Erin Jackson

By Caitlin Sinclair | 0 comments
In keeping with Gonzaga University’s ability to land great speakers and performers, the Gonzaga Activities Board presents comedian Erin Jackson on Monday at 7 p.m. in the Cataldo Globe Room.
This comedy act is a change of pace in this year’s calendar of events. Students have not seen a famous stand-up comic on campus since Fall Family Weekend of 2011, so the posters and table advertisements have created a buzz.
As far as comedians go, this New Jersey native had a bit of a unique entrance into the world of comedy. Although a college campus may be an atypical venue for many comedians, Jackson feels right at home in higher education. Before becoming a comedian, Jackson worked in an admissions marketing office of a university in Washington, D.C., and she worked for a newspaper that covered topics in higher education. Her career started as a dare between her and her boyfriend in the attempt to try new things.
“That was it,” Jackson said. “I took a class, and from then on I met people who wanted to become comics. We would all get together, write jokes together. We went to our first open mics together.”
Jackson has been living out her fantasy ever since.
She was on “Last Comic Standing,” as well as the “Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
“It was one of the best days of my life,” Jackson said of experience on “Ellen,” “I was glad she even knew my name.” Her next goal is to go on “The View” and meet Whoopi Goldberg.
For Jackson, joke writing is not a structured process. Instead, she carries a notebook and writes down things she thinks might be funny. “When I have an idea, I just say it on stage,” she said. She tries out new material and reviews it later on.
“I always tape my shows,” Jackson said. By going back and watching recordings of her performances she improves her delivery and timing and can see what makes audiences laugh and what does not.
While Jackson is a fan of Ellen’s and Whoopi Goldberg’s comedy, her comedy is not really like theirs or other comics she loves. She really tries to emulate some of Bill Cosby’s characteristics in her performances. “I loved the way he made it so personal, like he was having a conversation with you.”
On the topic of being a successful woman in comedy, Jackson thinks that some people have assumptions about what a woman comedian’s material will be. However, she does not let that affect her performance.
“Some people are funny, and some people aren’t,” she said. She does not believe gender has created an uncommon hurdle for her even though she is in a male-dominated industry.
Although a Jesuit university may not be the dream destination for most comedians, Jackson has definitely performed for stranger crowds. She once did a show at the Delmarva Blue Crab Festival. The audience members were eating crab, which made for interesting circumstances. Not only was she staring at piles of dead crab, but the audience managed to cause all kinds of disruptions.
“You’re in the middle of a joke, and people would be like ‘PANG PANG PANG!’ ” Jackson said, “Instead of laughing, they were banging their mallets. It was very caveman-y.” From this experience and other somewhat less strange performances, Jackson has grown and improved as a comic.
Before seeing her show, she wants audiences to know one thing: “I am a lot skinnier that I look.” Erin Jackson’s ability to seek out everyday humor will be a welcome addition to campus during her brief visit. This is a free event, but a Gonzaga ID is required for admittance. - The Gonzaga Online Bulletin

National comedian Erin Jackson — featured on hit shows such as “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham”— performed at UAA last week thanks to the Student Activities board. TNL got the privilege to catch up with this leading lady of comedy before her preview show last Wednesday night in the Gorsuch Commons.



TNL: How long have you been a comedian?

Jackson: Nine years.

What got you into comedy?

It was kind a dare! There was a guy I was dating, and we were having a conversation — getting to know each other — and he asked me, “What is your dream job to try?” And I said I would like to try comedy … I have no idea where that answer came from, but I said it! And he got all excited and found a comedy seminar that he wanted to send me to, and I was reluctant at first, but he pushed me. And when I finally went, that was it.

Where did you pull material from for your very first comedy sketch?

Oh gosh! It was terrible. I don’t even know. I’m sure it was just about things that have happened to me or interactions that I’ve had with people, that sort of thing — the same places that I pull inspiration from now. My very first comedy show was at a little sushi bar. I was standing right next to that sushi chef!

Do you think that you are funny?

I think so! I think that I have to think so.

Where do you enjoy performing?

I really love performing at colleges. Every school is so much different from the next, and the energy is great.

What did you go to school for?

I went to school for television production. I used my major for a little bit. I worked at CNN and The Discovery channel for a little bit and then went into working in higher education right after that.

Why did you give up TV?

Because I was broke! TV pays nothing!

Where did you go to school?

I went to Howard University in (Washington) D.C.

Did your degree help prepare you to be in front of the camera?

