Jessica McKenna (sometimes credited as Jess McKenna) is an American actress, comedian and singer.[1] McKenna trained with The Groundlings and at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, where she regularly performs. McKenna was one of the stars of Fox's Party Over Here, alongside Nicole Byer and Alison Rich, and hosted the podcast Off Book: The Improvised Musical until 2023.
Jessica McKenna | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Alma mater | Northwestern University |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2012–present |
Early life
editMcKenna was born in Yorba Linda, California.[2] In 2006, she graduated from El Dorado High School. She received a bachelor's degree in theater from Northwestern University.[2]
Career
editTheater
editMcKenna began training at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre after college, and became a regular performer in 2012.[3][4] She regularly performs with the musical improv house teams, Magic to Do and Baby Wants Candy.[5] McKenna is also a frequent performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre's long-running improv show, ASSSSCAT.[6][5] McKenna has performed improv comedy at festivals including South by Southwest, SF Sketchfest, Edinburgh Fringe, the Del Close Marathon, Bumbershoot, and Chicago Sketch Fest.[1][2][7][8]
Television, film, and web series
editIn 2014, McKenna was a regular cast member on Fox's improv-based game show, Riot, until its cancellation. In 2016, McKenna starred alongside fellow Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) alumnae Nicole Byer and Alison Rich in Fox's sketch comedy show, Party Over Here, which was produced by The Lonely Island and Paul Scheer.[9] Party Over Here was cancelled after one season.[10] McKenna has appeared in episodes of Modern Family and The Goldbergs.
McKenna often collaborates with UCB alumnus Zach Reino. McKenna and Reino have worked together on musical sketches for Funny or Die, BuzzFeed, and Nickelodeon.[11] In 2016, McKenna and Reino wrote and starred together in ABC's web series, Serious Music.[12] Along with Zeke Nicholson, the pair also featured in a 2021 episode of Dropout series Game Changer titled "The Official Cast Recording", in which they improvised a short musical based on host Sam Reich's prompts.[13] This was later adapted into a full series on Dropout titled Play It By Ear the following year.[14]
McKenna also works as a voice actress. McKenna voices the lead character, Lennon, on Amazon's Little Big Awesome.[2] It was originally announced that McKenna would voice the lead character on Billy Dilley's Super-Duper Subterranean Summer; however, creator Aaron Springer ultimately was cast in that role.[15][16]
In 2022, McKenna, along with Neil Casey, Zach Reino, and Niccole Thurman, won the Writers Guild of America Award in the category "Quiz and Audience Participation" for her work on the series Baking It.[17] In 2023, she was nominated again for the same award together with the other writers of Baking It.[18]
Podcasts
editSince 2017, McKenna and Reino have hosted the musical comedy podcast Off Book: The Improvised Musical, which was initially on the Earwolf network.[19] In 2023, she appeared as one of the main characters in the children's podcast Sound Detectives.[20] McKenna is also a regular guest on the podcast version of Comedy Bang! Bang!, where she is known for characters such as Beth, the Power Wheels–obsessed eight-year-old, This Is Your Boy Troy, and Park Ranger Margery Kershaw.[21] McKenna has also appeared on Improv4Humans, Doughboys, The JV Club, and Hollywood Handbook.[4]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Beta | Lauren | Short film |
| 2017 | Gleep-Glorp & Lasertag | Gleep-Glorp | Voice Short film |
| Lane Woods Finds Love | |||
| 2018 | Song of Back and Neck | Dawn | |
| 2023 | Craig Before the Creek | Handlebarb | Voice |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–2016 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Various | 3 episodes |
| 2014 | The Goldbergs | Waiter | Episode: "The Age of Darkness" |
| 2015 | The Hotwives | Mackenzie | 2 episodes |
| Adam Ruins Everything | Jess | Episode: "Adam Ruins Restaurants" | |
| Filthy Preppy Teen$ | Macauley | Episode: "The Return of the Prodigal Teens" | |
| 2016 | Party Over Here | Various | 10 episodes |
| American Dad! | Various voices | Episode: "Gifted Me Liberty" | |
| Legendary Dudas | Employee | Episode: "King Sam/Karate Kids" | |
| 2016–2017 | The UCB Show | Various | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Voltron: Legendary Defender | Various voices | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Little Big Awesome | Lennon / various voices | 13 episodes |
