September 26, 2025 • 29 mins
Today we’re joined by Dr. Stacy E. Holland, Executive Director of Elevate 215. With 30 years of experience creating educational solutions for children, Dr. Holland is helping to align Philadelphia’s education community around a shared vision: ensuring every child has access to a quality school that prepares them to thrive. She shares insights on School Selection Month, the new Philly Schools Compass tool and important updates to the Apply Philly Charter system.
Connect with Elevate 215 & Resources
Connect with Eluna
Today’s conversation is extra special because it’s led by Philadelphia Youth Network’s WorkReady summer student, Amaya Manigault, who had the opportunity to interview the multi-talented comedian, actress, and writer Zainab Johnson. Known for her sharp wit and engaging storytelling, Zainab has appeared on Last Comic Standing, stars on Amazon’s Upload, and continues to break barriers as a leading voice in comedy and television.
Connect with Zainab Johnson
Connect with Elevate 215 & Resources
- 🌐 Website: elevate215.org
- 📸 Instagram: @elevate_215
- 🌐 Philly Schools Compass: phillyschoolscompass.org
- 🌐 Apply Philly Charter: applyphillycharter.org
Connect with Eluna
- 🌐 Website: elunanetwork.org/eluna-resource-center
- 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/elunanetwork
- 🎵 TikTok: @elunanetwork
- ▶️ YouTube: youtube.com/c/elunanetwork
Today’s conversation is extra special because it’s led by Philadelphia Youth Network’s WorkReady summer student, Amaya Manigault, who had the opportunity to interview the multi-talented comedian, actress, and writer Zainab Johnson. Known for her sharp wit and engaging storytelling, Zainab has appeared on Last Comic Standing, stars on Amazon’s Upload, and continues to break barriers as a leading voice in comedy and television.
Connect with Zainab Johnson
- 🌐 Website: zainabjohnson.com
- 📸 Instagram: @zainabjohnson
- 🐦 X (formerly Twitter): @zainabjohnson
- 📘 Facebook: facebook.com/zainabjohnson
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning. You're listening to what's going on a show
about making a difference in our lives and our communities.
I'm Lorraine Ballertmorrow. Grief is tough to navigate for adults,
but what about children and young people? Will be talking
about a Luna, an organization that addresses grief. We also
have a delightful interview conducted by one of our fine
students from the Philadelphiath Network's Work Ready program with extraordinary
(00:23):
performer Zenab Johnson. But first, great resources for parents and
students in Philadelphia who need help navigating school selection season.
Finding the right school is always a challenge for parents
and students, so I am absolutely delighted to introduce doctor
Stacey E. Holland, executive director of Elevate two fifteen. She's
(00:44):
going to be talking about schools and how we can
make the best decisions for our kids. With thirty years
of experience creating educational solutions for children, doctor Holland is
helping to align Philadelphia's education community around a shared vision
making sure that every kid has access to a quality
school that prepares them to thrive. She's here to talk
(01:06):
about the school selection season, the New Philly School's compass
tool and updates to the apply Philly charter system. So,
doctor Holland, thank you so much for joining us here today.
And it's a very fraught process, I think, for parents
and for students, so let's see how we can help
them make the right decision for their kids. So you've
spent three decades shaping education in Philadelphia. Let's go back
(01:29):
into an origin story. What inspired your passion for the
work and how does Elevate to fifteen fit into that journey?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Ye, well, thanks so much for having me, Lorraine. It's
always good to be with you. You know what really
brought me into the field of education is my own
journey around education and the challenges I had as a
learner and wanting to really make sure that kids don't
have that level of struggle, and so much of it
(01:57):
is about really parents having access to a wide variety
of options, and so I have loved the journey of
building and talking and figuring out with kids and their
parents and administrators and system leaders, how can we actually
improve the quality of the experience for young people. So
(02:17):
that leads us to school selection season and the work
we do at Elevate two one five, which is really
focused on how do we make sure that there's great schools,
there's a great workforce by honoring teachers and school leaders,
and that we're working with our system partners to build
tools that really help families and kids.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Well, doctor Holland, you talk about school selection season, Why
is this so important for Philadelphia families and how does
Elevate two point fifteen helping parents navigate this process?
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Well, our tagline at Elevate two one five is Philly's
future starts at school, and school being able to choose
a high quality school that meets the need of your
individual young person is mission critical. So we are now
in what we call the recruitment season, and in that season,
it's the time in which you can apply to both
(03:08):
public schools, public charter schools, private schools, Catholic schools. So
you really have to be educated around one who is
my child, Let me understand all of their nuances, all
the things they like, all the things that won't work
for them. Then you have to have a set of
criteria about the school in which you're choosing. And Philadelphia,
(03:32):
we're fortunate to have over four hundred options, whether it's
a district charter, public charter, Catholic and or private schools,
So there's lots to choose from, so you have to
understand your criteria. The third is then I got to
go out and find well, which schools actually meet my
criteria based on my young person. And then last you
got to do the match right. The magic is in
(03:53):
the cookie. How can you make sure that I'm actually
choosing what makes sense my kid. One of the things
that Elevates doing during this season is a couple of things.
Is one, we were building a website called Philly Compass
that will be a navigator. Parents can go on and
ask questions, Hey, may can I find all the schools
(04:15):
that have really good science programs? Or can I have
schools that actually have a great have athletics programs or
have a special needs programs, And it will help navigate
you to those schools that meet this narrow down choice.
It could be proximity. I only want to go to
schools within five miles or two miles. I want to
(04:36):
go to schools that actually are dual language. I have
a young person that speaks both Spanish and English, and
I really want them to have an emergent experience. So
through this tool, that will be available. You can go
on to phillyschoolscompus dot com and you will be able
to put in your selections and then up will pop
(04:57):
a series of schools that meet that criteria and then
it'll give you all your contact information. That's really critical.
The second thing we're doing is apply Philly Charter. So
in that Apply Philly Charter in application land as we
are in right now, you can go on the school
district's website philisity dot org and you're finding this function
(05:19):
called find your Fit. That's the site that school that
individuals can go on and actually look for district schools.
You should start applying now. The window to apply actually
closes in October. I think it's October twenty third, so
really important. If you're looking for a charter school, you
(05:39):
can go to apply Philly Charter dot org that season
opens up. That application window opens up September the nineteenth
and will be open until January the nineteenth.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
They are also big updates to apply Philly Charter. The
charter system this year. Can you talk about the new
ranking system, how that works and why it improves ax
for kids?
