RAINE MAGAZINE Volume 16 | Innovate

ENTERTAINMENT | COMEDY
FUNNY GIRLS RULE THE WORLD!
Meet Jen Kirkman
By Michelle Winters
Between joining the banter of Chelsea Handler’s infamous round table
as a regularly featured guest on Chelsea Lately, performing stand-up
at major clubs across the country, and penning her debut novel, the
New York Times bestseller I can barely take care of myself: Tales from
a Happy Life Without Kids, Jen Kirkman is ushering in the new wave
of comedy. Her comedy is unapologetically honest and refreshing. Her
hilarious writing can be seen in a number of sitcoms and she shows
off her acting chops in the hit spin-off mockumentary “After Lately” on
E! - as well as in the cult hit series “Drunk History”. Keep your eye on
Jen: funny girls are ruling the entertainment world.
RAINE: How did you get started in stand up?
KIRKMAN: You have to have a certain form of craziness. When I was
little, I was always fascinated by stand up as a kid, but I didn’t know
how to go about doing it. It wasn’t until I was in college that I realized
that stand up was something you could do for a living. However, I
didn’t attempt it until I was done with college. I couldn’t ignore this
feeling that I had to do it. The really funny people are the ones that are
the quiet ones I remember that I wanted to be the class clown when I
was growing up and would do these dumb things that no one thought
was funny except me. I failed miserably as being a class clown. I have
really close girlfriends and we were all real funny together but I was
the only one that wanted to take my sense of humor to the masses.
RAINE: Do you ever get nervous before going on stage?
KIRKMAN: Yes, I still do. It’s not really stage fright nervousness; it’s
more of a gripping sense of concern. I will sometimes get a huge rush
of excitement. I hope I always feel something. The last 15 minutes
should build. If it doesn’t build at the end then I am kind of screwed,
so there are about 30 jokes that I don’t like doing but I know people
will laugh at them. As comedians we usually have a parachute in our
back pocket.
RAINE: Do you have any regrets doing this as a career?
KIRKMAN: No. I am lucky that I can do stand up mostly as a career
along with my writing job. The last 4 years I have been steadily getting
paid. It was a hobby the first 12 years and I’ve never regretted it. I
knew how hard it would be and I love doing it. I am lucky I get paid to
do it.
RAINE: Are there any fun facts about you that fans don’t know?
KIRKMAN: I am super into spirituality and self help. I love psychology
and love reading those kind of books in my spare time. I am also
really into high fashion. I have every fashion magazine and I know
every trend coming, even though I don’t wear them. If I weren’t doing
comedy I would love to work as Rachel Zoe’s apprentice.
RAINE: If you weren’t doing comedy what would you be doing?
KIRKMAN: I would love to be working at a magazine or working
in the fashion industry somehow. The realistic answer: I would be
someone’s executive or administrative assistant. I am organized and
know Microsoft Office in and out. I would be miserable, but that’s what
I would be doing.
RAINE: What has been your most challenging moment?
KIRKMAN: It’s hard when you know you are good. I would have friends
have me open for them and once or twice a year I would get on TV. I
knew people knew I was funny, but I was not yet making a career out
of it yet. During the week I would go back to my desk job. That was the
most challenging time, the years when I was living a double life and not
knowing when anything was going to happen.
RAINE: What advice would you give to aspiring comedians?
KIRKMAN: There’s no easy way to go about it and no improvements
on how to start. Go to every open mic you can and start doing it and
do them all the time even if you bomb. Make friends in that community.
Those connections are important because it’s who you came up with
it and not who you know. Don’t be impatient and don’t send videos to
established comedians. You have to grow into your jokes. The jokes I
told when I was 22 weren’t funny then, but they got really funny in my
thirties. Also, only do it if you could do it without getting paid.
RAINE: What has been your most memorable moment?
KIRKMAN: Thanks to Chelsea, I got to do a half hour of material in front
of 5,000 people and it was great. It was a big, rowdy crowd listening and
laughing. It was definitely a highlight.
RAINE: We can’t wait to see what you’ll do next! What are your goals?
KIRKMAN: I would love to write another book. I already have an idea
and am making notes. I would like to do a stand up special, and just
continue getting better and doing more. It’s the stand up and the writing
that I love the most.
Photo by Robyn Von Swank
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