Seth Meyers: Live from Irvine

Straight from the anchor desk of Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update” comes comedian Seth Meyers, the Social Planning and Events Connaissance Committee’s spring speaker.

Meyers will address students March 18 at Irvine Auditorium, Connaissance announced today.

One excited student, Engineering sophomore and longtime SNL fan Tim Hennelly said, “The only thing more exciting than Seth Meyers coming to campus would be the resurrection of Michael Jackson.”

Meyers, who is both a cast member and the head writer of SNL, comes as a break from the recent trend of political figures as the Connaissance keynote.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes spoke in the spring and fall of 2009, respectively.

“We noted the past couple speakers have been very political-based, and while we love to inspire political discussion and debate in the Penn community, we decided we wanted to do something more fun this time around,” Connaissance co-director and College senior Kate Shulman said.

Meyers will be a part of a discussion moderated by a theater arts professor, similar to a “fireside chat or an interview on a late-night show,” Shulman explained.

After the 45-minute long discussion, the floor will be opened for audience members to ask questions of Meyers.

Although SPEC has a policy of not allowing speakers to do stand-up routines, Shulman is “sure that [Meyers will] be really funny.”

Meyers’ career began at Northwestern University, where he was a member of Mee-ow, an improv group. After graduating in 1996 he joined the cast of SNL in 2001 and became co-head writer in 2006 — the same year he became the co-anchor for “Weekend Update,” along with actress Amy Poehler.

When she left the show in 2008, he became the sole “Weekend Update” anchor.

Meyers also wrote the sketches in which actress Tina Fey impersonated former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, a role for which Fey won an Emmy.

Shulman hopes that his speech is “a mix of [talking about his career] and how he thinks the media affects social consciousness.”

College sophomore and Mask and Wig member Zach Roberts said, “We don’t get a lot of pop culture icons [to come to Penn] — we get a lot of people in academia, but it’s always great to have a big name in comedy.”