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Yeah, so, you know, one of the challenges is every
year we see about one hundred and thirty thousand applications
for about and that represents about thirty thousand families, but
we only have about eleven thousand opportunities available. So this year,
in order to try and make the process more transparent,
(06:24):
we actually went to a ranking system, so parents can
now go in, they can apply to a number of schools,
but they can say here's my top five. And that's
really important because now that ranking system will allow us
to try and match the young person closer to what
their choice is if a seat is available, and so
(06:46):
one of the reasons why we did that. It's also
important to note that the school district has also went
to a ranking system, so the goal is to create
efficiency in both systems and to expedite the match. How
I know that I actually how did I know I'm
closer to getting a school than I want? Well, if
you rate it one, two, three, four, five, or how
many ever many you're allowed to do, it'll allow the
(07:08):
system to try and sort out all the kids who
don't want that school and push you further up the line.
So what we're hoping it will do is actually reduce
the wait time, and that's really critical. Right, If I
know I want to go to this number one school
and I have an opportunity and there's a space available.
(07:28):
You'd want to know that sooner versus later?
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Yeah, Well, for parents who want more information, what is
the best way to connect with Elevate to fifteen and
to learn about these resources? And finally, also maybe if
you could repeat all those many websites that people can
take advantage of.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Sure, so let me start with the school application websites
because those are the most important in this conversation. If
you are applying to the school district of Philadelphia, you
want to go to phillipsd dot org. If you are
applying trying to a charter school, go to apply Philly
Charter dot org. If you want to search for a school,
(08:08):
you're going to go to Philly Schools Compass all one
word dot org. Those are your three the three areas,
the three websites if you really want to kind of
sort your way through it, and there's lots of instructional
materials on all three of those websites to actually help
you in your journey.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
And will we have access to that through your website
Elevate two fifteen dot org.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Absolutely. If you remember nothing else, you can go to
Elevate Elevate too fifteen dot org and it will direct
you to both Phillycompass, it will direct you to apply
Philly Charter as well.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
That's fantastic. It's such a challenging process finding the right
school for a student. These are tools that really assist
parents and students finding the right fit. Doctor Staceye Holland,
executive director Elevate two fifty thirty years of experience creating
educational solutions for kids. Doctor Holland is helping to align
(09:06):
Philadelphi's education community around a shared vision, making sure that
every child has access to a quality school that prepares
them to thrive. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Thank you so much for having me, Lorraine, have a
great day.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Is there an organization that addresses the trauma that kids
experience when faced with grief, addiction and related mental health issues. Well,
there is one. It's a Luna Network. Joining us right
now is Sarah Beams. She's assistant director the Resource Center
for a Luna Network. Thank you so much for joining
us here today. There is a tremendous need out there
(09:47):
for services to address that trauma, grief addiction issues that
face children teens and families tell us more about we're
listening to.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
What's much grain for having me today. It's really an
ar to be here and for all of them listeners
out there in the Philadelphia based area. So Aluna is
a Philadelphia based nonprofit that supports youth and families affected
by either grief or addiction in the family. And so
our programs are for ages really around six all away
(10:19):
to seventeen eighteen years old, So we have a whole
range of children coming to our programs and they're free
to attend. And they're not only in Philadelphia. We're one
of the largest network of grief camps across the country.
We've been around since two thousand, so we've been doing
this for a long time. So we provide a lot
of resources, which is my job in the resource center,
and then we also have a lot of camps for
(10:41):
children affected by either grief or addiction. So there is
a need, as you just mentioned, not only in Philadelphia,
but across the country. A lot of children struggle when
there's grief for addiction in the family, and that's where
we can really come in and provide some in person
and unique kind of tailored support specific to those needs.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting. Even though bereavement and addiction
are distinct, they're different, there seems to be certain through
lines that exist between those two issues. Certainly for a
lot of kids, they are grieving the loss of a
parent when they're in addiction, right, there's got to be
a lot of similarities in terms of the sense of
(11:22):
loss that kids might feel.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Yeah. So a lot of our youth in that program,
in particular in Camp Mariposa, are either foster youth, or
they are adopted youth, or they're spending some time right
now with some kinship some grandparents. So we do a
lot of grand family support as well in our programs.
So they have a lot of loss. Sometimes it's a
death loss and sometimes it's ambiguous loss as far as
(11:46):
not being able to have the relationship or with that
primary or birth parent that they would have wanted to have.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
To be able to have a resource like this is
absolutely invaluable. If people want more information about all the
resources is provided by Aluna, tell us how we can
find out.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
More, You can come to our website and that's a
lunanetwork dot org that's spelled e l u na ne
two rk dot org, so ilunanetwork dot org. And there
you'll also be able to find out about our different
camps Camp Mariposa, Camp Aaron and Me at the Iluna
Resource Center, so you'll find information about how to get
(12:24):
my number and call me and connect with me if
you do need some more personalized support and resources.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Sarah Beam, Assistant Director the Resource Center for a Luna Network, Thank.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
You so much, Thank you so much, Green really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
And now a special interview conducted by one of our
fine Philadelphia Youth Network Summer Work Ready students.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
Okay, y'ah, I am so hyped about stage's guest. I'm
met Hearin Scotland at the Fringe Festival and she came
to my show. I've been following her work for a
long time now. She's sharp, she's hilarious and honestly one
of the realist voices in comedy right now. You've seen
her on upload, you've heard her on the Late Night Show.
But today she's here with me, a Mayana Tay saying
at Johnson Welcome, thank.
Speaker 5 (13:09):
You for having me, Amaya in a Tay. I'm happy
to be here.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
Well, you didn't start in comedy when did you realize
that you could actually make people laugh for a living,
not just as a funny friend, but as a career.
Speaker 6 (13:19):
I think that I sort of realized it as I
was doing it.
Speaker 5 (13:22):
Like, I don't think I had a plan. I just
knew that I needed to get on stage.
Speaker 6 (13:28):
I knew in order to get good, I needed to
get on stage as much as possible.
Speaker 5 (13:32):
But also it felt.
Speaker 6 (13:34):
So good to get on stage, so I wanted to
get on stage as much as possible. And then I've
noticed the more I got on stage, the more people
started to, you know, approach me about like more serious opportunities.
And I remember the first time I had been paid.
You know, it's interesting.
Speaker 5 (13:51):
I've always been like a math person, and.
Speaker 6 (13:53):
The first time I got paid, I was like, oh,
I did ten I did like five minutes, and they
paid me one hundred dollars. Who makes one hundred dollars?
So then I did that times an hour. You know,
I was like, like, oh, how much would that mean
if I did this for an hour? And I was like,
this could be a lucrative thing if I'm good at it,
And I think, and I think that's when I realized it,
(14:13):
like I could make money doing this.
Speaker 4 (14:15):
Wow, that's amazing. And we're getting on stage and you're acting.
Do you feel like there's a difference between acting for
the TV versus acting for an audience.
