Meet Ebony Toliver of LikeDat Productions

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ebony Toliver.

Ebony, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Prince George’s County, Maryland, I grew up outside! Playing basketball, riding bikes, and racing my friends in the middle of the street is where you could find me. I was interested in basketball and shoes. That was about it. I believe it was my interests in sports that eventually got me out of my shell. I started playing basketball at the age of 7. When I first started organized sports, I was the only girl on an all-boy’s youth team. I guess I was preparing myself for life in a male dominant industry. Playing basketball has made me who I am today. Becoming a team player and vocal leader on the court helped build my confidence. Middle school is where I found my personality and my preference. There were early signs that I was well suited for the entertainment industry. In middle school, I won my class superlatives of “Best Dressed and “Class Clown”, and by my senior year I was the co-host of my high school’s talent show.

Even with my natural talent for being on the stage and knack for engaging the crowds, basketball remained my main interest and after high school, I accepted a full athletic scholarship to play Division 1 Basketball at Loyola College (now Loyola University) in Baltimore. Basketball took up most of my time, with practice, games and travel but I am sure you may have guessed it, eventually the stage found me once again, as I co-hosted the Black Student Associations fashion show. Might I add, I was both model and host. (a little foreshadowing here) After college, it was clear that I was not going to play basketball professionally and although there were signs pointing me in the direction of performing and entertainment, I took my degree in Business Administration to corporate America, where I spent ten years. After 3-4 years working for a market research, political polling, and strategic consulting firm based in D.C., I took an offer to work with an online panel, data collection market research company based in Los Angeles.

While living in L.A., I made friends with some amazing creatives and talented artists who inspired me. One of my best friends suggested that I try stand up and that was all it took. My first break into stand up was in 2014 with the great David A. Arnold’s The Art of Stand-Up comedy class (AOSC). I came to class with so many stories, ranging from my childhood to my sexuality, but no idea what to do with them. During my time with David, he provided me with the tools, structure and discipline to truly find my voice and my point of view. Once completing the course by Mr. Arnold, it was through my relationships and network that I was able to perform on many of LA largest stages. Brian Monarch, Mike “Big Mike” Mitchell, Nichelle Murdock and Enss Mitchell all gave me the opportunity as a young comic to perform on their shows across the city.

Juggling work during the day and comedy at night for almost five years, I wanted more. I was inspired to not only be a performer but to become a producer. In August of 2018 an opportunity presented itself and I had to take the leap. Leaving traditional work that I was accustomed to for ten years, I bet on myself. After putting in months of personal development work, show preparation and finally just getting out of my own way, I produced the first LezBHonest Comedy show in November 2018. The response was surreal, and the feedback was so amazing that I knew that I had to keep providing this platform. So, with my faith, my support system having my back and months of small business courses, on February 1st, 2019 I launched LikeDat Productions.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The struggles and challenges are vast for comedians, producers, and entrepreneurs individually. Imagine being all three. I have my share of struggles from impostor syndrome to financial challenges. My biggest challenge was both physical and psychological at the same time. In 2001, I was involved in a car accident where I suffered damage to my face. My face and the windshield met leaving scars to my face, forehead and my left eye.

Since moving to LA, I have never spoken about this (unless someone asked and those are usually one on one conversations) The accident happened in high school, when I was protected by being home with family and friends in a controlled environment with people knew me before the scars. Tina Fey also has a scar and in her book BossyPants, she shares a moment that I know oh so well… “My scar was a miniature form of celebrity. Kids knew who I was because of it. Lots of people like to claim they were there when it happened.” Imagine moving to Los Angeles, in Hollywood, seeking a career in entertainment, where so much emphasis is put on one’s appearance and look. One reason why I have shied away from acting and actually being in front of the camera. (I get asked a lot if I act)

I had to overcome my own insecurity about my appearance. It has taken me years. I had this idea that as soon as I meet a new person they would look and judge me. Before I was a comedian, I used humor to survive. I used humor to be liked. I used humor to be loved. I used humor in dating. I used humor to win over people so that my scars wouldn’t be an issue. That’s the struggle I overcame. My scars are 18 years old now. My scars have graduated high school. My scars have left the nest. I no longer walk into a room concerned with my scars. Honestly, I forget they are there (sometimes). I am led by my character and not my looks. My wife always says that my biggest strength is my charisma, not my humor. My charm and ability to form relationships with people, and having a genuine heart that people can see. Others respond positively to that.

Please tell us about LikeDat Productions.
LikeDat Productions was created to provide a platform for all artists, all entertainers from underrepresented marginalized groups, especially the LGBTQ community. With my background in stand-up comedy, it was an obvious choice for LikeDat Productions to launch as a platform for comedy. With that said, LikeDat Productions developed our first show concept, the LezBHonest comedy show. The LezBHonest movement features primarily lesbians of color. As the creator of the show, my mission is to showcase the talent, stories, and perspectives of black and brown lesbian comics.

What sets me apart from others is that within the LezBHonest platform I not only showcase comedians, but I also wear the clothing of lesbian and queer designers and clothing brands during the show. When I host my shows, I wear and promote these brands so that they can gain exposure to a new audience and the show patrons are also aware of the talented artists and designers within our community. During our Black Girl Magic Comedy Show, a stand up comedy show featuring bold, hilarious African American females comedians, I introduced the audience to all the Black Girl Magic in the room. Basically, I shouted out and pointed out all the African American entrepreneurs at the show.  Sharing the stage with an amazing line up of black women but also sharing the businesses that black women have created was important to me. Black Girl Magic takes so many shapes so I wanted to use my platform to inform.  LikeDat creates a cycle of support that goes beyond comedy. For our sold out LezBHonest comedy show in Washington DC, we added another element to the stand-up show. We featured a spoken word poet, as well as a live artist painting on stage during the show, both lesbians of color.

As a company, I am most proud of being able to provide a safe space for QPOC comedians and artists to perform and showcase their talents. I am proud that my company is creating events, curating experiences and providing entertainment for us, by us. We filled a void within the comedy space for the LGBTQ community and I will continue to do so. Instead of waiting for an opportunity, I created that opportunity and there are more LikeDat Productions creations to come. It is an honor to work with so many talented comedians and entrepreneurs that I look up to and learn from. More importantly, I am proud to be a vessel for bringing our community together.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have worn my seat belt.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://likedatproductions.com/
• Email: LikeDatComedy@gmail.com
• Instagram: @LikeDatProductions
• Other: @Ebony_Not_Essence

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