Today we’d like to introduce you to Zoe Zakson.
Hi Zoe, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I first started doing stand-up at age 16 back home in Chicago. I had done sketch comedy with The Second City’s teen ensemble cast and decided it might be fun to try something solo (and it was!). After moving to LA to go to college at LMU, I started getting serious about stand-up and met the lovely people at The Crow in Santa Monica, who I owe my everything to. I started hosting and producing my own stand-up show in February and since then, I’ve been getting booked all around the city and frequent shows at my own university. I cannot wait to see where the future takes me from here!!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’m still pretty new in the stand-up game so thankfully, my road has been fairly smooth thus far. I think I owe a lot of it to the older comics around me that are sort of sheltering me to make sure I don’t have any bad experiences like they did, which is something I will forever be grateful for. The main bumps in my road are balancing stand-up bookings with school, and sometimes, I feel like I’m holding myself back in that way, though I know education is the most important in the long run. I still look forward to after I graduate and can dedicate all my time to doing what I love!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a stand-up comic and writer, among other things. At one point I thought I would be a Cirque Du Soleil performer or Olympic gymnast, but I think I’m going to stick with comedy. Even though I am mostly known for my stand-up, I hope to be able to go back to my sketch comedy roots one day, and I aspire to be a late-night or TV writer after I graduate college. I think what I am most proud of is how much I’ve been able to accomplish in the short time I’ve been doing stand-up. Having only been performing for around five years, I’m still considered a baby in the industry. In that time I’ve created, produced, and currently hosted my own show at my favorite club in LA, done more news interviews that I would have ever thought possible, and performed alongside some of my all-time favorite comics. What sets me apart is my determination to reach the way-too-lofty goals I set for myself. I set my sights high, and I refuse to stop until I make it there! I think that is the reason I am where I am today, and I probably owe it to the competitiveness that gymnastics instilled in me… For better or for worse.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is the fact that I have the power to help people forget about their problems, worries and anxieties with just a couple of minutes of saying funny things. I know comedy doesn’t seem like the most direct route to mental health awareness but it truly saved my life and I know that it has the power to do that for others. I’ve always said that if I can make someone laugh for just a couple of seconds, long enough to forget about whatever was bothering them, then I can go home happy at the end of the day. This is what comedy has done for me and it is not lost on me that my work has the potential to help others feel the same way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://zoezakson.wixsite.com/zoezakson
- Instagram: @zoezakson
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@zoezakson3235
- Other: Tiktok @c00l_jew / Linktree https://linktr.ee/zoezakson
Image Credits
Christopher Mortenson