Speaker 6 (14:25):
You know, on TV, because people are filming, you may
deliver a very funny line, but you won't. You have
to just know that it's funny, and you have to
just believe that your delivery is funny because if they laugh,
they mess up the take. And in that way, it's
very different. But it's like, oh, you can do it
over and over and over again. You can do so
(14:46):
many takes, you can try it so many different ways.
And I think that there's fun in that sort of
exploration where a live show in front of a live audience,
it's like, you, guys get that, you get what it
is in that. You know, Like in Edinburgh right where
we met, I did that show twenty six times now,
every single time it was very different, but you only
(15:08):
experienced it that one time that I did it for
you guys, you know, and it's.
Speaker 5 (15:12):
Like, I don't know when it's live, if I've noted,
I've messed up in my head. It's very rare that.
Speaker 6 (15:17):
I'm gonna let the audience know, like damn, I messed
that up a film and you get to stop and say, wait,
I want to do it this way.
Speaker 5 (15:24):
Let me try it this way.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
With acting, hosting, doing things on stage, where do you
feel the most comfortable? Like where's your where's your home?
Speaker 5 (15:31):
And like entertainment, I love them.
Speaker 6 (15:34):
All because like hosting, it ain't about you, you know
what I'm saying.
Speaker 5 (15:37):
Hosting is about everybody else, it ain't about you.
Speaker 6 (15:39):
And there's I think there's like sort of freedom or
like low stakes in that I love acting, but I
definitely feel home, like as a stand up, like on
stage in front of a live audience at a you know,
a low ceiling, dark lit, darkly lit comedy club.
Speaker 5 (15:56):
That's where I feel at home.
Speaker 4 (15:59):
Amazing and writing for yourself, do you feel like being
international and having that international crowd like that Scotland audience?
Did you write differently or did you just say I'm
bringing what I have to Scotland.
Speaker 6 (16:11):
I think for the most part, I brought what I
had to Scotland because I'm not coming there to like
be like y'all, I'm coming there to give you guys.
Speaker 5 (16:19):
A glimpse of who I am.
Speaker 6 (16:21):
You know, it's fun, and like when you spend an
extended period of time somewhere, you are going to pick
up certain things. I was able to add to my
show as my time went on in Scotland because I
was learning about them, and so what I would do
is I would sort of like either apply the notes
(16:41):
or sort of talk about it, like make fun of
it with the audience the next night, you know.
Speaker 5 (16:46):
And I think that that was fun.
Speaker 6 (16:48):
In a festival where you're doing the same show every
single day at the same time, over and over again,
it was kind of nice to have those moments, Like
those new moments makes you know you can find something
fresh in the monotony of the same if that makes sense.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
It makes a lot of sense. Because the Scotland Grounds,
they were laughing a lot. They were laughing more than me. Sometimes.
I was like, yeah, felt that was really funny, y'all.
I was like, we were talking about black people things
and I was like, oh, that was funny. Perfect. I
love dispensing APP. I love dispensing AP. Has ever been
a topic that you thought was off limits that when
you got on stage you was just like, oh, y'all,
(17:27):
y'all find this funny. This isn't cancelable.
Speaker 6 (17:29):
I would say the reverse happened because I'm a pretty
aware person, and I'm also a person who, for the
most part, my intentions are very clear, and I get
on stage to like explore my truth. My goal isn't
to be provocative. My goal isn't to test the limits.
My goal is like, let's explore this because I've been
(17:51):
once like this is my experience, so I'm wondering about this.
Let's explore this together, right, hopefully in a humorous way.
So I find sometimes I get on stage ready to
like explore something and the audience is like, oh wait, no,
this might be.
Speaker 5 (18:07):
Off limits, you know.
Speaker 6 (18:07):
Like I remember doing the show in front of like
an all black, mostly female audience in Los Angeles, and
it was controversy around Jonathan Majors. So it was right
when that was gearing up, right, But I found so
fascinating about him pre controversy is that he would show
(18:28):
up everywhere with this cup red carpets, you.
Speaker 5 (18:31):
Know what I'm saying, with a cup. You know, Actors
are weird.
Speaker 6 (18:34):
Actors are very talented, but they can also be very
performative because they're actors, right, And so I found it
really fascinating that he would have this like cup.
Speaker 5 (18:45):
You know what I'm saying. The cup wasn't selling a,
it wasn't merchant. It was like, I think it was.
Speaker 6 (18:48):
A comfort cup for him, right, And they asked him
about it on a late night show and they were like,
he was like, my grandmother gave me this cup whatever whatever.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
Right.
Speaker 6 (18:56):
And so I get up on stage and I had
a cup because it was rum don and I hadn't
been able to break my fast with food, so I.
Speaker 5 (19:02):
Had a cup of tea.
Speaker 6 (19:03):
And so I having a cup of tea, I reminded
myself of Jonathan Major, and so I said, I know
I'm getting up here looking at.
Speaker 5 (19:10):
Like Jonathan Majors with this cup.
Speaker 6 (19:12):
They didn't even care about the reference to the cup.
Their minds went immediately to the controversy, you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 5 (19:19):
And the audience had a reaction.
Speaker 6 (19:20):
It made me feel like I'm not you know, they
start pulling our cameras.
Speaker 5 (19:25):
I'm like, no, this isn't.
Speaker 6 (19:26):
A safe room for me to So I'm gonna do
the easy stuff and then get a.
Speaker 5 (19:30):
Body here making up things.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
Pulling up from that said.
Speaker 6 (19:33):
Yeah, they just were ready for They were ready for
the provocateur, and that's really not what I was going for,
you know.
Speaker 4 (19:42):
Hm gives me to another question, Like in comedy, it's
such a it can be such a like funny thing,
and then there's hurtful parts of it. Do you ever
feel like when you're telling a bit, are you ever
worried about it being clipped and then like misconstrued? Because
that's something that happens to everybody who's on this entertainment jump.
Everything gets clipped.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
Now.
Speaker 6 (20:02):
I try my best to only say what I think
I can stand on, so even if you do clip
me up, you know, I really I look at my audiences,
which is a lot of times why I like more
intimate crowds.
Speaker 5 (20:15):
You know, if I see people taping, I'll ask them
not to, you know, cause.
Speaker 6 (20:18):
It's like, yeah, if we're going to clip it, I'd
rather i'm the one posting a clip. Now, you If
I know I'm about to say something that people find controversial,
I'll be like, Okay, nobody take this.
Speaker 5 (20:29):
Cause I feel like.
Speaker 6 (20:29):
If you're a fan of mine, if you want me
to succeed, why would you post something that could potentially
hurt my career?
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Right?
Speaker 5 (20:36):
Do you get what I'm saying.
Speaker 6 (20:38):
And so I also sort of put out a disclaimer
when I talk to my audience, like I'm assuming that
we are all.
Speaker 5 (20:45):
In here reciprocating trust.
Speaker 6 (20:47):
I'm not about to be up here saying things that
you guys, that are controversial for you to sit through
as an audience, and I expect.