Not at all! You would think that it would, but I never wanted to be in front of the camera. I wanted to produce, to edit, but never to be the talent. People would tell me, “You would be great, a real stand-out personality,” and I was like, “No, thank you!”

When was your “big break”?

It just takes a couple of years. I lived in D.C., and I did little shows around the city, and slowly people began to come up to me and offer me shows out of town. I guess that 2008 was a good year. I did Comedy Central and Ellen all in that one summer. And then I went back to my cubicle at work on Monday.

Do you want to do this for the rest of your life?

I do, but I want to expand. I don’t want to just do stand-up. I want to write and do TV.

What do you do in your off time?

Well, today I watched the entire first season of Downtown Abbey!

Who is your favorite comedian?

Bill Cosby. He’ll do two hours straight … And he is 70 something!

For someone interested in getting into comedy, what are two things that they should know?

Number one: There is no substitute for getting up on stage. You are not going to get funny without getting up there, just like you won’t have muscles if you don’t go to the gym. You’ve just got to do it. Number two: Just do it. You never know what you might be great at. I would have never thought that I could do this. I was such a “live my life on a spreadsheet,” reserved kind of girl.

If you were a fruit, what would you be?

Well I wouldn’t be a kiwi because I would be allergic to myself. I would be a lemon, because I’m bitter! No, but I would be a lemon because I’m nice and tart. I enhance things.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Yes. Hey Alaskans, you know that you don’t have to be here, right? I woke up this morning, and it was zero degrees outside! Zero degrees! - The Northern Light

TELEVISION*
EXHALE (ASPiRE)
THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW (WARNER BROS.)
STANDUP IN STILETTOS (TV GUIDE NETWORK)
LIVE AT GOTHAM (COMEDY CENTRAL)
LAST COMIC STANDING (NBC)
THE COMEDY FACTORY (RTL-4 DUTCH TELEVISION)
BEST MOVIE KISSES (TV GUIDE NETWORK)
SEXIEST HOLLYWOOD GEEKS (TV GUIDE NETWORK)
40 GREATEST HIP HOP SONGS OF THE 90’s (VH-1)
THE TRUTH ABOUT MONEY (PBS)

TELEVISION WARM-UP
Bill Maher “…But I’m Not Wrong” (HBO)
Black Girls Rock! Awards (BET)

COMEDY FESTIVALS
Just For Laughs Chicago Festival
Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival
Great American Comedy Festival (2nd Place)
Moontower Comedy and Oddity Festival
The Bentzen Ball
Boston Comedy Festival
DC Comedy Festival

ACHIEVEMENTS
NBC Stand-Up for Diversity Initiative – Finalist/Tour Member
National Association for Campus Activities – National, Regional Showcase Selection
Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities – National, Regional Showcase Selection
Oxygen Network “So You Think You’re Funny” Contest – Winner

*All media clips available at: http://www.youtube.com/Erinj2

- Sophie K. Entertainment

As told to Michael Gaynor

I saw an ad for a new comedy school at DC Improv. Something like “all you need to know about standup in one afternoon.”

I was dating a guy at the time who suggested I try it. He asked, “If you could do anything in your life, what would it be?” I said I’d like to try standup, but it wasn’t an actual goal of mine.

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More My First Times
It sounded stupid to even talk about it. I’d gone to college, I had a job in marketing, I knew what I was doing. Or at least I thought I knew. It took someone saying, “Hey, that’s not outrageous. You can try it.”

The class was great. I happened to be sitting next to two guys, and afterwards we formed a little comedy study group with another girl. We’d write jokes during the week and get together on weekends to prepare for whenever it was we decided to get onstage. After a month and a half, one of them finally said, “All right, we have to do this.”

We found this little sushi bar called Cafe Japone in Dupont. Every Tuesday night, they had open mike.

I can’t even say it was my first time “onstage.” I was standing right next to a guy making sushi—I’m standing there with a microphone, and he’s cutting fish. Meanwhile, the “audience” was 10 or 15 people at tables eating sushi. We were interrupting their dinner.

I was so nervous. Everybody was supposed to get five minutes, but I was probably only up there for three. I had maybe four jokes. And they weren’t good jokes: They were easy, obvious things that people who aren’t comedians would say. The punch lines were telegraphed—you knew what was coming.

But the audience was laughing. It was going well, until right in the middle of the set I forgot my joke. I tried to remember how it went, and suddenly everything got quiet. All I could think was “Oh, my God. Oh, my God.” I probably said “Oh, my God” out loud.

