Dr. Ms. Jones "The Beauty of Comedy"

May 29, 2007

Downtown lit up with laughter

Author: Robert Rogers, Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO - Scott Fig owns the stage with a booming voice and an outrageous take on male-female relations. Plucking a would-be heckler out of the boisterous crowd, the scrappy High Desert comedian observes that the man's "head is so big, (he) be like doing a flip when he bends down to tie a shoe," a hilarious prelude to performing a clunky somersault on stage.

The crowd throatily approves.

And Fig isn't alone. Ms. Jones, a straight-laced schoolteacher by day and sassy comedienne by night, roasts the men in her life for a slew of personal-hygiene peculiarities before closing her set with a crowd-whipping rap about foot care.

Then there's the headliner, A.J. Johnson, armed with a razor-sharp wit to complement a catalogue of major movie credits. Race, sex, wardrobe, your mother, it's all fair game to Johnson, who works so hard he totes a white towel to swab waves of perspiration from his face.

Six comics in total fired on all cylinders on Thursday's grand opening of what organizers hope becomes a fixture in the city's downtown: The Street Hustle Comedy Jam on Thursday nights. Organized and promoted by Street Hustle Records, a Hospitality Lane-based entertainment business specializing in rappers and comedians, the event is held at Ray's Downtown Nightclub. By day the venue is better known as Ray's Downtown Deli.

In its debut, the comedy show drew about 100 thirsty patrons to the full bar for entertainment at the intimate club, which is tucked in a small shopping center in the 100 block of South E Street.

Avant-garde it is not, but the sprouting of live, evening entertainment is exactly what city leaders and economists have long said is essential for the city's dim downtown.

If an event like this can thrive, the time for downtown San Bernardino's revitalization may have finally arrived.

"The goal is always to get more people downtown, but the second part of that question is what do they do when they get there," said City Councilman Neil Derry.

"We have some housing projects emerging, and we need the entertainment and arts to come simultaneously."

Derry said he's glad to see such a club crop up, and said the location of a nightclub near the the 66ers stadium could help push the venture over the hump.

"Their success could be that of the city," Derry said. "We need businesses big and small to succeed to rebuild our downtown economy."

Aside from a few microphone malfunctions and some hilarious misconnections between comedians and the DJ, all went smoothly.

But the real story was the talent - streetwise comics with a locally-inflected flavor that delighted the crowd. The troupe was fast-mouthed, gritty and armed with a nothing-is-sacred fearlessness that bruised feelings and stretched smiles.

Bobo Lamb, a veteran performer on P. Diddy's Bad Boys of Comedy label, took the audience on a gut-busting jaunt through his poor childhood of snatching bologna out of friends' refrigerators, premature potty training and Q-tips as a luxury item. Lamb tailored his material to the city's demographic like a politician with a team of poll analysts.

"Y'all broke, who all is broke?" Lamb offered to hooting affirmation. "Well, y'all got to understand two broke people can't get together. It's like algebra, broke plus broke equals broke to the second power!"

The six comedians took the 8 p.m. show to well past 11 p.m., but few patrons were lost during the weeknight comedy marathon.

Thomas Mosley, a Street Hustle Records promoter, said the company will test the downtown market for live comedic entertainment at least through the summer before deciding the next move.

"We think San Bernardino's downtown area might be ready for this kind of live club entertainment," Mosley said. Showtime

What: The Street Hustle Comedy Jam, live comedy show

When: 8 p.m. Thursdays

Where: Ray's Downtown Nightclub, 168 S. E St.

For information and tickets: (909) 386-0303

(c) 2007 The Sun. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Media NewsGroup, Inc. by NewsBank, Inc.
Record Number: 6009791 - San Bernardino Sun (San Bernardino, CA)

Theresa KeeganFor Living & Being
March 10, 2017

From toddlers telling “knock knock” jokes to the competitive world of standup comedy, there’s just something reassuring about laughing.

Yes, endorphins get released, and stress is reduced. And smiling uses fewer muscles than frowning. But deep down, the ability to embrace humor is a game changer in people’s lives.