Speaker 5 (20:55):
I expected what happens.
Speaker 6 (20:56):
Here stays here, you know, and that doesn't always happened.
But so far, I feel like I've been found early
in my career, Amaya. Early early in my career, I
had did like a Beyonce impression, Like I was like,
and anybody knows me knows that Beyonce has been one
of my favorite consistent artists, right I was in middle like,
I feel like I grew up on her and with her.
Speaker 5 (21:18):
So you know, it's about saying you're so young.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
I'm not. I grew up Beyonce as well, like cool life.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
But you know what you absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 6 (21:30):
But when I first started comedy, I remember I had
a very strong opinion about Beyonce as an actress versus
her as a you know, as a singer, and I
remember sort of opinionating that humorously and also celebrating her,
like how amazing she is as a singer, and that's
(21:52):
why in comparison, sometimes even when she's doing a good
job as an actor, you don't see it as that
because she's so you know, if you're hearing it to
her as a pop star.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
They clipped that up and it was only like an
insult to her.
Speaker 6 (22:06):
And I was really young as a comedian and it
was awful footage.
Speaker 5 (22:11):
And I asked them.
Speaker 6 (22:11):
I was like, you know, please take this down, like
I would not want her forget anybody else. I didn't
care about anybody else. I was like, I would not
want her to see this. I'm a fan, you know, like,
and you've clipped it out of context. If you post
the whole thing, then sure, but if you're just gonna
leave this up. And they never took it down, and
(22:32):
every single time they reached out to me to do
their show again, I never I winned her.
Speaker 4 (22:37):
Respond I wouldn't need that because you're a fan and Beyonce.
It'll looked at this like, oh, I understand.
Speaker 6 (22:43):
And let me just tell you people, as much as
their celebrities, as much as they may have million, you know,
hundreds of millions of followers, people be online like everybody
else watching, you know, watch it. Everybody has insomnia some
night and just.
Speaker 5 (22:58):
Be Throll doing a death grow, you know, like it's
a part of our lives.
Speaker 4 (23:02):
Management. Blue keeps her updated for sure, like it would
have been, it would have came back around exactly.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
You know what? You know what am I? You want
to know what's so crazy about this?
Speaker 6 (23:11):
Well, it was so long ago that Blue mighta not
even it was when I first started, So Blue might
have been one year ago. Oh okay, yeah, so maybe
that's the only thing to save in me.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
Okay, we're safe. What part of your life feels like
stand up material? I know when you did in Scotland, Like, oh,
you tell your story so well, even the silliest things
just are so funny and honestly, you're telling in such
a visual way that I'm like, it feels like there's
a movie playing. It's almost like, am I tell you
of the Proud Family? Actually, like I'm watching The Proud
Family and zay Nab is just narrating the whole thing
(23:44):
so well that I'm seeing the animation of Penny Proud
getting laughed at, Like it's just so funny to me.
So I was wondering if like, there's any part of
your life right now that just feels like stand up
comedy ready to have Oh.
Speaker 5 (23:56):
Number one, thank you so much. That's one of the
biggest compliments that anybody he's ever given me. So thank you.
Speaker 6 (24:02):
I feel like everything is comedy, honestly, like I feel
like everything I feel like. That's the thing that if
I'm ever feeling like I'm lacking will or I don't know,
maybe in a lower state, like emotionally or mentally, I'm like, well,
in order for me to even get material, I have
(24:23):
to live life like I have to live life to
its fullest for me to get material. Like my last
show in Scotland, I did thirty five minutes. I just
improvised on the Crown the TV show because I.
Speaker 5 (24:37):
Never watched it.
Speaker 6 (24:37):
I just thought it, you know, I was in Scotland,
so I was like, let me see, let me see
what this show is about, because you know what I'm saying,
these people really like the monarchy.
Speaker 5 (24:43):
Let me see what this show was about.
Speaker 6 (24:45):
And so I started watching it and then I just riffed.
You know, So every single thing that I experience, I
feel like can become comedy at some point or another, right.
Speaker 5 (24:57):
Like we're all living this life.
Speaker 6 (24:59):
We're all experiencing, you know, certain like we're all experiencing
similarities in our life. And I think most people don't
know how to express it. Most people can't talk about it.
And so that's where I show up as like, that's
the reason why you buy a ticket to my show.
It's like, she's gonna do this thing. She's gonna release
(25:20):
something that I can't really release, you know, you know
that's my whole But yeah, everything everything right now. I
just turned off the AC in my office and it's
so hot that I'm doing it for sound for this podcast,
And I mean, at some point this will become material,
you know.
Speaker 4 (25:32):
Right right, I was hot. I was so hot, but
I had to do it for a mins. Come on,
how do you balance being funny or something meaningful? I
know you say, like everything's comedy, But when you're trying
to tell a specific story or you really want to
resonate with the world, how do you tell that story?
Speaker 6 (25:50):
I try to maintain its essence of truth, you know,
and meaning. Like sometimes to extract the fun, we have
to change the story, or we have to embellish, you know,
we have to fictionalize it. But if I feel like
it's imperative for a message to be to come across,
(26:11):
then I will do as little fictionalizing as possible.
Speaker 5 (26:15):
And I'm sure you've seen it in my show.
Speaker 6 (26:18):
I don't mind your being like serious moments like at all,
Like we're gonna laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh, just as
life is right. But also now I'm on the five
minutes of you, guys, and it's just about you listen
Jesus about.
Speaker 5 (26:32):
You hearing me, And I'm okay with that. Some comics
that's a little bit hard for.
Speaker 6 (26:36):
Because it's like if people aren't laughing, you kind of
feel like you're failing. But I got pretty comfortable with
that very early, Like silence doesn't necessarily.
Speaker 5 (26:45):
Mean that what you're doing is not successful. It just
means that this is the moment where laughter isn't sought
after nor required.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
That's a good quote now that could be clipped that way,
and you're right, like I go to a Quaker school,
in silence is very like virtue there. It's almost like
you just know that listening, that moment of silence is
just the audience listening to you. And so when you're
writing your material, do you write in silence. Do you
write in chaos? Does it not matter where you write?
Speaker 5 (27:16):
So I write on stage.
Speaker 6 (27:18):
Actually I take notes in life, you know, when it's quiet,
when it's chaotic, I take notes in life, but I
apply those notes on stage. I explored those notes on stage.
And so I was at a show and it was
like a heckler. It wasn't my show, but it was
a heckler.
Speaker 5 (27:32):
And they got.
Speaker 6 (27:33):
Removed from the building, and they got removed from the building,
and I was part responsible for them getting removed from
the building. But so at the end, they waited outside
of the venue, and when me and my friend left,
they proceeded to curse us out. And in the moment,
I just let it happen and I just got like
(27:53):
away from them as fast as possible. But then the
next day I turned it into material. But I didn't
go home and write the joke down in a book.
