Jenna Jones

Today I am interviewing Jenna Jones, a comedian born in Seoul, South Korea who has been doing comedy for less than a year. To find out more about Jenna, please visit her website.

Why did you start doing stand-up comedy?

My family got sick of my jokes so I thought I would try them out on tipsy strangers in a dark room who are looking to get their money's worth of laughter (because that isn’t intimidating at all). After graduating from college, I was hired at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as a Production Assistant. A few months later, inspired by all the funny people I work with, I decided that I would give stand-up a shot. And guess what? I discovered that making people laugh is an incredibly fulfilling challenge.

What was your first time performing comedy like?

When I finally signed up for my first show, I was forced to actually sit down and prepare. I mean REALLY prepare. I became a total comedy nerd, constantly writing and rewriting jokes. My first performance taught me two things:

1. I MUST be myself. If I can't be myself, I won't be funny.

2. There is no winging it when it comes to performing stand-up for the first time. I'm relieved I spent a couple of months preparing; otherwise, I would have bombed, tanked, failed! I've done a show since then for which I wasn't nearly as prepared, and I blew it, big time.

My second on-stage experience felt completely different than my first. I performed at Comix in New York City in a show run by the Executive Producer at The Daily Show. The opportunity arose maybe an hour before I stepped on stage, but I managed to stumble through five very long minutes. I was terrified (mostly because I forgot to wear deodorant that day) and felt a little inadequate because all of the other comedians had been telling jokes for years. As crazy as it may seem, those feelings motivated me to continue writing and performing (and of course to never ever forget my Secret: strong enough for a man, made for one nervous blonde on stage).

How do you feel about freedom of speech and political correctness and stand-up comedy?

Comedians will always push boundaries and wouldn’t be able to do so if we didn’t have freedom of speech. When I tell jokes, I like to point out life’s awkward truths, poke fun at my flaws (I’m only human!) and hopefully make the audience feel like they are part of a comfortable and relaxed conversation. I’m not trying to shock the audience and push the limits of what might be considered funny—that’s just not me. So although I appreciate the first amendment and am grateful for its protections, I’ll leave the fight against PC to the George Carlins and Bill Mahers of the world...