Full Name: Jenna Brister (named after Priscilla Presley’s character on the soap opera Dallas)
Vocation: Stand-up Comedienne. Storyteller. Improviser. Adult-Diary-Writer.
Website: www.jennabrister.com
The story behind the photo? “JBgull” My mom made me this seagull costume when I was younger, and it’s my favorite animal. I get their lifestyle - a diet high in seafood and lurking around on the sand all day, yes please! This is on the beach just outside my home in Santa Monica, and this same flock of seagulls hangs by Tower 10 all the time. I was running around amongst them when this was taken.
Something that inspires you: For my birthday a few years ago, I took myself on a little winter island escape up to Portland, Maine, to eat as much lobster as I could. I took a ferry out to Peaks Island, rented a bicycle that I pried out of a glacier, and went off on a joyride. I was cruising around when I saw this and it made me laugh out loud. One man’s road sign is another man’s power ballad. But really, we need signs like this lining the streets of life.
Something YOU aspire to? One of my big comedy dreams is to be on Saturday Night Live, and Gilda Radner is a big part of what made me fall in love with that magical show. She was so goofy, so silly, and wasn’t afraid to be unglamorous and nerdy while simultaneously being insanely lovable and adorable. That is just beautiful. I found this star when I first moved from NYC to LA, and as anti-tourism-traps as I am, I couldn’t help but take this picture. Gilda laughed at herself, and watching her just blew my mind: it was possible to make people laugh for a living.
What do you think it means to live an art directed life? Always choose fun. Especially in comedy, being in the moment and having fun on stage (and in daily life) is huge. We have instincts and ideas for a reason, and we CAN trust ourselves - we’ve just got to light that internal Roman Candle and let it pop off. Bravery is a big deal to me, and has gotten me in some very cool and fascinating situations. I got the Hebrew symbol for Bravery tattooed on my ribcage after making it through some courage-inducing solo travel abroad, and I think about it when I wonder if I should take a risk and try something new on stage. Everyone has a word, mine is Bravery. So I guess, to me, it means having a way to physically manifest your art, so that we can be a little less insane than we already are.