The crowd encouraged me. “Come on, you can do it!” one guy said. They let me recover and finish. By the time I got off the stage, I was on such a high. On the ride home, I asked, “Are we coming back next week?”

But it didn’t cross my mind that this would be a career. I’ve always been a planner; everything I do has to be on a spreadsheet. A couple of years down the road, I’m on The Ellen DeGeneres Show thinking, should I quit my job now? Ellen even asked me, “You’re still working?” I finally went into standup full-time in 2009, five years after my show at Cafe Japone.

That first time encouraged me to give things in life a chance. You never know what you might be great at. I say that to people all the time.

Erin Jackson has appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and Comedy Central’s “Live at Gotham” and was a semifinalist on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.” She lives in DC. - Washingtonian Magazine

Magic Johnson’s cabler Aspire has greenlit “Exhale,” a talkshow in the vein of “The View” to be hosted by five African-American women in the entertainment space.

Weekly yakker aims to bring candid conversation to topics including family, relationships, career, money and faith. Co-hosts are journo Angela Burt-Murray, thesp and comedian Erin Jackson, helmer Issa Rae, author and TV anchor Rene Syler and actress Malinda Williams.

“Exhale,” produced by Lynne Robinson and Black Robin Media, will be Aspire’s third original series. Victoria Mahoney serves as director on “Exhale.”

Show has begun lensing, and the eight-episode first run will bow in June to coincide with the net’s one-year anniversary.

“We are thrilled to add ‘Exhale’ to our lineup of original programming,” said the cabler’s g.m. Paul Butler. “This fresh, hip and candid new series will enlighten audiences with its broad range of topics relevant to the community.”

Aspire launched last June as a part of the deal struck between Comcast and NBCUniversal and targets African-American auds. - Variety

In keeping with Gonzaga University’s ability to land great speakers and performers, the Gonzaga Activities Board presents comedian Erin Jackson on Monday at 7 p.m. in the Cataldo Globe Room.
This comedy act is a change of pace in this year’s calendar of events. Students have not seen a famous stand-up comic on campus since Fall Family Weekend of 2011, so the posters and table advertisements have created a buzz.
As far as comedians go, this New Jersey native had a bit of a unique entrance into the world of comedy. Although a college campus may be an atypical venue for many comedians, Jackson feels right at home in higher education. Before becoming a comedian, Jackson worked in an admissions marketing office of a university in Washington, D.C., and she worked for a newspaper that covered topics in higher education. Her career started as a dare between her and her boyfriend in the attempt to try new things.
“That was it,” Jackson said. “I took a class, and from then on I met people who wanted to become comics. We would all get together, write jokes together. We went to our first open mics together.”
Jackson has been living out her fantasy ever since.
She was on “Last Comic Standing,” as well as the “Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
“It was one of the best days of my life,” Jackson said of experience on “Ellen,” “I was glad she even knew my name.” Her next goal is to go on “The View” and meet Whoopi Goldberg.
For Jackson, joke writing is not a structured process. Instead, she carries a notebook and writes down things she thinks might be funny. “When I have an idea, I just say it on stage,” she said. She tries out new material and reviews it later on.
“I always tape my shows,” Jackson said. By going back and watching recordings of her performances she improves her delivery and timing and can see what makes audiences laugh and what does not.
While Jackson is a fan of Ellen’s and Whoopi Goldberg’s comedy, her comedy is not really like theirs or other comics she loves. She really tries to emulate some of Bill Cosby’s characteristics in her performances. “I loved the way he made it so personal, like he was having a conversation with you.”
On the topic of being a successful woman in comedy, Jackson thinks that some people have assumptions about what a woman comedian’s material will be. However, she does not let that affect her performance.
“Some people are funny, and some people aren’t,” she said. She does not believe gender has created an uncommon hurdle for her even though she is in a male-dominated industry.
Although a Jesuit university may not be the dream destination for most comedians, Jackson has definitely performed for stranger crowds. She once did a show at the Delmarva Blue Crab Festival. The audience members were eating crab, which made for interesting circumstances. Not only was she staring at piles of dead crab, but the audience managed to cause all kinds of disruptions.
“You’re in the middle of a joke, and people would be like ‘PANG PANG PANG!’ ” Jackson said, “Instead of laughing, they were banging their mallets. It was very caveman-y.” From this experience and other somewhat less strange performances, Jackson has grown and improved as a comic.
Before seeing her show, she wants audiences to know one thing: “I am a lot skinnier that I look.” Erin Jackson’s ability to seek out everyday humor will be a welcome addition to campus during her brief visit. This is a free event, but a Gonzaga ID is required for admittance. - The Gonzaga Online Bulletin

May 12, 2011
By MATTHEW PARRISH (mparrish@sungazette.com) , Williamsport Sun-Gazette
Save |
Even though comedian Erin Jackson has made a name for herself in the world of comedy, she isn't eager to run off to Hollywood just yet.

