We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emily Jones. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emily below.
Emily, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
When I first moved to LA, I knew how important it would be to find a creative community. But I moved at the end of 2019, right before the world shut down. This made meeting new people, specifically in performance spaces, very challenging. When it became safe to do so, I began training at The Groundlings in 2022. There, I was able to meet the most hilarious, creatively driven people who were hungry to collaborate in a supportive community. That’s where I met my comedy partner, Rebecca Muench. We accidentally bonded when the bluetooth in my car automatically connected to my Spotify account and started playing a podcast episode of Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best at full volume. Turns out, we both listened to this rather specific podcast, and decided our working relationship would begin by launching our own recap podcast called Too Busy For Busy: A Busy Philipps is Doing Her Best Podcast Recap Podcast. Was it a bit niche and ridiculous? Absolutely! But it’s what brought us together as friends! Since then, our podcast has transformed into Too Busy: a comedy podcast where we, two millennial comedians discuss what’s been keeping us SO busy. For example: what is gut health and why is mine terrible? Why is my apartment haunted by ghosts? And as a vegan, why does Hinge keep matching me with butchers?
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Before pivoting into producing podcasts, I worked in several different disciplines in the entertainment industry, and I still do! For years, I worked as a musical theatre performer on the east coast. During this time, I became interested in bridging the gap between musical theatre and sketch comedy. From that point on, I became involved in comedy theaters like The Upright Citizen’s Brigade and The Groundlings.
I have consistently written all sorts of things for clients including satire, children’s books, social media copy, comedic songs, and scripts. I also assist a variety of creatives, aiding them in developing their own projects. I have a passion for supporting women creatives in the comedy landscape.
Creating the podcast, Too Busy, has taught me how to be a successful podcast producer, editor, and host. In addition to Too Busy, I have also produced and served as a script writer on several other podcasts including Scam Goddess Live, Give Us Your Money Pod, and Well…My Family’s Perfect.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
One thing that is difficult for non-creatives to understand is that there are no linear paths in many creative industries. It’s a career path filled with highs, lows, and a lot of uncertainty. Because of this it’s difficult to always be “on” as an artist. Creatives need a lot of down time to ultimately get to that idea they’re confident about. A Julia Cameron quote comes to mind: “Growth is an erratic forward movement: two steps forward, one step back. Remember that and be very gentle with yourself.”
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Reach out to creatives you admire! Let them know that you support their work. And if you have a need you think a creative might be able to fill, I guarantee that artist will put a ton of time and attention towards that need.
Contact Info:
- Website: emilyelizabethjones.com
- Instagram: @ejonesy__ & @toobusypod
- Other: https://ejonesy.substack.com/