Today we’d like to introduce you to Jess Wood.
Jess, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born to hippies in Topanga Canyon, CA and was raised by gangs in Santa Monica. My humor helped me survive being a vegan on welfare with my mom, being shot in a drive-by as a teenager and finally finding my way out of heroin by trying stand up comedy. My first laughs were better than the high I’d been chasing. I won a contest at New York Comedy Club called ‘The Best African American Comedy Contest’ and ended up winning. Within a year, I was invited to do Def Comedy Jam, where everyone was confused and my host Cedric the Entertainer, introduced me by saying, “Keep an open mind!” Def Jam didn’t know how to showcase me because I was doing non-white characters and no other white chick comic was doing that at the time.
We parted ways and I went on to do sketch comedy and one-woman shows in the Lower East Side of NYC. While making a documentary about sex ed, I interviewed a woman who turned my questions on me and when I told her my story, she convinced me to start writing it. After a few pieces of writing she had me submit a story to the NY Press. They published it! A story about my time interviewing as a dominatrix. This gave me confidence and since then, I’ve written a memoir that is being shopped around right now. Back living in LA, I performed my new one-woman show to a sold-out audience in September and you can catch me doing stand up all over town.
Has it been a smooth road?
I always had the hardest time with people not believing my story because of how outrageous it is. My advice to a young woman who’d like to pursue writing and or comedy is-get a good community of like-minded people around you who are supportive and work hard.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
My podcast Get Wood is my favorite thing to do these days. I’m really a people person. It sounds cliche but I enjoy interacting with different people, asking questions, finding out what makes them tick. I go through my week and write down all the interactions I have; lyft rides, frustration/fights/fun in my relationships with lovers or friends, music or art and then I convey them to my listeners.
The feedback I get is so flattering! I have had listeners write to me and say they feel like they got a promotion or could ask someone out because my show made them feel confident about themselves. That’s the biggest compliment I could ever ask for.
Were there people and/or experiences you had in your childhood that you feel laid the foundation for your success?
Definitely. Growing up poor and Gen X didn’t seem tough until I met other kids who were raised with food and parents at home. I’m not saying anyone gets a clean getaway from a painful childhood, but I know a lot of the kids I grew up with had it hard. A lot of them didn’t make it. I am one of the lucky ones and I think I realized that as soon as I found comedy could help me break out of the cycles, I came from.
Contact Info:
- Website: thejesswood.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: getwood
- Facebook: getwood
- Twitter: thejesswood
Image Credit:
Sue Ball
Eric Staneford
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