"Although I've joked about it in the past, I really have no desire to ever live in Los Angeles," she said in a recent interview with the Sun-Gazette. "Too much maintenance. You have to consult with a stylist and wear a full face of makeup just to go to Starbucks. And you can't be puffy - everyone's super fit."

She'd rather live in New York City, where "everyone is treated equally terribly, regardless of how they look," she said.

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PHOTO PROVIDED

Jackson, who will perform at 8 p.m. May 19 in the Capitol Lounge at the Community Arts Center, 220 W. Fourth St., has been featured on "Last Comic Standing" - she was a semi-finalist on the show - "The Ellen Degeneres Show" and Comedy Central's "Live at Gotham." She also warmed up the crowd for Bill Maher's HBO special "But I'm Not Wrong" and BET's "Black Girls Rock."

And while she may have an aversion to Tinseltown, she doesn't mind occasionally rubbing elbows with some big names.

"A few years ago, I was opening for Louis C.K. at the DC Improv and while I was on stage, Chris Rock sneaks into the green room to hang out with Louis," she said in a Q and A on her website. "So when I walk back into the green room, he's just sitting there. I thought I had gone crazy."

Rock told Jackson that he had watched her perform and that he liked her stuff.

"I didn't want to bother him, so we didn't talk much, but we took [a] photo and I'll never forget it!" she said.

Jackson first became interested in standup when she was in high school.

"By the time I graduated college, I still hadn't tried it," she said. "Then, one day, a good friend said, 'What are you afraid of? Why don't you just try it?' and I just did."

A recurring theme in Jackson's comedy is her family, which she calls "crazy."

"Half my act is about my crazy family anyway," she said. "Just on my dad's side I have 13 aunts and uncles and 40 first cousins. I could write a trilogy on the stuff that goes on in my family. But I'm pretty sure if I told the world that we use 'Ohio' as a code word for 'prison,' (as in 'I heard Benny's coming to the family reunion this year.' 'Really?' I didn't know he was out of ... Ohio ... It's been at least five to 10 since I've seen him') my standing Thanksgiving dinner invitation would be revoked."

Otherwise, Jackson described her comedy style as "pretty conversational."

"I talk about everyday situations," she said.

A recent "situation" that inspired her involved a plan to jump out of a plane on her birthday.

"For like six months I'd been planning to go skydiving for my birthday," she said. "So like a week before, I went to the jumpsite to get the info, and they told me I was too puffy to jump and would have to pay a surcharge to compensate for the stress my extra weight would cause the tandem jumper. I'm thinking, 'Stress? Like it's going to cause him physical harm? Or is he just gonna be stressed out because he's gotta be strapped to a puffy girl?' Either way, I didn't do it. I rented 'Black Swan' On Demand instead."

Jackson is a very modern comedian, interacting with fans through her blog and responding to comments on her YouTube videos.

"I guess everybody's doing it," she said. "I started my blog and as a comedian, it's a great repository for things that happen to me. Sometimes when I'm trying to write, I'll go back and look at my blogs, it's kind of like my journal and an extension of my notebook."

It's also good because it keeps fans engaged with her and keeps them coming back for more, she said.

From this point in her career, Jackson hopes that her fan base continues to grow and that she becomes "a recognizable name."

"I want to continue to get respect from people in the industry and my peers," she said. "I would love to get into writing more - whether for TV or film. I know that's the direction I'd like to go in."

For the show at the CAC, Jackson said the audience can "expect juggling."

"There won't be any, but they can expect it," she said. "I may do a roundoff or a cartwheel as well. Expect the unexpected."

Tickets are $20 and may be bought by calling the CAC box office at 326-2424 or by visiting www.caclive.com. - Sun Gazette

Erin Jackson, the first comedian to perform as part of the One Night Stand comedy series, had the crowd smiling and howling on Tuesday night in the Student Services Building Auditorium.

With her witty humor and great comedic timing, Jackson showed why she has made appearances on television shows such as the Ellen DeGeneres Show, TBS' new late night comedy series The Very Funny Show and The Last Comic Standing, where she was a semi-finalist.