I just remembered it, you know. And then I wrote
a note just in my notepad, like I wrote, guy
curse me out after show, And then I put complex needs,
because that was the thing that they kept saying, he
has complex he has complex needs, and so I just,
(28:17):
you know, and then I just went right to stage
and sort of like worked it out on stage.
Speaker 4 (28:21):
You know, that's amazing, that's so cool. You're just such
a You're now an international talent, so I cannot say
that now. Nab the international talent came to join me
at iHeartRadio to talk about her comedy life, and I
am so grateful for Zanab Johnson. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in keyword Community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio app Y Words Philadelphia
Community podcast. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Lorraine Ballard.
I'm Lorraine Ballardmorrow and I stand for service to our
community and media that empowers. What will you stand for?
(28:59):
You've been listen ny to what's going on, and thank
you
Good morning. You're listening to what's going on a show
about making a difference in our lives and our communities.
I'm Lorraine Ballertmorrow. Grief is tough to navigate for adults,
but what about children and young people? Will be talking
about a Luna, an organization that addresses grief. We also
have a delightful interview conducted by one of our fine
students from the Philadelphiath Network's Work Ready program with extraordinary
(00:23):
performer Zenab Johnson. But first, great resources for parents and
students in Philadelphia who need help navigating school selection season.
Finding the right school is always a challenge for parents
and students, so I am absolutely delighted to introduce doctor
Stacey E. Holland, executive director of Elevate two fifteen. She's
(00:44):
going to be talking about schools and how we can
make the best decisions for our kids. With thirty years
of experience creating educational solutions for children, doctor Holland is
helping to align Philadelphia's education community around a shared vision
making sure that every kid has access to a quality
school that prepares them to thrive. She's here to talk
(01:06):
about the school selection season, the New Philly School's compass
tool and updates to the apply Philly charter system. So,
doctor Holland, thank you so much for joining us here today.
And it's a very fraught process, I think, for parents
and for students, so let's see how we can help
them make the right decision for their kids. So you've
spent three decades shaping education in Philadelphia. Let's go back
(01:29):
into an origin story. What inspired your passion for the
work and how does Elevate to fifteen fit into that journey?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Ye, well, thanks so much for having me, Lorraine. It's
always good to be with you. You know what really
brought me into the field of education is my own
journey around education and the challenges I had as a
learner and wanting to really make sure that kids don't
have that level of struggle, and so much of it
(01:57):
is about really parents having access to a wide variety
of options, and so I have loved the journey of
building and talking and figuring out with kids and their
parents and administrators and system leaders, how can we actually
improve the quality of the experience for young people. So
(02:17):
that leads us to school selection season and the work
we do at Elevate two one five, which is really
focused on how do we make sure that there's great schools,
there's a great workforce by honoring teachers and school leaders,
and that we're working with our system partners to build
tools that really help families and kids.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Well, doctor Holland, you talk about school selection season, Why
is this so important for Philadelphia families and how does
Elevate two point fifteen helping parents navigate this process?
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Well, our tagline at Elevate two one five is Philly's
future starts at school, and school being able to choose
a high quality school that meets the need of your
individual young person is mission critical. So we are now
in what we call the recruitment season, and in that season,
it's the time in which you can apply to both
(03:08):
public schools, public charter schools, private schools, Catholic schools. So
you really have to be educated around one who is
my child, Let me understand all of their nuances, all
the things they like, all the things that won't work
for them. Then you have to have a set of
criteria about the school in which you're choosing. And Philadelphia,
(03:32):
we're fortunate to have over four hundred options, whether it's
a district charter, public charter, Catholic and or private schools,
So there's lots to choose from, so you have to
understand your criteria. The third is then I got to
go out and find well, which schools actually meet my
criteria based on my young person. And then last you
got to do the match right. The magic is in
(03:53):
the cookie. How can you make sure that I'm actually
choosing what makes sense my kid. One of the things
that Elevates doing during this season is a couple of things.
Is one, we were building a website called Philly Compass
that will be a navigator. Parents can go on and
ask questions, Hey, may can I find all the schools
(04:15):
that have really good science programs? Or can I have
schools that actually have a great have athletics programs or
have a special needs programs, And it will help navigate
you to those schools that meet this narrow down choice.
It could be proximity. I only want to go to
schools within five miles or two miles. I want to
(04:36):
go to schools that actually are dual language. I have
a young person that speaks both Spanish and English, and
I really want them to have an emergent experience. So
through this tool, that will be available. You can go
on to phillyschoolscompus dot com and you will be able
to put in your selections and then up will pop
(04:57):
a series of schools that meet that criteria and then
it'll give you all your contact information. That's really critical.
The second thing we're doing is apply Philly Charter. So
in that Apply Philly Charter in application land as we
are in right now, you can go on the school
district's website philisity dot org and you're finding this function
(05:19):
called find your Fit. That's the site that school that
individuals can go on and actually look for district schools.
You should start applying now. The window to apply actually
closes in October. I think it's October twenty third, so
really important. If you're looking for a charter school, you
(05:39):
can go to apply Philly Charter dot org that season
opens up. That application window opens up September the nineteenth
and will be open until January the nineteenth.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
They are also big updates to apply Philly Charter. The
charter system this year. Can you talk about the new
ranking system, how that works and why it improves ax
for kids?
Speaker 2 (06:01):
Yeah, so, you know, one of the challenges is every
year we see about one hundred and thirty thousand applications
for about and that represents about thirty thousand families, but
we only have about eleven thousand opportunities available. So this year,
in order to try and make the process more transparent,
(06:24):
we actually went to a ranking system, so parents can
now go in, they can apply to a number of schools,
but they can say here's my top five. And that's
really important because now that ranking system will allow us
to try and match the young person closer to what
their choice is if a seat is available, and so
(06:46):
one of the reasons why we did that. It's also
important to note that the school district has also went
to a ranking system, so the goal is to create
efficiency in both systems and to expedite the match. How
I know that I actually how did I know I'm
closer to getting a school than I want? Well, if
you rate it one, two, three, four, five, or how
many ever many you're allowed to do, it'll allow the
(07:08):
system to try and sort out all the kids who
don't want that school and push you further up the line.
So what we're hoping it will do is actually reduce
the wait time, and that's really critical. Right, If I
know I want to go to this number one school
and I have an opportunity and there's a space available.
(07:28):
You'd want to know that sooner versus later?