| Modern Family | Nurse Tami | Episode: "The Escape" | |
| 2018–2020 | Big City Greens | Various voices | 3 episodes |
| 2018–2023 | Craig of the Creek | Handlebarb / Jake (voice) | 14 episodes |
| 2019 | HarmonQuest | Flairence Sparrow | Episode: "Ad Quod Damnum" |
| Sunnyside | Andromeda Burrff | Episode: "Pants Full of Sandwiches" | |
| 2019–2021 | DC Super Hero Girls | Aqualad (voice) | 18 episodes |
| 2020 | Space Force | Participant #2 | Episode: "Proportionate Response" |
| Trick Moon | Trickshot (voice) | TV pilot | |
| 2020–2024 | Star Trek: Lower Decks | Ensign Barnes / various voices | 19 episodes |
| 2020–2022 | The Mighty Ones | Rocksy (voice) | 40 episodes |
| 2021 | Amphibia | Gabby (voice) | Episode: "Hop 'Til You Drop/Turning Point" |
| Curb Your Enthusiasm | Waiter | Episode: "Irma Kostroski" | |
| Game Changer | Herself | Episode: "The Official Cast Recording" | |
| 2021–2023 | Ten Year Old Tom | Mrs. Band / various voices | 14 episodes |
| 2022 | We Baby Bears | Baby Panda (singing voice) | Episode: "High Baby Fashion" |
| Duncanville | Various voices | 6 episodes | |
| 2022–2024 | The Loud House | Boy Jordan / various voices | 2 episodes |
| Make Some Noise | Herself | 4 episodes | |
| 2022–present | Play It by Ear | Various | 16 episodes |
| 2023 | Strange Planet | Blanket Cape / Being #4 (voice) | Episode: "Greyscale Finger Bandit" |
| Frasier | Kiki | Episode: "Blind Date" |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Fallout 76: Steel Dawn | Maximo Leone |
References
edit- ^ a b Malin, Sean L. (March 13, 2017). "SXSW Comedy Review: Comedy Bang! Bang!". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Jessica McKenna's schedule for SF Sketchfest 2018". SF Sketchfest. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
- ^ Jusino, Teresa (March 16, 2016). "Interview: Party Over Here's Jessica McKenna Talks Women in Comedy and Her Sweet New Gig". The Mary Sue. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
- ^ a b White, Chad (March 8, 2017). "Improvising comedy raps with Jessica McKenna". C Comedy. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
- ^ a b "Jessica McKenna". ucbcomedy.com. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
- ^ Ruskin, Zack; Mojadad, Ida (January 31, 2018). "Dispatches from Sketchfest 2018: Volume II". SF Weekly. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
- ^ "JESSICA MCKENNA – Résumé | Omnipop Talent Group". resumes.breakdownexpress.com. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
- ^ "Comedy & Conversation". BUMBERSHOOT. Archived from the original on July 3, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
- ^ Prudom, Laura (February 4, 2016). "Fox Launches Saturday Sketch Comedy Series 'Party Over Here' from Lonely Island". Variety. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
- ^ Wright, Tolly (August 10, 2016). "Party Over Here Canceled, Never to Be 'Here' on Fox Again". Vulture. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
- ^ "Jessica McKenna | Serious Music". ABC. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
- ^ "Watch Serious Music TV Show - ABC.com". ABC. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
- ^ @GameChangerSam (December 28, 2021). "Welcome to Mountport's opening number – from Zeke Nicholson, @ZachReino, @JessRMcKenna, and @ScottPassarella!🏔️🌊" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ CollegeHumor (August 16, 2022). Play It By Ear Trailer.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (March 4, 2016). "Disney XD Announces 'Billy Dilly' and 'Country Club'". Animation Magazine. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
- ^ Sandberg, Bryn (March 4, 2016). "Disney XD Orders Pair of Original Animated Series (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (March 20, 2022). "WGA Awards: 'Don't Look Up' Wins For Original Screenplay, 'CODA' Wins For Adapted; 'Hacks', 'Succession', 'Conan' Also Win – Full Winners List". Deadline. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
- ^ Coates, Tyler (January 11, 2023). "WGA Awards 2023: Abbott Elementary, Andor, The Bear and Severance Among New Series Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
- ^ "Off Book: The Improvised Musical podcast on Earwolf". Earwolf. Archived from the original on May 28, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
- ^ "About Sound Detectives". Sound Detectives - About. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
- ^ "Comedy Bang Bang: The Podcast podcast on Earwolf". Earwolf. Retrieved June 5, 2018.