Jessica Glassberg
Writer/Comedian

Can you tell us a little bit about what you do?
Well, I certainly overthink how to answer the question “what do I do?” What do I do? What do we all do? What are we doing? I can tell you what I don’t do. I don’t sleep very well. Lots of restlessness and getting up to go to the bathroom… inevitably bumping my leg into something on the way and stifling a yelp so as not to wake my husband who is of course sleeping soundly. I just don’t know how to relax in general. I can’t just sit. And be. My brain is always swirling over what errand I need to run, what activity I have to get my kids to, what work I need to get done, what way do I answer “what do I do?” or what I should be writing… Oh. I write. I do writing. I do writing better than that last sentence… and this one.

Ya know what? Here’s my bio. It feels safer to refer to myself in the 3rd person:
Jessica Glassberg is an award-winning writer, stand-up comedian, producer and director. Jessica has written two TV movies: You Make it Feel Like Christmas, which aired on Lifetime and is currently streaming on Peacock, as well as Love at Sky Gardens which is airing on UPtv and was nominated for 2 Canadian Screen Awards. Glassberg has recently written multiple episodes of the animated YouTube series Crayola Crew for Moonbug Entertainment and she has begun production on Season 2.

Along with fellow comedians Leah Dubie and Katie Massa Kennedy, Jessica produces and performs on the long-running stand-up comedy show Coming in Hot, the first Wednesday of the month at Brews Brothers in Burbank. Their next show is Wednesday, October 8 at 8pm (She knows… that’s not the first Wednesday, but it is USUALLY the first Wednesday) Past guests include: David Koechner, Maria Bamford, Laurie Kilmartin, Helen Hong, Kyle Kinane and MORE!

Jessica currently creates content for NBCUniversal where her work was recently nominated for 3 GEMA awards. Her NBCU projects include original pieces written for Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman, Jane Lynch, Ana Gasteyer, The Olympics, America’s Got Talent and One Chicago: Fire, Med and P.D. Oh… and penguins.

Jessica also wrote, directed and appeared in the premiere of, “Ben and Becca’s Totally Retro B’nai Mitzvah,” a completely interactive comedy production (a la, “Tony and Tina’s Wedding”). Additionally, Jessica’s original monologues have been published by Hal Leonard Corporation in the “Comedic Monologues That Are Actually Funny,” series for Women, Men, Teen Girls, Teen Boys, Kids and LGBTQ. She also has 8 haikus published in Your House Keys are in the Dryer – A Parenting Haiku Book, and contributed an essay to Periods, Period, both from Post Hill Press.

For eleven years, Jessica was the head writer on “The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon” where she also performed stand-up on the nationally syndicated show five times. Similarly, she was a featured performer on “The History of the Joke with Lewis Black” on The History Channel and has done voice-over work on the animated show, Game Over, starring Lucy Liu as well as the digital series The Dreidelmans.

Glassberg has also written on Zeke and Luther for Disney XD, A Hollywood Christmas at The Grove for EXTRA, The Screen Actors Guild Awards for TBS/TNT and The Guild of Music Supervisors Awards.

Jessica considers herself proud to be a wife to a wonderfully supportive husband, honored to be an adoring mother to two extraordinary and superiorly creative daughters, and realistic about being a terrible homemaker. Please don’t ask to come over. You’ll most assuredly trip on a toy and she doesn’t have insurance to cover that.

How did you first become interested in art?
As an only child, I always loved playing dress-up and making up characters. I never had to be alone. Throwing together items found in my mom’s closet and pieces of costume jewelry I got to be anyone I wanted. I also loved to watch other people playing dress-up. My grandparents took me to see my first Broadway show, The King and I starring Yul Brynner, when I was 5. (Don’t do the math, I’m obviously only 25). My memory is that I was 5, sitting in the center of the Orchestra Row 5… don’t hold me to that as fact. I was 5.

I had seen the 1956 movie… also starring Yul Brynner and had memorized all of the songs. But seeing the show live, I knew this was an experience I wanted to be a part of. Not specifically on stage in a giant hoop skirt being swirled around by Mr. Brynner himself… though that did look fun… but just to be a part of creating another world and getting a reaction from the audience.

How does art enrich a community, and what are some ways people can engage with art in Burbank?
Art is so incredibly important to making a community a community! And in Burbank, there is always so much to do, see and participate in. When you’re looking at the homemade crafts at the Burbank Arts Festival, catching the latest movie at the AMC, a show at The Garry Marshall Theatre or our Coming in Hot stand-up show the first Wednesday of the month at Brews Brothers, you never feel more connected to your neighbor than when you are sharing your trade or enjoying a good belly-laugh together. Arts in schools and encouraging creativity for the next generation is so important whether you are a parent or not. There is no greater joy than seeing your child’s art on the wall of a classroom or seeing them up on stage. And if you’re not a parent, you can contribute your time and donations and not have to find a home for the 8 millionth drawing of their favorite Pokémon, nor do you have sit through half a dozen performances of the same show. It’s a win for everyone.

If you could share with our community one thing about art and/or your creative process, what would it be?
Keep doing! Whether it’s going out to see shows and attending festivals or writing your own work and taking acting, painting, underwater basketweaving or whatever classes spark joy… do it! Schedule it. Create time for it. Make it a priority for you and your family to enjoy together or to get some well-deserved space from them.

To find out more about Jessica and her work, visit her website jessicaglassberg.com, follow her on instagram @jglassberg, or follow Coming In Hot Comedy at Brews Brothers on instagram @cominginhotcomedy