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Yeah, Well, for parents who want more information, what is
the best way to connect with Elevate to fifteen and
to learn about these resources? And finally, also maybe if
you could repeat all those many websites that people can
take advantage of.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Sure, so let me start with the school application websites
because those are the most important in this conversation. If
you are applying to the school district of Philadelphia, you
want to go to phillipsd dot org. If you are
applying trying to a charter school, go to apply Philly
Charter dot org. If you want to search for a school,
(08:08):
you're going to go to Philly Schools Compass all one
word dot org. Those are your three the three areas,
the three websites if you really want to kind of
sort your way through it, and there's lots of instructional
materials on all three of those websites to actually help
you in your journey.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
And will we have access to that through your website
Elevate two fifteen dot org.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Absolutely. If you remember nothing else, you can go to
Elevate Elevate too fifteen dot org and it will direct
you to both Phillycompass, it will direct you to apply
Philly Charter as well.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
That's fantastic. It's such a challenging process finding the right
school for a student. These are tools that really assist
parents and students finding the right fit. Doctor Staceye Holland,
executive director Elevate two fifty thirty years of experience creating
educational solutions for kids. Doctor Holland is helping to align
(09:06):
Philadelphi's education community around a shared vision, making sure that
every child has access to a quality school that prepares
them to thrive. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Thank you so much for having me, Lorraine, have a
great day.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
Is there an organization that addresses the trauma that kids
experience when faced with grief, addiction and related mental health issues. Well,
there is one. It's a Luna Network. Joining us right
now is Sarah Beams. She's assistant director the Resource Center
for a Luna Network. Thank you so much for joining
us here today. There is a tremendous need out there
(09:47):
for services to address that trauma, grief addiction issues that
face children teens and families tell us more about we're
listening to.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
What's much grain for having me today. It's really an
ar to be here and for all of them listeners
out there in the Philadelphia based area. So Aluna is
a Philadelphia based nonprofit that supports youth and families affected
by either grief or addiction in the family. And so
our programs are for ages really around six all away
(10:19):
to seventeen eighteen years old, So we have a whole
range of children coming to our programs and they're free
to attend. And they're not only in Philadelphia. We're one
of the largest network of grief camps across the country.
We've been around since two thousand, so we've been doing
this for a long time. So we provide a lot
of resources, which is my job in the resource center,
and then we also have a lot of camps for
(10:41):
children affected by either grief or addiction. So there is
a need, as you just mentioned, not only in Philadelphia,
but across the country. A lot of children struggle when
there's grief for addiction in the family, and that's where
we can really come in and provide some in person
and unique kind of tailored support specific to those needs.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Yeah, you know, it's interesting. Even though bereavement and addiction
are distinct, they're different, there seems to be certain through
lines that exist between those two issues. Certainly for a
lot of kids, they are grieving the loss of a
parent when they're in addiction, right, there's got to be
a lot of similarities in terms of the sense of
(11:22):
loss that kids might feel.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Yeah. So a lot of our youth in that program,
in particular in Camp Mariposa, are either foster youth, or
they are adopted youth, or they're spending some time right
now with some kinship some grandparents. So we do a
lot of grand family support as well in our programs.
So they have a lot of loss. Sometimes it's a
death loss and sometimes it's ambiguous loss as far as
(11:46):
not being able to have the relationship or with that
primary or birth parent that they would have wanted to have.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
To be able to have a resource like this is
absolutely invaluable. If people want more information about all the
resources is provided by Aluna, tell us how we can
find out.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
More, You can come to our website and that's a
lunanetwork dot org that's spelled e l u na ne
two rk dot org, so ilunanetwork dot org. And there
you'll also be able to find out about our different
camps Camp Mariposa, Camp Aaron and Me at the Iluna
Resource Center, so you'll find information about how to get
(12:24):
my number and call me and connect with me if
you do need some more personalized support and resources.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Sarah Beam, Assistant Director the Resource Center for a Luna Network, Thank.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
You so much, Thank you so much, Green really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
And now a special interview conducted by one of our
fine Philadelphia Youth Network Summer Work Ready students.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
Okay, y'ah, I am so hyped about stage's guest. I'm
met Hearin Scotland at the Fringe Festival and she came
to my show. I've been following her work for a
long time now. She's sharp, she's hilarious and honestly one
of the realist voices in comedy right now. You've seen
her on upload, you've heard her on the Late Night Show.
But today she's here with me, a Mayana Tay saying
at Johnson Welcome, thank.
Speaker 5 (13:09):
You for having me, Amaya in a Tay. I'm happy
to be here.
Speaker 4 (13:12):
Well, you didn't start in comedy when did you realize
that you could actually make people laugh for a living,
not just as a funny friend, but as a career.
Speaker 6 (13:19):
I think that I sort of realized it as I
was doing it.
Speaker 5 (13:22):
Like, I don't think I had a plan. I just
knew that I needed to get on stage.
Speaker 6 (13:28):
I knew in order to get good, I needed to
get on stage as much as possible.
Speaker 5 (13:32):
But also it felt.
Speaker 6 (13:34):
So good to get on stage, so I wanted to
get on stage as much as possible. And then I've
noticed the more I got on stage, the more people
started to, you know, approach me about like more serious opportunities.
And I remember the first time I had been paid.
You know, it's interesting.
Speaker 5 (13:51):
I've always been like a math person, and.
Speaker 6 (13:53):
The first time I got paid, I was like, oh,
I did ten I did like five minutes, and they
paid me one hundred dollars. Who makes one hundred dollars?
So then I did that times an hour. You know,
I was like, like, oh, how much would that mean
if I did this for an hour? And I was like,
this could be a lucrative thing if I'm good at it,
And I think, and I think that's when I realized it,
(14:13):
like I could make money doing this.
Speaker 4 (14:15):
Wow, that's amazing. And we're getting on stage and you're acting.
Do you feel like there's a difference between acting for
the TV versus acting for an audience.
Speaker 6 (14:25):
You know, on TV, because people are filming, you may
deliver a very funny line, but you won't. You have
to just know that it's funny, and you have to
just believe that your delivery is funny because if they laugh,
they mess up the take. And in that way, it's
very different. But it's like, oh, you can do it
over and over and over again. You can do so
(14:46):
many takes, you can try it so many different ways.
And I think that there's fun in that sort of
exploration where a live show in front of a live audience,
it's like, you, guys get that, you get what it
is in that. You know, Like in Edinburgh right where
we met, I did that show twenty six times now,
every single time it was very different, but you only
(15:08):
experienced it that one time that I did it for
you guys, you know, and it's.
Speaker 5 (15:12):
Like, I don't know when it's live, if I've noted,
I've messed up in my head. It's very rare that.
Speaker 6 (15:17):
I'm gonna let the audience know, like damn, I messed
that up a film and you get to stop and say, wait,
I want to do it this way.
Speaker 5 (15:24):
Let me try it this way.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
With acting, hosting, doing things on stage, where do you
feel the most comfortable? Like where's your where's your home?
Speaker 5 (15:31):
And like entertainment, I love them.
