Making It
An American University graduate makes a serious career out of laughter
AT HER NEW YORK HIGH SCHOOL, Allyson Jaffe never fit in, so she deliberately stood out: wearing Mickey Mouse ears or her mother's prom dress, or attaching balloons to her backpack. Later, as a misfit college sophomore at American University, she yearned to make a career out of stand-up comedy. "It's addicting to get laughs from people," she explains.
With enterprise and a willingness to work hard, she has achieved just what she set out to do. As manager and co-owner of the Improv comedy club downtown, she earns $65,000 to $75,000 a year with bonuses, and she loves her life as a central figure in Washington's comedy scene. She does everything from sell tickets to book headline acts, for her club and prestigious events such as the Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner.
  (Keith Barraclough - Keith Barraclough) |
Of her packed schedule, the curly-haired 28-year-old says, "It's a problem, I know; I need to relax."
During college, Allyson started waiting tables at the Improv on weekends to get a foot in the door. The money was fine, but the scene was better. "I was 19, I was the youngest, and they all took care of me," she says.
Growing up, Allyson found that her antics helped her cope with her health struggles. She has scoliosis, a curvature of the spine that required surgery as a teen, and a rare congenital vision problem called Duane syndrome, which makes her see double. She must turn her face slightly and look out of one eye "to get a single image," she says.
The problems have compounded with age, as her misaligned spine and constant head-turning have taken a toll on her neck and back muscles, causing frequent migraines. She works so hard, in part, to keep her mind off the pain.
Yet she keeps laughing. "I'm always cracking myself up," she says, "being goofy, being silly."
After waiting tables at the Improv for a year, Allyson created an unpaid internship at the club for credit toward her major in visual media. She did marketing work and got hired full time after graduation, making $30,000 a year and working 80 or 90 hours a week.
"It's never been about the money," she says.
Allyson met her husband, Jeff King, a co-host on the Bill Press talk-radio show, when booking a radio stint for her mentor, comedian Brett Leake. Over the years, she created the local "Funniest College Competition" and started the Improv's popular comedy school, where ordinary people learn to get laughs.
But the hard work really paid off when the club owners launched another venue in Alexandria, the Old Town Theater. It ultimately failed, but for the long, unpaid hours she put in to get it rolling, Allyson was given a small ownership stake in the Improv. It meant everything to her. "It was proof I don't have to be in the corporate world," she says.
She does stand-up once or twice a year, "just to remember why I got into this business." But she has decided it's too difficult and lonely a lifestyle for her. It can also be tough to take when the audience doesn't laugh at your jokes.
"I just couldn't do it," she says. "And I'm not sad about that."
Did a disability of some kind give you the drive to fulfill your life's dreams? E-mail presslerm@washpost.com.
