Kung Fu Komedy hosts their first female international headliner. The New York native mines serious laughs from everyday drama thanks to an engaging style that took her to the semi-finals of the 2014 season of Last Comic Standing. She’s trained with the Groundlings, toured the world with Jimmy Schubert and has appeared on hit shows like BET’s Hell Date.
Congratulations on coming to China. Will this be your first time here?
Yes, this is my first time coming to China and I'm super excited. So excited I'm not even sure how to prepare. Besides making everyone laugh, I'm hoping to emerse myself in, learn, and enjoy authentic Chinese culture. I don't have any specific places or things I want to do yet but I'm open to suggestions.
So you will actually be the first female international headlining comic that Kung Fu Komedy has hosted. How do you feel about the honor and please take this opportunity to shame Andy from KFK that it took so long.
I had no idea I was the first female but I'm honored and yes, shame on you Andy (laughs). I don't know if I even concern myself with being a woman - in terms of comedy - because I think when performing, funny trumps everything, but I do hope that my visit encourages anyone booking comedy shows to book more women.
Why is it important for you to perform in far-flung places such as China?
One of my goals when I started doing standup was to see the world while doing it. This trip to China, as well as my trips last year to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Seychelles, Canada, Curaçao, and Aruba have allowed me to learn so much about different places, people, and cultures and honestly adds to my story which is the basis of my comedy. Also, I find that the media portrayal of a person that looks like me in my own country often times is incorrect so I can only imagine the rest of the world may be slightly misinformed. When I travel I try to keep in mind that I have the opportunity to be a representation of a group of people and so I try my best to be a positive as well as honest and fun representation.
For audiences here who might know you, how did you get into comedy and how would you describe your comedy style?
I started doing standup comedy a little over five years ago. I'd been around it either by having friends that were comedians or friends that simply loved watching comedy shows and I briefly worked for a friend that produced comedy shows. With no warning or forethought I quit working for my friend and got on stage and haven't stopped since. My comedy is simply inviting the audience into my world - a chance for them to come and sit in my living room - for however long, and hopefully when i'm done they want to come back.
The Groundlings are such a hallowed group. What were some of the most important lessons you learned from training with them and what what was the most embarrassing situation you had to put yourself in as part of that training.
(Laughs) Yes, Groundlings is considered pretty hallowed. Um, I think the most important thing I learned while studying improvisation is trusting yourself and your thoughts and just giving yourself the freedom to be creative and have fun in the moment. They get into a bunch of character and object work so sometimes it can feel a little silly to create an object or voice or movement in the moment but I don't think I had an embarrassing training moment.
New York has such a rich stand-up history. How were you able to break into that scene and who were some comics that were really helpful in your career?
New York is and will always be my home...people often think I started comedy in NY. And at the beginning I did the same thing in NY that I did in LA which is attended as many open mic as possible. At open mics you meet other comics and they book you on their shows and you meet more comics and your network grows. A good friend of mine Keith Robinson was instrumental in me getting booked at some of the A clubs in NY. He asked me to open for him during his one hour comedy special (Back of the Bus Funny produced by Kevin Hart) and so many people were there to see him that also enjoyed me a great deal and from there they were willing to give me a chance in their clubs. Of course Last Comic Standing helped as well as being showcased as a new face at JFL.
What was the Last Comic Standing experience like? Could you imagine making it to the semi-finals and did that exposure affect your career much?
It was a great experience for me and has helped a great deal not only with my exposure to the world but to other comics as well. I've made some great relationships from that show. I was happy to get as far as I did and am very grateful for the opportunity.
Hell Date looks like so much fun. How did you enjoy the experience and what was the worst date you put someone through on the show?
Oh my God! Hell Date (laughs). I actually forget about that show until someone brings it up. Its not something that I'd do today but at the time is was a fun idea. It seems easy but you're basically seeming bi-polar for 10 hours every day that you tape. By that I mean I had to seem crazy or awful enough to have the date go wrong but likable enough to keep the person on the date for the whole day. The craziest one was probably when I played an escaped mental patient because I had to pretend to be believably crazy the entire day and at the end they actually restrained me and put me in a straight jacket. The funny thing though is when I revealed it was a "hell date" the guy still asked me out on a real date. I said no. (Laughs)
What was it like touring the world with Jimmy Schubert? He's a Kung Fu Komedy favorite, so any dirt on him you can share from being on the road?
(Laughs) Jimmy's a stand up guy so no dirt to share but even if I did, his dirt would be safe with me lol. I met Jimmy on Last Comic Standing and he's been such a great help and inspiration to me. I love that Jimmy hits the stage Tazmanian Devil style and goes non stop for an hour. When he's done he's bright red, his shirt is drenched with sweat, and the crowd is still laughing.
Following your China tour, what are you plans?
After China, I'm off to NY to perform at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem (which is a first for me) then back to LA for a bunch of local gigs.
And do you have any non stand-up projects that you're working on that you'd like to plug?
I'd love for everyone to check out my relationship podcast, its called Just Friends and it's available on iTunes and Soundcloud (but i prefer people listen on iTunes (laughs)).
Is there anything you would like to add?
I don't talk a lot on social media but I talk back when people contact me so please follow me on snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook and keep up with all that I'm doing via my website www.zainabjohnson.com. Thank you and I'm looking forward to coming to China!!!!
Zainab Johnson tour dates:
Chengdu: Apr 12, 8.30pm, RMBTBA. Bookworm Chengdu.
Hangzhou: Apr 13, 8.30pm, RMBTBA. Shangri-La.
Suzhou: Apr 14, 8.30pm, RMBTBA. The Camel Suzhou.
Shanghai: Apr 15-16, 8.30pm (Fri), 8pm and 10pm (Sat), RMB170-200. Kung Fu Komedy Club. See event listing
Beijing: Apr 17, 8pm, RMB150-180. Bookworm.
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