Speaker 6 (15:34):
All because like hosting, it ain't about you, you know
what I'm saying.
Speaker 5 (15:37):
Hosting is about everybody else, it ain't about you.
Speaker 6 (15:39):
And there's I think there's like sort of freedom or
like low stakes in that I love acting, but I
definitely feel home, like as a stand up, like on
stage in front of a live audience at a you know,
a low ceiling, dark lit, darkly lit comedy club.
Speaker 5 (15:56):
That's where I feel at home.
Speaker 4 (15:59):
Amazing and writing for yourself, do you feel like being
international and having that international crowd like that Scotland audience?
Did you write differently or did you just say I'm
bringing what I have to Scotland.
Speaker 6 (16:11):
I think for the most part, I brought what I
had to Scotland because I'm not coming there to like
be like y'all, I'm coming there to give you guys.
Speaker 5 (16:19):
A glimpse of who I am.
Speaker 6 (16:21):
You know, it's fun, and like when you spend an
extended period of time somewhere, you are going to pick
up certain things. I was able to add to my
show as my time went on in Scotland because I
was learning about them, and so what I would do
is I would sort of like either apply the notes
(16:41):
or sort of talk about it, like make fun of
it with the audience the next night, you know.
Speaker 5 (16:46):
And I think that that was fun.
Speaker 6 (16:48):
In a festival where you're doing the same show every
single day at the same time, over and over again,
it was kind of nice to have those moments, Like
those new moments makes you know you can find something
fresh in the monotony of the same if that makes sense.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
It makes a lot of sense. Because the Scotland Grounds,
they were laughing a lot. They were laughing more than me. Sometimes.
I was like, yeah, felt that was really funny, y'all.
I was like, we were talking about black people things
and I was like, oh, that was funny. Perfect. I
love dispensing APP. I love dispensing AP. Has ever been
a topic that you thought was off limits that when
you got on stage you was just like, oh, y'all,
(17:27):
y'all find this funny. This isn't cancelable.
Speaker 6 (17:29):
I would say the reverse happened because I'm a pretty
aware person, and I'm also a person who, for the
most part, my intentions are very clear, and I get
on stage to like explore my truth. My goal isn't
to be provocative. My goal isn't to test the limits.
My goal is like, let's explore this because I've been
(17:51):
once like this is my experience, so I'm wondering about this.
Let's explore this together, right, hopefully in a humorous way.
So I find sometimes I get on stage ready to
like explore something and the audience is like, oh wait, no,
this might be.
Speaker 5 (18:07):
Off limits, you know.
Speaker 6 (18:07):
Like I remember doing the show in front of like
an all black, mostly female audience in Los Angeles, and
it was controversy around Jonathan Majors. So it was right
when that was gearing up, right, But I found so
fascinating about him pre controversy is that he would show
(18:28):
up everywhere with this cup red carpets, you.
Speaker 5 (18:31):
Know what I'm saying, with a cup. You know, Actors
are weird.
Speaker 6 (18:34):
Actors are very talented, but they can also be very
performative because they're actors, right, And so I found it
really fascinating that he would have this like cup.
Speaker 5 (18:45):
You know what I'm saying. The cup wasn't selling a,
it wasn't merchant. It was like, I think it was.
Speaker 6 (18:48):
A comfort cup for him, right, And they asked him
about it on a late night show and they were like,
he was like, my grandmother gave me this cup whatever whatever.
Speaker 4 (18:55):
Right.
Speaker 6 (18:56):
And so I get up on stage and I had
a cup because it was rum don and I hadn't
been able to break my fast with food, so I.
Speaker 5 (19:02):
Had a cup of tea.
Speaker 6 (19:03):
And so I having a cup of tea, I reminded
myself of Jonathan Major, and so I said, I know
I'm getting up here looking at.
Speaker 5 (19:10):
Like Jonathan Majors with this cup.
Speaker 6 (19:12):
They didn't even care about the reference to the cup.
Their minds went immediately to the controversy, you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 5 (19:19):
And the audience had a reaction.
Speaker 6 (19:20):
It made me feel like I'm not you know, they
start pulling our cameras.
Speaker 5 (19:25):
I'm like, no, this isn't.
Speaker 6 (19:26):
A safe room for me to So I'm gonna do
the easy stuff and then get a.
Speaker 5 (19:30):
Body here making up things.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
Pulling up from that said.
Speaker 6 (19:33):
Yeah, they just were ready for They were ready for
the provocateur, and that's really not what I was going for,
you know.
Speaker 4 (19:42):
Hm gives me to another question, Like in comedy, it's
such a it can be such a like funny thing,
and then there's hurtful parts of it. Do you ever
feel like when you're telling a bit, are you ever
worried about it being clipped and then like misconstrued? Because
that's something that happens to everybody who's on this entertainment jump.
Everything gets clipped.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
Now.
Speaker 6 (20:02):
I try my best to only say what I think
I can stand on, so even if you do clip
me up, you know, I really I look at my audiences,
which is a lot of times why I like more
intimate crowds.
Speaker 5 (20:15):
You know, if I see people taping, I'll ask them
not to, you know, cause.
Speaker 6 (20:18):
It's like, yeah, if we're going to clip it, I'd
rather i'm the one posting a clip. Now, you If
I know I'm about to say something that people find controversial,
I'll be like, Okay, nobody take this.
Speaker 5 (20:29):
Cause I feel like.
Speaker 6 (20:29):
If you're a fan of mine, if you want me
to succeed, why would you post something that could potentially
hurt my career?
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Right?
Speaker 5 (20:36):
Do you get what I'm saying.
Speaker 6 (20:38):
And so I also sort of put out a disclaimer
when I talk to my audience, like I'm assuming that
we are all.
Speaker 5 (20:45):
In here reciprocating trust.
Speaker 6 (20:47):
I'm not about to be up here saying things that
you guys, that are controversial for you to sit through
as an audience, and I expect.
Speaker 5 (20:55):
I expected what happens.
Speaker 6 (20:56):
Here stays here, you know, and that doesn't always happened.
But so far, I feel like I've been found early
in my career, Amaya. Early early in my career, I
had did like a Beyonce impression, Like I was like,
and anybody knows me knows that Beyonce has been one
of my favorite consistent artists, right I was in middle like,
I feel like I grew up on her and with her.
Speaker 5 (21:18):
So you know, it's about saying you're so young.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
I'm not. I grew up Beyonce as well, like cool life.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
But you know what you absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 6 (21:30):
But when I first started comedy, I remember I had
a very strong opinion about Beyonce as an actress versus
her as a you know, as a singer, and I
remember sort of opinionating that humorously and also celebrating her,
like how amazing she is as a singer, and that's
(21:52):
why in comparison, sometimes even when she's doing a good
job as an actor, you don't see it as that
because she's so you know, if you're hearing it to
her as a pop star.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
They clipped that up and it was only like an
insult to her.
