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Hear our full conversation on my podcast “Beyond the Fame.”
You recognize her from Tiffany Haddish’s comedy showcase “They Ready” on Netflix.
Now, the hilarious Erin Jackson cracks up the D.C. Improv on Friday and Saturday.
“I always think I want to talk politics when I get to D.C., but it’s hit or miss,” Jackson told WTOP. “People are like, ‘I did this all day, can you please talk about something else?’ I do have a lot to say, but it’s not stuff that’ll divide a room. I got some thoughts! I have a couple things to say … but it’s not going to be all that. I’m doing some new things in my life.”
Last April, Jackson helped reopen the venue after a year of COVID-19 restrictions.
“I came back at the beginning when they reopened,” Jackson said. “It’s like you have hope and then it’s dashed. I was hopeful back in April, I had just gotten my vaccine, and now I’ve just gotten another vaccine, so it’s the same but different. I have some thoughts about COVID life, about therapy, which I just began … observations about life, people, family.”
It’s a homecoming for Jackson, who lived in D.C. for years to attend Howard University.
“I went to Howard, but I didn’t start comedy until two or three years later,” Jackson said. “I took a class at the Improv. It was a one-day seminar … Met some friends, started going to open-mics together. … The Improv has been so integral. … Improv was the first stage I ever performed on. I love D.C. … I lived there for quite a while, so D.C. is my other home.”
Not only did she record her chart-topping album “Grudgery” at the D.C. Improv, she also found national success on Comedy Central’s “Last Comic Standing” in 2008.
“It was a huge springboard,” Jackson said. “The producer is actually a good friend now, but she is also Wanda Sykes’ producing partner. … I’ve done a bunch of projects with them. … So it just kind of forged a relationship outside of the exposure that it gave to my standup. You hang around the business long enough, you know enough people and doors open.”
That collaboration led to her writing for Netflix’s “The Upshaws” in 2021.
“‘The Upshaws’ is a show about a Black family in the midwest,” Jackson said. “A married couple [is played by] Mike Epps and Kim Fields. Wanda Sykes plays Kim Fields’ sister. It’s your midwest slice-of-life sitcom. It’s super funny and sharp. It’s not for network TV, that’s why it’s on Netflix, but it’s such a treat to work with those comics every day.”
Still, she’s probably best known for the aforementioned gig on Netflix’s “They Ready.”
“It’s been great,” Jackson said. “We taped it actually in Sept. 2020, so things were still kind of tense and we taped it outside, but it’s been a great opportunity for Tiffany to share her platform with me. We didn’t really know each other in the real world. She knew my comedy, but we had not met, so that was so gracious for her. It’s been great for the career.”
