Our Story

Jess Solomon founded Mabley Comedy Club in fall 2024 after navigating comedy spaces that said “diversity” but felt like group projects where she was doing all the work. So she built something else.

The club is a growing community of practice for Black, queer, femme, gender-expansive, and neurodivergent emerging comedians…a place to tune your voice without shrinking or over-translating. Our experiences aren’t the exception here. They are the source material.

This is a room of contradictions and humor holds all of it: grief and joy, rage and absurdity without apology.

Foreground Photo: ‘26 Cohort (l to r) Jackie Reid, Brendane Tynes, Nikki Ucheya, Jamyla Bennu, Alysia Lee, Jess Solomon.

Background Photo: ‘25 Cohort (l to r) Jess Solomon, Nia Hampton, Ti Malik Coleman, Kenya Miles, Ashleigh Joplin, Jessica Blackwell-Parks, Stephanie Alphee, tasha dougé.

We move from idea → experimentation → stage, together.

Members:

Write from personal truth and point of view
Learn comedic structure and performance techniques
Test material out loud and refine it through feedback
Build toward live performance

Since launching, Mabley Comedy Club has:

Run multiple cohorts for emerging comedians
Produced sold-out showcases and festival performances
Supported members performing in showcases across the DMV

Club Principles

“The accountability of the club helped me finish in weeks what I’d been putting off for years.”

—Club member
“So much I can say… honestly, the joy of learning something new.”

—Club Member
“Writing, iterating, and growing alongside a bunch of talented folks.”

—Club Member