Speaker 6 (22:06):
And I was really young as a comedian and it
was awful footage.
Speaker 5 (22:11):
And I asked them.
Speaker 6 (22:11):
I was like, you know, please take this down, like
I would not want her forget anybody else. I didn't
care about anybody else. I was like, I would not
want her to see this. I'm a fan, you know, like,
and you've clipped it out of context. If you post
the whole thing, then sure, but if you're just gonna
leave this up. And they never took it down, and
(22:32):
every single time they reached out to me to do
their show again, I never I winned her.
Speaker 4 (22:37):
Respond I wouldn't need that because you're a fan and Beyonce.
It'll looked at this like, oh, I understand.
Speaker 6 (22:43):
And let me just tell you people, as much as
their celebrities, as much as they may have million, you know,
hundreds of millions of followers, people be online like everybody
else watching, you know, watch it. Everybody has insomnia some
night and just.
Speaker 5 (22:58):
Be Throll doing a death grow, you know, like it's
a part of our lives.
Speaker 4 (23:02):
Management. Blue keeps her updated for sure, like it would
have been, it would have came back around exactly.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
You know what? You know what am I? You want
to know what's so crazy about this?
Speaker 6 (23:11):
Well, it was so long ago that Blue mighta not
even it was when I first started, So Blue might
have been one year ago. Oh okay, yeah, so maybe
that's the only thing to save in me.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
Okay, we're safe. What part of your life feels like
stand up material? I know when you did in Scotland, Like, oh,
you tell your story so well, even the silliest things
just are so funny and honestly, you're telling in such
a visual way that I'm like, it feels like there's
a movie playing. It's almost like, am I tell you
of the Proud Family? Actually, like I'm watching The Proud
Family and zay Nab is just narrating the whole thing
(23:44):
so well that I'm seeing the animation of Penny Proud
getting laughed at, Like it's just so funny to me.
So I was wondering if like, there's any part of
your life right now that just feels like stand up
comedy ready to have Oh.
Speaker 5 (23:56):
Number one, thank you so much. That's one of the
biggest compliments that anybody he's ever given me. So thank you.
Speaker 6 (24:02):
I feel like everything is comedy, honestly, like I feel
like everything I feel like. That's the thing that if
I'm ever feeling like I'm lacking will or I don't know,
maybe in a lower state, like emotionally or mentally, I'm like, well,
in order for me to even get material, I have
(24:23):
to live life like I have to live life to
its fullest for me to get material. Like my last
show in Scotland, I did thirty five minutes. I just
improvised on the Crown the TV show because I.
Speaker 5 (24:37):
Never watched it.
Speaker 6 (24:37):
I just thought it, you know, I was in Scotland,
so I was like, let me see, let me see
what this show is about, because you know what I'm saying,
these people really like the monarchy.
Speaker 5 (24:43):
Let me see what this show was about.
Speaker 6 (24:45):
And so I started watching it and then I just riffed.
You know, So every single thing that I experience, I
feel like can become comedy at some point or another, right.
Speaker 5 (24:57):
Like we're all living this life.
Speaker 6 (24:59):
We're all experiencing, you know, certain like we're all experiencing
similarities in our life. And I think most people don't
know how to express it. Most people can't talk about it.
And so that's where I show up as like, that's
the reason why you buy a ticket to my show.
It's like, she's gonna do this thing. She's gonna release
(25:20):
something that I can't really release, you know, you know
that's my whole But yeah, everything everything right now. I
just turned off the AC in my office and it's
so hot that I'm doing it for sound for this podcast,
And I mean, at some point this will become material,
you know.
Speaker 4 (25:32):
Right right, I was hot. I was so hot, but
I had to do it for a mins. Come on,
how do you balance being funny or something meaningful? I
know you say, like everything's comedy, But when you're trying
to tell a specific story or you really want to
resonate with the world, how do you tell that story?
Speaker 6 (25:50):
I try to maintain its essence of truth, you know,
and meaning. Like sometimes to extract the fun, we have
to change the story, or we have to embellish, you know,
we have to fictionalize it. But if I feel like
it's imperative for a message to be to come across,
(26:11):
then I will do as little fictionalizing as possible.
Speaker 5 (26:15):
And I'm sure you've seen it in my show.
Speaker 6 (26:18):
I don't mind your being like serious moments like at all,
Like we're gonna laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh, just as
life is right. But also now I'm on the five
minutes of you, guys, and it's just about you listen
Jesus about.
Speaker 5 (26:32):
You hearing me, And I'm okay with that. Some comics
that's a little bit hard for.
Speaker 6 (26:36):
Because it's like if people aren't laughing, you kind of
feel like you're failing. But I got pretty comfortable with
that very early, Like silence doesn't necessarily.
Speaker 5 (26:45):
Mean that what you're doing is not successful. It just
means that this is the moment where laughter isn't sought
after nor required.
Speaker 4 (26:55):
That's a good quote now that could be clipped that way,
and you're right, like I go to a Quaker school,
in silence is very like virtue there. It's almost like
you just know that listening, that moment of silence is
just the audience listening to you. And so when you're
writing your material, do you write in silence. Do you
write in chaos? Does it not matter where you write?
Speaker 5 (27:16):
So I write on stage.
Speaker 6 (27:18):
Actually I take notes in life, you know, when it's quiet,
when it's chaotic, I take notes in life, but I
apply those notes on stage. I explored those notes on stage.
And so I was at a show and it was
like a heckler. It wasn't my show, but it was
a heckler.
Speaker 5 (27:32):
And they got.
Speaker 6 (27:33):
Removed from the building, and they got removed from the building,
and I was part responsible for them getting removed from
the building. But so at the end, they waited outside
of the venue, and when me and my friend left,
they proceeded to curse us out. And in the moment,
I just let it happen and I just got like
(27:53):
away from them as fast as possible. But then the
next day I turned it into material. But I didn't
go home and write the joke down in a book.
I just remembered it, you know. And then I wrote
a note just in my notepad, like I wrote, guy
curse me out after show, And then I put complex needs,
because that was the thing that they kept saying, he
has complex he has complex needs, and so I just,
(28:17):
you know, and then I just went right to stage
and sort of like worked it out on stage.
Speaker 4 (28:21):
You know, that's amazing, that's so cool. You're just such
a You're now an international talent, so I cannot say
that now. Nab the international talent came to join me
at iHeartRadio to talk about her comedy life, and I
am so grateful for Zanab Johnson. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in keyword Community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio app Y Words Philadelphia
Community podcast. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Lorraine Ballard.
I'm Lorraine Ballardmorrow and I stand for service to our
community and media that empowers. What will you stand for?
(28:59):
You've been listen ny to what's going on, and thank
you
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