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Comedian Jamal Newman sits down with podcast hosts Puss and Kooch to discuss his improv background, how he came up with the idea for all-black improv group Lena Dunham, and which performers are setting comedy trends in DC.

Jamal Newman on Heavy Flo with Puss and Kooch

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. To hear everything Jamal has to say, listen to his podcast episode.

The origin story of Lena Dunham

It’s become a thing for me for about two years now to go to LA for my birthday. I go and see improv shows at UCB.

The first time I went was just to see White Women. And then I thought I wasn’t going to get to see them because I went to the UCB Sunset training center, and they were sold out for their show on Sunday. I thought I’d just missed my opportunity to see White Women after I’d flown across the country. And then the black woman sitting at the front was like, “Oh no, you didn’t. You can see them on Tuesday.” And I said, “What’s happening Tuesday?” And she said, “Uuuh…Obama’s last week in office.” This was the same time Trump was being inaugurated. The woman at UCB told me White Women was having a show with the other black troops on Tuesday. So I bought those tickets. 

Can you tell us what it was like going to see these groups on that Tuesday night show?

First of all, when you walk into a show that’s all black teams, it’s very much like a club environment. The music they’re playing before the show is different. It’s not Rage Against the Machine or anything like that. The vibe is really different.

I’d never seen a show where every team was all black improvisers. And it wasn’t like, “Oh, this person’s also on this team, and this person is also on that team.” They all had their own teams. So I saw Arcade Currency, Obama’s Other Daughters. I saw Ego Nwodim when she was there. And then White Women closed out the show. That’s where Lena Dunham started because I was like, “Why is this not in DC?” 

Had you ever seen an all-black team perform? 

Prior to that, no. I hadn’t seen an all-black improv team, let alone an all-black male improv team. They weren’t wearing khakis and plaid shirts. So I realized you could be yourself and still perform.

So seeing this show led to the idea of you coming back and doing this in DC?

Part of it was that I wondered, “Why don’t we have this in DC?