Jessica McKenna


Jessica Ruth McKenna is an American actress, voice actress, and comedian. McKenna trained with The Groundlings and at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, where she regularly performs. McKenna was one of the stars of Fox's Party Over Here, alongside Nicole Byer and Alison Rich, and currently hosts the podcast Off Book: The Improvised Musical on Earwolf.

Early life

McKenna was born in Yorba Linda, California. She received a Bachelor's Degree in Theater from Northwestern University.

Career

Theater

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

Television, film, and web series

In 2014, McKenna was a regular cast member on Fox's improv-based game show, Riot, until its cancellation. 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. Party Over Here was cancelled after one season. McKenna has appeared in episodes of Modern Family and The Goldbergs.
McKenna often collaborates with UCB alum Zach Reino. McKenna and Reino have worked together on musical sketches for Funny or Die, BuzzFeed, and Nickelodeon. In 2016, McKenna and Reino wrote and starred together in ABC's web series, Serious Music.
McKenna also works as a voice actress. McKenna voices the lead character, Lennon, on Amazon's Little Big Awesome. It was originally announced that McKenna would voice the lead character on Billy Dilley's Super-Duper Subterranean Summer, however, creator Aaron Springer ultimately was cast in that role.

Podcasts

Since 2017, McKenna and Reino have hosted the musical comedy podcast Off Book: The Improvised Musical on the Earwolf network. 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. McKenna has also appeared on Improv4Humans, The JV Club, and Hollywood Handbook.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games