Jessica McKenna

McKenna began training at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre after college, and became a regular performer in 2012.[5][6] She regularly performs with the musical improv house teams, Magic to Do and Baby Wants Candy.[7] McKenna is also a frequent performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre's long-running improv show, ASSSSCAT.[8][7] McKenna has performed improv comedy at festivals including South by Southwest, SF Sketchfest, Edinburgh Fringe, the Del Close Marathon, Bumbershoot, and Chicago Sketch Fest.[2][4][9][10]

In 2014, McKenna was a regular cast member on Fox's improv-based game show, Riot, until its cancellation.[3] In 2016, McKenna starred alongside fellow UCB alum Nicole Byer and Alison Rich in Fox's sketch comedy show, Party Over Here, which was produced by The Lonely Island and Paul Scheer.[11] Party Over Here was cancelled after one season.[12] McKenna has appeared in episodes of Modern Family and The Goldbergs.[3]

McKenna often collaborates with UCB alum Zach Reino. McKenna and Reino have worked together on musical sketches for Funny or Die, BuzzFeed, and Nickelodeon.[3][13] In 2016, McKenna and Reino wrote and starred together in ABC's web series, Serious Music.[14]

McKenna also works as a voice actress. McKenna voices the lead character, Lennon, on Amazon's Little Big Awesome.[3][4] It was originally announced that McKenna would voice the lead character on Billy Dilley's Super-Duper Subterranean Summer, however, creator Aaron Springer[15][16] ultimately was cast in that role.

Since 2017, McKenna and Reino have hosted the musical comedy podcast Off Book: The Improvised Musical on the Earwolf network.[3][17] McKenna is also a regular guest on the podcast version of Comedy Bang! Bang!, where she is known for characters such as Beth, the Power Wheels-obsessed 8-year-old, and This Is Your Boy Troy.[18] McKenna has also appeared on Improv4Humans, The JV Club, and Hollywood Handbook.[6]