Jackson's dislike of exercise, specifically jogging, served as an icebreaker to open her routine.

"My friend seems to think jogging is such a wonderful thing that's supposed to make you feel energized," she said. "I don't agree, I jog, get sleepy and I'm too tired to drive to Wendy's"

Jackson, who is a graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C., with a degree in communications, shared stories of the ups and downs that she has had with her family, and how she wished they were a little more supportive of her career."My parents brought me a GPS system and a card that said 'Because we think you need direction' one year," Jackson said.

Jackson shared how her mom shows her support in her own loving way, while trying to drop little hints at the same time.

"My mom Googles my name and emails me the information she finds, but it's never about me as a comedian. It's always about some other Erin Jackson that's a lawyer or doctor," she said.

Jackson then touched on a familiar topic to college students: relationships. She joked that comedy is to blame for her being single, in her thirties, with no kids. She said she has bad guy radar.

"I had a boyfriend that broke up with me on Facebook," she said. "And the only way I found out about our break-up was through a relationship status update… I hate Facebook."

Jackson even said that a lot of her diets started with break-ups and she credits them with helping her lose 15 pounds on occasion.

"If I get back with a guy, and break-up three more times, I can be high school-skinny by Christmas," Jackson said.

And Jackson didn't shy away from engaging in conversation with the crowd that filled the auditorium.

"This is my first time in Kentucky, so what should I do while I am here?" Jackson asked the crowd.

"Drink some bourbon!" shouted a student from the back.

"Buddy, I can do that at home," Jackson replied, drawing a big laugh.

Niesha Ross, a freshman political science major, said that she enjoyed Jackson's jokes.

"I thought she was really funny, I liked how she made jokes out of everyday life situations," Ross said.

Kerry Metcalf, a freshman athletic training major, said he enjoyed her sense of humor as well.

"I saw her on Last Comic Standing and thought she was funny," Metcalf said. "So I'm glad she was able to come to Eastern so that I could hear her again."

The next comedian, Dan Ahdoot will perform on Oct. 8 in SSB Auditorium.

Samantha Clark and Greg Schulte also contributed to this story. - The Eastern Progress Online -- Eastern Kentucky University

Erin Jackson might be the best stand up in D.C. She’s also the kind of comic that your mom would like. She’s not dirty, not mean, comfortable on stage, and doesn’t pander. She’s the kind of comic that could have a sitcom and still have a really good act. Actually, yes, someone give her a sitcom. Don't cast her as the friend of a single lady figuring out who she is in the big bad city, but give her a sitcom of her own, something like Seinfeld or The Mary Tyler Moore Show. - Washington City Paper

In early 2004, Erin Jackson and her boyfriend had a long conversation about their dream jobs. Jackson wanted to be a stand-up comedian. Fate would have it that while purchasing tickets to a show on the DC Improv website, her boyfriend saw an ad for a one day seminar for aspiring comedians. He signed her up for the class that promised to “teach you everything you need to know to be a comedian in two or three hours,” Jackson recently said with a wry grin.

“My goal has never been to get rich. As long as I’m doing what I love and I’m able to make enough money to pay my mortgage every month and pay Pepco at least every other month, I’m happy,” admits Jackson.

In the nearly seven years since her ?rst introduction to professional comedy, she has conquered the ranks of DC Comedy; headlining the DC Improv’s three day New Year’s weekend.

“She appeals to all audiences and the crowds really enjoy her style,” says Allyson Jaffe, Manager/Principal of the DC Improv which opened in 1992. “I have always enjoyed watching her perform. I ?nd her persona both on stage and off stage to be extremely likable.”

While working a full-time job, Jackson appeared on two episodes of NBC’s popular “Last Comic Standing” in the summer of 2008, advancing to the Semi-Final round. Her performance attracted the attention of day time talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, who invited Jackson to her show in the fall of 2008.

“I had no intention of being a professional,” Jackson says. But in February 2009 she left her job to pursue comedy as her profession.

First coming to DC as a student at Howard University, Jackson studied TV production. Following graduation she worked for CNN and the Discovery Channel before establishing a career in marketing. After living in Hyattsville, Maryland for many years, Jackson purchased a condo in Ward 7 in 2006.

“DC has been a great city to get funny. The comedy centers are always going to be LA and New York, but per capita there are as many funny people here as anywhere in the country,” says Jackson.

