Jenny Yang, Brian Simpson and More Comics Talk Frustrating Hecklers, Social Media Judgement, and Making Money ‘Being a Goofball’
variety.comJenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor Since 2000, Variety has been naming its annual 10 Comics to Watch — and watching them go on to impressive careers.
We decided to invite a few notable alumni who happen to be performing at the Netflix Is Joke Festival this year for a conversation over Zoom.
We were joined by comics Hannah Berner, Zarna Garg, Jay Jurden, Matteo Lane, Brian Simpson and Jenny Yang. This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity, space and to remove lots of random digressions. •Who or what inspired you to get into comedy? Zarna Garg:It was my kids who said, “Mom, you should do stand-up comedy.” And I was like, “That is not a job.” Then I went to an open mic — actually, Jay Jurden was in the audience the first time I ever stepped on stage.
I remember looking around and thinking, “White people do this?” Jay Jurden: I grew up doing theater, I got a BFA and MFA.
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