Last week, EmEz sat down with the lovely Eva Evans for a new episode of The Sitdown. Evans was a star on BET’s Hustle in Brooklyn. The cast consisted of young talented individuals who were navigating through their careers, while on the streets of Brooklyn. After her time with Hustle in Brooklyn, Eva Evans went full throttle with her comedic career. Thus far, she has participated in comedy festivals and shows.
EmEz began the show by asking Evans what her transition was like after Hustle in Brooklyn. “I was hustling before the show, during the show and after the show,” replied Evans. She went on to mention her very busy schedule regarding her comedy career. She briefly spoke about doing several comedy shows a week on Zoom. She expressed that it was a “nightmare” due to lack of a live audience. Evans eventually stopped doing the Zoom comedy shows. She felt she “thrived” more when she was physically in front of an audience.
Evans then revealed that she faced depression during quarantine because she could not perform on stage. “The stage is a form of my therapy” Evans stated. She expressed that being able to tell jokes were her way of being her true self. Not having that outlet took a terrible toll on her. Rainy days don’t last forever. Evans mentioned that was given the opportunity to do stand up at a comedy drive-thru in East New York. She explained that people would park their cars and enjoy the show in the safety of their own vehicle. If one found a joke to be funny, they would bump their horns. EmEz replied with praise for how “innovative” the idea was.
After speaking on Evan’s experience in quarantine, EmEz tried his luck by asking Evans to tell a joke for the show. Evans explained that “comedy is not something you do, it’s something you experience.” She further explained some of the misconceptions people have regarding comedy. Plain and simple, she says “I’m not a clown.”
Eva Evans did choose to share a funny story about a comedian who stole one of her jokes. She began the story off, by explaining that she was in Atlanta for a comedy show. The comedian who stole her joke was ahead of her in the line up. Evans recalled saying a specific joke at the show in Atlanta. After completing that show, she later found out the comedian stole her joke while Evans performed at another comedy show in the Bronx. Evans recalled her phone being blown up with several notifications about the comedian using her work. Evans then confronted the comedian. The comedian apologized and mentioned that she only used the joke when she was “bombing.” “Bombing” is a term used by comedians who tell a joke and the audience doesn’t react. Evans mentioned the advice she was given about “bombing.” “You have to bomb at least 100 times before you can consider yourself a comedian,” said Evans.
EmEz continued the interview by asking Eva Evans was it ever a time she was surprised that the audience actually liked a joke. She recalled her time doing comedy shows at Rikers Island. She mentioned that she was the only woman doing shows at Rikers. She raved at her success there because inmates would tell their close friends and family about her work. EmEz couldn’t help but ask about the crazy stories she had while hosting shows at Rikers Island. Evans briefly spoke about a time she came to the jail smelling like marijuana and she had to have a thorough check from security. She got her hair wig searched and was sniffed by dogs. She even mentioned inmates being released from jail and wanting to take her out on dates. Her time at Rikers Island did come to an end due to Covid-19.
After a short break, EmEz decided to ask Evans about her new comedy album titled I Normally Don’t Do This By Eva Evans. The album dropped in February and is available on all streaming platforms. You can listen to the album here.
To watch the full interview, check out EmEz’s Youtube channel The Sitdown With EmEz. Be sure to like and subscribe for future content.
Picture courtesy of Eva Evans Instagram @evaevanscomedy