known Moppn since they were both sophomores, said the two have crossed paths at various shows since they met. When she met Moppn, she was in “awe of his ability.” The two have supported each other ever since.

Mansfield, a sophomore majoring in creative writing, said Moppn pitched his special to him sometime last year at a show they were performing at. He said he is excited to perform on the Westcott Theater stage — his “biggest” show yet since its around 700-person seating surpasses the Playground’s 40-person capacity.

“These are some of the best comedians on campus,” Moppn said. “(Ashwagandha) is giving them all a chance to shine and also bring people to the show.”

Though the last few weeks have been filled with the challenges of logistics, production and promotion, Moppn knows “jokes are what matter.” Ultimately, he’s embracing the opportunity to put out a special directed, edited and performed by him.

“People say all the time, ‘Oh, this is a dream come true.’ But this is like all of my dreams coming true right now,” Moppn said.

Published on February 28, 2024 at 10:39 pm

Contact Griffin: gbrown19@syr.edu