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LAist Interview: Comedian Jen Kober - Brings All-Southern All-Female Review "Grits & Giggles" to Comedy Store
Comedian Jen Kober is brassy, smart, from the South, we're talking Louisiana, and she will put you in your place. She has put together an all-female, all-Southern, review of comedians called "Grits & Giggles" which makes its debut at The Comedy Store tonight.
The show will feature Sarah Tiana, Kristen Key, Dhaya Lakshminarayan, with Jen Kober headlining - presenting their comedy with perspectives built on growing up and living in the South. Kober will also be appearing at the LA Comedy Festival this Thursday night.
Listen to the complete interview with Jen Kober:
LAist: So you are originally from Louisiana?
Jen Kober: Yes, Lake Charles, Louisiansa. I still own a house in Lake Charles, it is right now without floors thanks to Hurricane Ike, but we're workin' on it. I try to keep a smile on and move along, a lot of people ended up worse than me. I [usually] spend a good five or six months there and the rest of my time in Los Angeles. I like to say that I jump from "L.A." to "LA".
I like to do a lot of shows out there, it's an area that doesn't get a lot of cultural stuff coming through there, it's not a giant pop-culture Mecca or anything. I love bringing in all these amazing comedians I meet out here. I'm like, "Hey man, you want to come down to Louisiana, make some money and make some fans, have a good time?" And they always have a great show and I get to expose that town to these Los Angeles comedians.
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LAist: Do you find that you have to adjust your jokes, your humor, between these different parts of the country?
Jen Kober: I think every night that I get on stage I'm adjusting somewhat for what that crowd is.I could be doing a show in Louisiana for some college kids, and that would be a very different show than a casino show for an older crowd. It's the same out here, there are different crowds at The Laugh Factory than at the Chumash Casino, one is constantly adjusting, so it's not that big of a deal.
LAist: I have to ask this because I've been obsessed with "True Blood", which takes place in Louisiana, [how true are] the stereotypes that they are leveraging in every episode? You know they have the gator on the wall, etc.
Jen Kober: That show is so interesting to me, because I know it's part of Louisiana culture, it's usually more towards New Orleans, that voodoo undertone to everything. I watch that show too, and I'm constantly like "I know where they filmed that and I know where they filmed that" - at least the parts that aren't filmed in a studio. But you know, it's like that down there, there are gators on the wall, there are stereotypes for a reason, but I do hope there aren't vampires.
[Listen to the podcast to hear more about the New South, gators, Ann Rice, Southern food, and what to expect at her shows. Find out more about Jen Kober at her website and her MySpace]
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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