When I told jokes...
- Jen SluMac
- Dec 1, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: Dec 4, 2019
There was a time when I did stand-up comedy. I began in college, around 1994. The first time I did it I had gone to see a show and the host never showed up. A friend knew the producer, who was pacing frantically because the show had missed its start time by ten minutes already and the crowd was wondering why it still hadn't begun... my friend told the producer I was funny, the producer asked me if I could do stand up, my response apparently convinced him that I could and I had a microphone in my hand in front of over 200 people. And something happened, I just began to perform. I don't remember much but there was a lot of laughter and before I knew it I was in love... After college I moved to Chicago to study at Second City. My dream was to study improv, go to Saturday Night Live, then have a movie career. I did improv for several years and got into stand-up comedy more seriously. I got sober in 2001 and left Chicago to make my dreams come true in 2003 in Hollywood, CA. I was there about two years before I was staring my un-medicated clinical depression and alcohol abstinence in the face. I had become suicidal and it terrified me. My time in LA had me feeling very discouraged and depressed and I feared I would drink again. I had seen Whitney Houston begin to spin out of control, there were others struggling at a public level and being in Los Angeles I had a backstage view of some of what was making headlines.
I was too proud to drink, too concerned about hurting my family to take my life... but I was in so much pain that I needed to do something and quick. My sobriety/sanity was in jeopardy.
I abandoned the pursuit of TV and Fame in 2005. I moved from Los Angeles to Oakland CA where I took a graphic design job for a Healthcare Workers Union. I tried to leave comedy behind but whenever folks learned I was a comedian, they'd ask me to be on their show. I said no for a while, but I've done a few through the years.
I enjoy performing.
I've also produced shows as recently as 2017/2018 where I enjoyed hosting the show while showcasing up and coming talent:

Soon I may be performing/directing Live Theater in town. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, here are some clips from 2011 @ Fox Theatre in Redwood City:
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