The Student Association Programming Board brought Max Greenfield, the beloved actor and comedian, to the Broome County Forum Theatre on Wednesday evening for its annual spring comedy show.

Greenfield, known for his roles as Schmidt in the award-winning sitcom “New Girl” and Dave Johnson in “The Neighborhood,” along with his voice acting work in “Bojack Horseman” and “Bob’s Burgers,” brought an electric presence to the stage, bouncing off of the energy from the audience and the moderator of the night, Ryan Vaughan Ph.D. ‘06, an adjunct professor of English.

Robert Camlet, SAPB’s comedy chair and a senior majoring in art and design, and Basil Lambros, SAPB’s vice comedy chair and a junior majoring in biomedical engineering, took to the stage and gave a short introduction, thanking the theater for hosting the event, SAPB and Vaughan’s contributions, and for the support from Binghamton Sound, Stage and Lighting and Off Campus College Transport.

“I hope attendees leave the show satisfied that they got to see one of their favorite actors visit their college town, almost like a full-circle moment,” Camlet told Pipe Dream.

“While SAPB mostly does shows with stand-up comedians, this year we wanted to try something a bit different as someone that had to learn timing and delivery but also express it through his body language, expressions and acting ability,” Lambros added. “Max Greenfield, most well known for his acting in ‘New Girl,’ allows us this perspective. The experience aims to explore the requirements that come with being a comedic actor and merge that with the nostalgia of Max’s time on the show and funny moments that he has had while filming.”

Following their introduction, Vaughan came out on stage with Greenfield, whose presence was met with applause and excitement from the audience. One of Greenfield’s initial remarks was announcing the Spring Fling headliner, an event he referred to as a “spring soiree.”

“And just so you know, I invited A Boogie while I was backstage, and immediately he said ‘yes,’” he said. “So you have me to thank. You’re welcome. That’s all the ammo I have, so don’t ask me any more tough questions.”

As the screams and excitement from the reveal leveled out, Vaughan introduced the five categories of questions for the night: “New Girl,” “The Neighborhood,” personal, miscellaneous and hot takes.

“Shows like these are important for students for so many reasons, but I think mostly because it brings students together and gives them an event to come together in a non-alcoholic environment which is where most gatherings occur anyways,” Camlet wrote.

Throughout the evening, Vaughan hopped around the categories, steering the conversation wherever it naturally went. He started with “New Girl,” asking Greenfield if he thinks Schmidt is a douchebag, to which his response was “no.” He said that judging characters is a slippery slope, adding that if Schmidt is a douchebag, then we should embrace the characteristic. He believes throughout the show, Schmidt was eventually molded into a “lovable douchebag.”

Following this, Vaughan pulled out a prop that he made: a douchebag jar similar to the one introduced in the pilot of “New Girl.” The jar, akin to a swear jar, attempts to correct Schmidt’s behavior by forcing him to put money in it for any action or comment considered “douchebaggery.”

“It wasn’t until I started consuming comedy, true pure comedy that prompts thought as well as laughter, that I started to question many of the things I thought I believed,” Vaughan wrote in an email. “Comedy was a catalyst for self-analysis in that way.”

After commenting that any money put in the jar should go toward Spring Fling, Greenfield said Elizabeth Meriwether, the creator of “New Girl,” most likely still has the original jar.

The conversation continued to flow, with the two moving from the origin of Schmidt’s name to Greenfield’s voice acting and singing on “Bob’s Burgers” and his all-time favorite TV shows, largely consisting of half-hour sitcoms like “The Office” and “Seinfeld.”

The discussion shifted back to “New Girl,” where Vaughan asked how much improv went on in the show and if that was an indication of the quality of the writing.

“Never, because there was what was written and we would make sure that we would always do that,” Greenfield said. “And then they would ask us to improv, because on take 11, we were like, ‘Did we not get it?’ And they were like, ‘Keep going, keep going.’ And then at some point, you know, on take 19, we would improv in a way that would suggest to everyone behind the camera that we were done. And they would use that stuff in the show.”

“It was so confusing,” he continued. “And so at some point, because we did so many takes, because what we were saying was so outlandish, we never knew what was gonna make it into the episodes. There’s so much of the show that I now watch where I’m like, ‘Oh, I don’t remember doing any of this.’”

As an example, Greenfield reproduced verbatim, “I would rather sit naked on a hot grill than buy something off the rack,” one of many of Schmidt’s iconic one-liners that was met with enthusiasm from the audience.

“I can do it, but I don’t know what I’m saying,” Greenfield said as he proceeded to add cash to the douchebag jar, fully committing to the bit.

Greenfield also discussed the topic of recognition and how he loves being known as Schmidt.

“There’s such a feeling from the people who are expressing their love for that show to you that it meant they had an experience with it,” he said. “And it’s always positive, and so I love it and will always love it.”

Next, Greenfield talked about his experience on “The Neighborhood” compared to “New Girl.” Despite both being sitcoms, the former varies in tone and structure as a traditional multicam show with limited room for improv.

Greenfield said that acting in “The Neighborhood” is about finding moments in the writing with room to play around, and momentum comes from being part of a group. He referenced his co-stars Cedric the Entertainer, Beth Behrs and Tichina Arnold as individuals he continues to learn from and is thankful to work with.

He then noted some comedic influences, including Steve Martin, particularly his work in “The Jerk,” and Jane Wickline, a featured cast member on Saturday Night Live’s 50th season.

“Max Greenfield allows a new perspective on comedy,” Lambros wrote in an email. “As a comedic actor, he has learned creative ways to express himself both on and off the screen. This skill is something that he does especially well.”

“Furthermore, just from watching interviews and watching some of his material, he is pretty relatable,” he continued. “This relatable side as well as his creative comedic acting make him the perfect person for Binghamton students to hear from.”

As the night drew to a close, Vaughan introduced the “hot takes” category, which involved a series of topics Greenfield had to give an opinion on in under 10 seconds, including zombies, tipping at restaurants, fishing, country music and more.

The show ended with Greenfield answering questions from the audience. In response to “Who from ‘New Girl’ would you want to live with in real life?” he responded, “I feel like I live with all of them.”

“Having these shows allows students the opportunity to learn to express themselves when heading into the real world,” Lambros wrote. “Seeing people with such unique experiences in life allows students to hear the challenges that come with it.”

“As a college student, ‘real life’ is quite literally around the corner,” he continued. So having creative people like Max Greenfield visit allows students the [lens] of a famous creative. This helps to entertain and grow that creative side of each person, helping them to go in any direction that they plan to go.”