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  UCLA Performing Arts Student Committee For $5, students can watch Pauly Shore, Mike Ricca and Noe Gonzalez perform their "Comedy Fiesta" at Freud Playhouse on Saturday.

By Mary Williams

Daily Bruin Staff

After an absence of over a decade, Pauly Shore is making his triumphant return to UCLA, and this time he’s actually getting paid less than he did for his first appearance.

“The first time I played UCLA … I played some frat house, and I did my show on a picnic table and had a really bad microphone,” said Shore in a phone interview from his Hollywood office. “It was one of my first gigs ever, actually. I think I got paid like $400.”

Shore seemed reluctant about moving his act to Freud Playhouse, where he will be performing Saturday with Mike Ricca and Noe Gonzalez, both regulars at The Comedy Store, in a Cinco de Mayo show.

“I don’t know, I kind of liked the picnic table, with the frat guys,” he said.

The show, called “Pauly Shore’s Comedy Fiesta,” was planned as a substitute for Shore appearing at “Politically Incorrect” in March, which he could not attend. As a result, he will not be paid for his appearance on Saturday, keeping ticket prices at a low $5 for students and $10 for the public.

Both Ricca and Gonzalez have also played for UCLA crowds in the past and find college audiences in general to be responsive to their comedy.

“When I first started doing colleges, I was a little scared because I thought they’d be all smart and stuff, but they’re all cool,” said Gonzalez in a phone interview from his Whittier home. “They go out there to have a good time and laugh. That little bit of comedy away from school, I think, helps them relax, and they get more into the comedy and having a good time.”

Ricca got his start playing at The Comedy Store in Westwood, which has since been replaced by Maloney’s.

The Westwood location was used as a training ground for comedians before they began playing The Comedy Store in Hollywood.

“We’d practice on all the angry drunk college students,” said Ricca in a phone interview from his home in Sherman Oaks. “They were always good for practice, because if you can make them laugh, you can make anybody laugh.”

On Saturday, Shore hopes to entertain both students and the public by putting on an unpredictable show. Even he is not sure what to expect from the night.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I like to be spontaneous. I like to do a lot of interaction with the crowd.”

As for the Cinco de Mayo theme, it is, to say the least, a loose interpretation of the Mexican holiday.

In fact, the presence of Gonzalez alone constitutes the fulfillment of the Cinco de Mayo theme for Shore.

“There’s one Spanish guy,” he said, describing the way in which the show is a “fiesta.”

Ricca, Shore’s other choice for opening comedian, is perhaps less suitable for the Mexican celebration.

“I’m Italian, so I just know it’s an excuse to drink beer and margaritas,” Ricca said. “I don’t know that much about the history of it and the symbolism.”

“I’ll wear a sombrero if I have to,” he later added.

Gonzalez will be hosting the show, and he promised to bring Latino-related humor into the mix.

“I’ve done tons of Mexican rooms, so I’ll bring a little bit of that Latin humor as well as the type of material that’s universal that everyone will get,” he said.

Regardless of how true to the theme the comedians stay throughout the night, it will be an exposure to stand-up comedy that many college students don’t often have.

“I think it’ll be a nice surprise for the students because they’ll come away seeing some comics they’ve never heard, and they’ll find some new comedy,” Ricca said. “It’s like when you hear a new band for the first time – you get excited about it. Hopefully the students will feel that way about us if they see us perform.”

As the three comedians return to performing for a UCLA audience, Ricca has one hope for the response from the crowd.

“College kids like rock music – they love live concerts – so hopefully they’ll respond to us like we’re in a rock concert kind of atmosphere,” he said. “Hopefully girls will be taking off their tops and throwing them onstage. Not likely, but it’s good to dream.”

EVENT: “Pauly Shore’s Comedy Fiesta” takes place Saturday at Freud Playhouse. Tickets are $5 for UCLA students and $10 for the public and are available from the Central Ticket Office. For more information call (310) 825-2101 or go to www.sca.ucla.edu.