1. Leigh Anne Jasheway AccidentalComic.com.
2. Jen Jay Facebook.com/jenjanjamesearljonesjohnson.
3. Devin Jones
Leigh Anne Jasheway describes herself as an “accidental comic” because “I kind of stumbled upon it.” Jasheway discovered her love for comedy after going through a divorce and realizing she needed to find a career. “I opened up this brochure for an adult education program and thought I would take classes,” Jasheway says. “So, I enrolled myself in a two-week long comedy writing program and it just opened up my whole world.”
She began incorporating her own sense of humor in her work as the director of wellness programming at the University of Texas Houston Health Science Center during the week and performing stand-up on the weekends. “I left that job because I wanted to be funny all the time,” Jasheway says. So, she packed her bags, moved to Eugene and began a career as a humor motivational speaker, writer, radio host and, her favorite title: comic.
Jasheway has been a stand-up comedian for more than 30 years, making her a legend in the Eugene comedy scene. Over the years, she has opened doors for many young woman comics across the state by producing the Northwest’s Women’s Comedy Festival for 17 years, putting on comedy classes at Lane Community College, and encouraging women in the comedy scene to lift one another up.
“I saw how infrequently there were women on stage and how even less frequently women were headlining shows or making any money,” Jasheway says. “Which is why I produced the Northwest Women’s Comedy Festival.”
Jasheway is mostly retired from her day job of motivational speaking, but will continue to write comedy and do stand-up for as long as she can.
“I am just really happy that people still consider me relevant enough to find me funny, and I am thrilled that there is so much great comedy going on in this town,” Jasheway says.