Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessy Morner-Ritt.
Hi Jessy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in the valley and went to college in DC because I watched a lot of Aaron Sorkin’s “The West Wing” and thought I wanted to get into politics. While at school I realized I didn’t like Aaron Sorkin or the world of politics that much. I started performing stand-up in the city, as well as making videos and performing improv with my college’s long-form improv team, receSs. In DC I got to watch all these tight joke writer and classic stand-ups perform. I loved being around them and watching them, but was not a good classic joke writer. One of the guys who ran a bunch of shows there said I was one of the only people he knew who performed “premises” with no punchlines. After school I moved to Brooklyn, working every odd job a girl can have and performing in the back of what felt like every bar in Brooklyn. I found out what “alt comedy” was and felt activated. I moved to LA during the pandemic to deal with familial drama because what family unit came out of the pandemic unscathed… I wonder…(reveal yourselves). And then I literally waited waited waited for live comedy to start back up again. People tell me the LA comedy scene post-pandemic is a completely different world than pre-pandemic, but what I found was all these pockets of performance styles that is at everything I saw in DC and NY– and more.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Obviously not, and still is not!!!!!! It’s very much a privilege and a choice I made to pursue a life in the arts, but it can be really difficult to detangle my self-worth from the financial or mainstream success of my work. It’s like this…I work at a restaurant, but I’m not good at it. Even though I’m not good at this job, I still make most of my money from working at a restaurant. I’m good at performing, but I’m not making a lot of money at it (yet–hello Hollywood!!!!!) Some days it’s easier for me to say that last thing with confidence than others. Being worried about money can be really distracting from the luxury of creating & performing.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a comedian and performer. Known for my performances at The Elysian Theater or the monthly show “Joy’s Bed & Breakfast.”
I am most proud of a web series I made in 2018 with my dear friend Caroline Yost called “Smaltown Arts Appreciation Society Presents: Inter-National Travel.” I think a few episodes can be found on her Vimeo, but this was a series barely anyone saw where Caroline and I played two co-dependent women in their 50s who founded an arts appreciation society in their fictional town, Smaltown. The two women felt they were true arts appreciators and curators, but were completely deranged and honestly haven’t seen that many movies. We hosted a live show at a black and white theater in Greenpoint, BK for a few years before making this series where we would go to towns along the East Coast and meet up with a town local our producer met off Facebook or Craig’s List. There was always some really complicated b-line plot to each episode; like Caroline and I would like a town so much that we hung flyers all over the town to try and get the people to come with us back to Smalltown. Each episode saw us fail over and over again, but there was a real sweetness to it because at the end of the day, it was just about how two friends loved to look at things and meet people with each other.
What sets me apart from others is that I don’t think you need to earn nudity in a show. I think you can do it whenever and it’s really funny.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
You cannot drink in the public parks even when the bars are closed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jessymorner-ritt.com/
- Instagram: @jessyonsocial
- Facebook: Jessy Morner-Ritt
- Twitter: @jessymornerritt
Image Credits
Alice Polo, Lauren Alvarez, Monique Hernandez, Emmanuelle Yang