“I can cry or complain about things, but hey, why not make a joke about it,” said professional comedienne Ms. Jones – no first name. Ever. “This is real stuff. You can pull your hair out, or say, ‘That’s a joke.’ ”

As a substitute teacher in inner city schools in Los Angeles, where the Newburgh resident had moved to pursue an acting career, she had more than her share of sad stories. But it just wasn’t her personality to dwell on the negative.

“I always look at life in a fun way. I don’t stress the small stuff,” she explained. Her easy-going approach led her to being invited one night to “tell a joke” during another comedienne’s show. But she didn’t have a joke.

“After that I knew – be prepared.” She dove into the very serious work of becoming a comedienne and three months later was in the finals of a Black Entertainment Television comedy competition.

She took her teaching experiences — from bad students to parents asking her out on dates — and made them universally appealing and humorous. She expanded her routines and, now back in Newburgh, covers everything from the challenges of being a single woman to wearing a weave.

“You write about and perform what you know in your world,” she said. - The Poughkeepsie Journal

Sep 6, 2023

By Journalist Ms. Jones

HARTFORD, CT– “It’s a wonderful experience to be able to [give these leaders awards] knowing that they’re true humanitarians who have served the community faithfully… giving [their] service, sometimes without being compensated for it, but just doing what [they’re] doing because [they] love to serve. Without true humanitarians, our world would be in a terrible place…Our local police department, those that work in the hospitals… those who serve in the soup kitchen, they are humanitarians… and [they] deserve to be honored,” said Chancellor Dr. Dornett McIntosh, Founder of Heart Bible International University (HBIU) who distributed the awards. “I am so thankful for President Joe Biden who is helping to continue this legacy of this Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award… I’m so glad that HBIU was able to be one of the organizations that is able to give this award to help those that deserve to get [their] flowers now.”

The Presidential Lifetime Achievement Awards were issued on Sunday, August 27th at The Hartford Marriott during The Third Annual HBIU Presidential Lifetime Achievement Awards Gala. It was a Black & White Affair where participants wore black, white, gold, or silver. The President’s Award was founded by The President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation in 2003 to honor outstanding citizens who exhibit outstanding work ethic, character, and dedication to serving their communities. Not only did recipients receive the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for their outstanding community service and leadership excellence, they also received a Presidential Pin and The President’s Volunteer Service Award, a Humanitarian Service Award, and a Proclamation from the Mayor of Hartford and the State of Connecticut. Honorees included first responders, mayors, teachers, entrepreneurs, clergy, and even a king!

“I’m grateful to the university, HBIU, for honoring me with such an award. It’s ablessing,” said HRH King Geoffrey Wayabire of the Bugwere Kingdom in Uganda who gave a speech at the gala and invited Americans to come to Uganda where he pastors and oversees hundreds of churches with The Queen Mother HRH Harriet Wayabire. “Uganda is open. We need people to come and see Africa that haven’t been to Africa and have not been to Uganda before. You’re most welcome to come and see what the Lord is doing in that continent and country.”

HRH King Geoffrey Wayabire not only received the various awards during the gala, but the previous day he also received his doctorate degree from HBIU. Another person who received a doctorate degree and all of the aforementioned awards is Newburgh’s own Ms. Jones!

“I am so excited and honored to be receiving The Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award and other awards! It is amazing to be recognized for the work that I have done ministering in the prisons and nursing homes, feeding and performing for the homeless on Skid Row, tutoring countless students, being a mentor for children and new teachers, and for getting out the stories of people through newspaper articles, radio and TV shows, and documentaries,” said Ms. Jones who is a teacher, comedian, recording artist, radio announcer, TV Host, filmmaker, and newspaper reporter and who also emceed the gala.

“Jesus was the greatest servant of all. He describes himself as a servant in Mark 10:45 which states, ‘The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.’ I look at his example as well as my late grandmother Bishop Mother Virginia Bowman who took in families in need, paid for people’s funerals when loved ones required assistance, and sold her car to save individual’s homes from being foreclosed and my mother Virginia P. Bowman who diligently served with compassion as one of the first Black nurses at Vassar Brothers Medical Center.” - Hudson Valley Press