For 35 hours a week, Jessica Felix works diligently as a barista in Brentwood and saves up her tips in an old pickle jar, relabeled “Hopes and Dreams” ““ not to pay for a Eurotrip or a new car, but for comedy lessons.
Felix is an alumna who graduated winter quarter from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, but said she felt her time as a theater student was unfulfilling because of her lack of connection and collaboration with other classmates. As a result, she sought to express her creativity at Improv Olympic West, where she writes and performs monthly with her sketch comedy team, Brute Squad.
Founded in 1981 and located in Chicago, the original Improv Olympic is a comedy theater that has produced notable comedians including Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, making Felix’s choice to pursue a master of fine arts at Chicago’s Northwestern University in the fall that much easier.
Felix, who grew up in San Diego, said a lot of her writing addresses sub-sects of culture, stereotypes and a bit of social critique. Aside from comedy, she is also interested in socially conscious theater, performances that strive to create social change through theatrical acts and outreach projects.
As part of her application for Northwestern, Felix wrote a musical about Occupy Wall Street and the 99 percent movement, where the beginning of the play calls forth an “Annie”-like scene in which school children are singing “It’s the Hard-knock Life,” only to be halted by suited officials.
“(The school) called it subversive, which is a cool word to have attached to yourself,” Felix said.
Although comedy plays a large role in her life, Felix said that it can sometimes feel like a boys’ club, where male actors are given priority to fill traditionally professional roles such as that of a doctor.
“There’s always a token girl on a group, and the roles are very limited,” Felix said. “The girl always has to be a wife, or a mom, or a girlfriend, or attractive secretary.”
Felix said she has loved cartoons her whole life, and that there are many similarities between cartoons and sketch comedy, including elements of gameplay and character. Her dream job would be to write her own cartoon show or for a cartoon series, she said. “Looney Tunes,” “Sheep in the Big City,” “Dexter’s Laboratory” and “Johnny Bravo” are some of her favorites.
“Now that I know more about the technical formula that goes into sketch (comedy), it’s easy to pick those out in cartoons. It’s always fun to go back and see things that you watched as a kid and understand them on a different level,” Felix said.
Peggy Sinnott, a fellow member of Brute Squad and alumna of the School of Theater, Film and Television, said that Felix is a very strong writer with a distinctive style of sketch writing.
“With some people’s sketches you can improvise, but with Jessica’s I want to get them word perfect because there’s a craftsmanship and an artistry to the way she puts her words together,” Sinnott said.
Brute Squad consists of five actors besides Felix, and is directed by writers from “Saturday Night Live” and Adult Swim. Felix said that their experience and guidance has helped many amateurs gain insight into what’s necessary in the professional comedy world.
“My favorite part of this whole process is getting these people to read the crazy things that go off of my imagination, humoring me in that sense,” Felix said. “It’s a fun world to be a part of, the late-night comedy scene and L.A.”
Caitlin Bower, a fourth-year Theater, Film and Television student, said she and Felix have been friends since their freshman year and have since shared a couple of classes.
“She’s very hardworking … and she’s really funny. … She definitely has maybe 80 percent more punch lines than the average person,” Bower said.