“What stands out about Erin is that when you listen to her material it is very ambiguous. Many female comedians, at least the ones they promote heavily, base their material on subjects such as sex, shopping and other cliché’ female topics,” says Jason Weems, 29, who was invited to perform at the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival this past summer. “In the male dominated comedy world, men don’t often give women the same respect, but when Erin is doing a show you better get your game up.”

A Baltimore kindergarten teacher for the past six years, Weems asked Jackson to open up for his recently taped one hour special, “Intellectual Property,” which he plans to shop around to iTunes, Amazon, and industry agents in 2011. A loyal Eagles fan, Jackson, who runs a blog on her website chronicling her travels across the country and a recent experience at a Wizards game, wants to expand her brand from traditional stand-up to writing for television, possibly serving as the comic relief on a sports show. “Being funny is maybe 50% percent. It’s a sales job, but you are the product you are selling,” says Jackson. “The people that get success in this industry are not always the funniest, but when the funniest person was at home sleeping that other person was out hustling.” To aspiring comedians, Jackson says there is no replacement for stage time and no substitute for hard work. Ringing in 2011 doing what she loves to do -- making people laugh, Jackson looks to pursue bigger projects as her comedic star continues to rise within DC and beyond. - Capital Community News

By Sarah Barbee
Staff Writer
Nov. 12, 2009

Comedian Erin Jackson performed Oct. 28 in the UC Lounge at 7:30 p.m., sponsored by the Association for Campus Entertainment.

Jackson has appeared on television shows such as “Last Comic Standing,” “Live at Gotham” and “The Ellen Degeneres Show.”

Jackson is from Washington, D.C., and attended Howard University to study mass communications.

During her performance, she spoke about everything from being an African-American in society to terrible relationships.

She also talked about becoming a comic and how she has lost a lot of weight.

“I’ve been hungry since July” was a joke told during her performance. She discovered it was time to lose some weight when she found herself eating an entire onepound bag of M&M’s.

She also joked about going into Abercrombie and Fitch and being embarrassed by the sales associates because they do not carry black clothing, “but they carry purple.” She found this quite insulting.

Jackson gave advice about dealing with relationships and parents who were not so pleased with career choices of their children.

“Sometimes you have to give up some things in order to fulfill your dreams,” Jackson said.

She spoke about bad dates she had and even made a joke about a relationship that was terminated without her knowledge on Facebook.

“You never really know a person,” Jackson said.

She also spoke about having a large family, claiming to have 14 aunts and uncles and 49 first cousins, and she herself is an only child.

The audience seemed thoroughly impressed and laughed at her jokes.

Freshman Meghan Writz attended the performance.

“I thought it was really entertaining, and I have seen her before on Comedy Central and found all of her jokes to be hilarious,” Writz said.

Jackson can be found on Facebook as well as YouTube and has a video blog of various shows she has put on. They can be accessed on her blog at erinjackson.net - The Pine Needle (UNC Pembroke's Student Newspaper)

Young and influential. Those alone are sexy adjectives to us, but add the word "artistic" and, well, you have hit on a combination that makes our hearts flutter. For this year's Fall Arts Preview, we went looking for young people who are shaping Washington arts. The Style & Arts staff chose people with fresh energy and ideas who've proved to be influential on the scene - be they curators or composers, performers, painters or festival founders.


Erin Jackson, 30
Stand-up comic

Washington has been the home of a number of very good comics and a few great ones (Wanda Sykes, Dave Chappelle, Lewis Black, Martin Lawrence). Erin Jackson could be next in line.

Jackson, a Howard University grad, began hitting open-mike nights in Washington and Baltimore four years ago. This summer, she's had the sort of breakthroughs that push a comic from the middle ranks to headliner. In July she reached the semifinals of the NBC reality show "Last Comic Standing," and followed up by finishing second at the Great American Comedy Festival (judges included Robert Klein and Dick Cavett). Also this summer: an appearance on Comedy Central's "Live at Gotham" and a guest shot on Ellen DeGeneres's talk show in mid-September.

Jackson's style -- she describes it as "congenial sarcasm" -- is influenced by Bill Cosby, her idol when she was growing up in central New Jersey. Like Cosby, her material is mostly personal. "It's about me and my family," says Jackson, who says her family is "shocked" that she could be funny. "Eighty to 85 percent of it is stuff that has happened to me, or versions of stuff that happened to me."

A Jacksonian gem: She says that when she becomes famous, she intends to acquire the ultimate symbol of success for black celebrities -- she plans to marry a white woman.

- Paul Farhi - The Washington Post