Jennifer Rutherford is a Bitch!?

Just 9 months after her first performance, Sacramento comic Jennifer Rutherford has already run two comedy rooms, first at the La Casa Restaurante and now at the Tre Nightclub.  The showcase and open mic at Tre serves as an educational tool for both Jennifer and the comics that frequent the room.

“It’s the opportunity of knowing that every week I have somewhere to work my material. We didn’t really have an open mic on a Thursday night, so I felt like there was a need – for a lot of very talented local comedians – the need to get time behind a mic to get better. This is our college course that you can’t take anywhere.”

A relative late comer to the game, Jennifer modestly describes her transition into stand-up comedy.

“I slipped, tripped and here I am.”

While enjoying unemployment with some Karaoke, Jennifer had a chance encounter with a comedian who invited her to a show.

“He asked me if I’d ever thought about doing comedy before, and three days later I was on stage.”

With a background in sales, taking the stage to do stand-up was nearly a lateral move for Jennifer.

“I was a commercial lighting sales representative… I had to entertain architects and electrical engineers, and get them excited about lighting so I always used humor to do that, that’s for damn sure.”

Modest, however, does not describe her on-stage persona.

“I’m a bitch.”

…And a MILF according to many of her fans, some of whom she shares with 15 year old son, Alex, who performs stand-up locally as well.

“I’m 40 and I have no filter anymore. Married and divorced three times, I’m raising a 15 year old teenage boy on my own whom I love dearly, and he also does comedy. It’s a lot of fun.”

Jennifer recalls a high point after a recent performance at the Punchline Comedy Club.

“I had so much adrenalin on that stage. Oh my god, I was shaking when I came off stage because I was just like ‘wow, 250 people laughing!’ No drug can ever get you that high.”

So besides that, why does she do it?

“I love doing stand-up comedy. It’s just so much fun. Even when they’re not belly rolling, just to watch the amusement on their faces, and to sit back and think ‘wow, in this 5 minutes they didn’t think about their laundry and their problems and stresses at work or at home. You know, I made them forget, even if it’s just for a five-minute open mic. I love life. I love it!”

With the highs can also come challenges.

“You know here (at Tre Nightclub) we went through game 1, 3 and 7 of the NBA finals. That was pretty crazy. But I just decided every time they’d scream at the bar, I’d be like ‘Yay for us!’ So we pretended that the screaming and applause was for the comedy. So bless their hearts, but… its open mic.” *

And inevitably, some weird anomalies.

“I had a drunk woman once, I did a guest spot and it was my fourth time on stage. And this woman was giving the host fits. Everyone was like ‘oh God.’ And evidently she’d even been there before and given him problems. So about a minute and a half into my set, she stands up. And there’s two other women in the audience who are ready to kick her ass, like really ready to throw down. And I gave them a couple seconds to kind of rubberneck, and then I was just like “Alrighty, back up to the stage! Remember me?”

As for the future…

“I’m very grateful I started this business at 40 and not 20. I would have been chewed up and spit out by now. One thing I learned pretty early on is that I need to perfect my craft and grow, and the only way you can do that as a comedian is time. There’s no crash course. There’s no ability to have an hour’s worth of material at the snap of a finger. So yeah, I want to branch and grow, but I’m willing to put in my time.”

Come see Jennifer put in time as she hosts Open Mic Comedy Night every Thursday at Tre Nightclub. Doors open at 6pm. Comedy starts at 7pm.

And make sure to check out the NorCal Comedy Competition, hosted by Jennifer Rutherford. Friday, July 16^th, also at Tre!

* In fairness to Tre Nightclub, the televisions are typically off during performances. But in the case of depriving rowdy basketball fans, Jennifer laughs. “I did not want to be the culprit.”  Comedy events at Tre Nightclub sponsored by The Cool Crowd and Good Times Events

No related posts.