Jenny Hagel is a TV writer, filmmaker and comedy performer in New York City.
She is a freelance contributor to “Weekend Update” on Saturday Night Live and the Head Writer of MTV’s weekly pop culture show 10 on Top.
Other credits include The Big Gay Sketch Show(Logo Network), Impractical Jokers (TruTV), VH1′s daily morning show Big Morning Buzz Live, and the NewNowNext Awards (Logo Network).
Jenny is an alum of The Second City theater in Chicago, where she toured with The Second City National Touring Company, created original sketch comedy revues as a member of the Second City Detroit and Second City Denver mainstage casts, and won the Denver Post Readers’ Choice Award for Best Actress, Comic Role.
Jenny’s comedic short films and videos have appeared in film festivals all over the world, on television and on the interweb. In 2009, she received grants from Zach Braff and the National Board of Review for her short film Positive Commentwhich was acquired for national broadcast by MTV Networks.
She currently performs at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York with the ensemble Key Party, at the PIT Theater with The Scene and Off-Broadway with the musical improv group Baby Wants Candy.
Click around to see videos created by Jenny and to learn more about her work. If you’d like to find out how to contact Jenny, you can do that here, too.
Stick around! Jenny’s glad you’re here. No seriously – she told me.
Exciting news! Jenny was just hired as a writer for TruTV’s comedy prank show Impractical Jokers!
After a lifetime of pranking (and being pranked by) her two brothers, she’s looking forward to putting those skills to professional use.
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February 4, 2013
Jenny’s comedy dreams came true this past weekend, when she got to participate in a workshop with one of her all-time comedy idols, Kevin McDonald from The Kids in the Hall.
She even got to perform in a sketch in which – wait for it – KEVIN SAT RIGHT BEHIND HER.
True story.
Click below to watch the sketch!
Click to watch!
Special thanks to The PIT Theater for organizing such an amazing workshop!
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September 10, 2012
Jenny was just added to the list of Freelance Contributors for Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update segment. She’ll be contributing jokes weekly. Pretty rad : ).
Click on the Sun-Times logo below to check it out!
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May 22, 2012
Jenny got married this weekend! Don’t believe her? Would the New York Times lie??? Check out the sah-weet NYT wedding announcement here: http://tinyurl.com/82ku4ca
Also, the nice people at the Times asked Jenny and her kickass wife Jay to submit a little video about how they met. You can check it out here, or click on the still below.
Click to Watch
What’s that? You’d like to see a photo of two brides hailing a taxi? Okay…
It is surprisingly hard to catch a cab dressed like this.
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April 25, 2012
Jenny is speaking on two fun panels this week at the American Society of Journalists and Authors’ annual Writers Conference in NYC – one about TV writing and one on humor writing. She’s looking forward to geeking out about writing with other writers!
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April 2, 2012
Jenny directed the latest show by UCB’s kick ass sketch ensemble Onassis. Come check it out tonight at the UCB Theater in Chelsea – 9:30pm, $5. Come on – it’ll be fun!
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March 5, 2012
Jenny directed a sketch show this month that was written and performed by the amazing group Onassis. Come check it out at the UCB Theater in Chelsea! 9:30pm, $5, awesome times.
Click below for info and tickets.
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February 9, 2012
You guys, get this. Jenny was lucky enough to star in the latest episode of Mikala Bierma‘s amazing web series Uncastable.
Let’s just say what we’re all thinking. Mikala Bierma is a comedy genius.
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January 19, 2012
If you like improv and key parties, come check out Key Party tonight at UCB East! It’s exactly what it sounds like – an improvised key party. And it’s all the things you want out of a key party – sexiness, awkwardness and the inability to look your friends in the eye afterwards.
Jenny’s newest short film, Nice Shirt, was just picked up for German distribution. Who knew the Germans loved comedy so much?
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July 26, 2011
Jenny’s latest short film, Nice Shirt (directed by the fantastic Erik Gernand) is playing tonight at Cinema Village 2 in NYC and part of the NewFest Film Festival.
Jenny was just named one of Go Magazine’s “100 Women We Love.” Click on the logo below to check out the profile!
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May 10, 2011
Nice Shirt, a short film written by and starring Jenny (directed by Erik Gernand) was selected as a second prize winner for the Christopher Wetzel Award for Film Comedy! The winners were chosen by SNL alum Nora Dunn (!!!) and she’ll present the awards to the winners in June at the 2011 Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Chicago (!!!!!!!!!!).
Nice Shirt will be available online soon. Until then, enjoy this still. It’s *almost* as entertaining as the movie. : )
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April 18, 2011
Jenny’s got a new acting reel. If you like lots of short things mushed together to make one longer thing, you will LOVE this.
Check it.
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March 3, 2011
You guys, check it out – someone in Poland loves and/or hates Jenny’s short films!
Seriously – if you speak Polish, email Jenny and tell her which it is…
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March 2, 2011
Check out this video starring Jenny and her actual, kickass grandma.
No TV, no film festivals – this one’s just for funsies : ).
Tech Support – the new short film by Jenny and Erik Gernand – was just posted online! Check it out here!
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October 25, 2010
Tech Support – a short film co-written by Jenny and Erik Gernand and starring Jenny – has won a bunch of awards lately! Including…
- Audience Award for Best Short Film at the Reel Pride Film Festival in Fresno, CA
- Audience Favorite Women’s Short Film at the Pittsburgh International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
-Best Lesbian Short at the Hamburg International Queer Film Festival
Hooray!
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September 10, 2010
Jenny will be presenting next week at a really cool event hosted by Slate.com! It’s called “The Smoking Bra,” and it’ll feature presentations about women and comedy from a bunch of great funny ladies, a Q&A session and even a rock band!
“The Smoking Bra” is September 15th at 8pm at 92Y in Tribeca. Click on the Slate.com logo below for more details – and to buy tickets!
Click here to buy tickets!
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August 23, 2010
Jenny’s feature-length screenplay Product Placement is a semi-finalist in Final Draft’s Big Break Screenwriting Competition! Hooray!
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June 11, 2010
Tech Support, a short film co-written by Jenny Hagel and Erik Gernand and starring Jenny, is an Official Selection at this year’s NewFest Film Festival in NYC. It’s playing tomorrow, June 12th at 1pm at the SVA Theater (209 E. 23rd St).
Go check it out!
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June 10, 2010
Jenny’s short film Positive Comment premieres tonight on the Logo Network!
Positive Comment was the winner of Zach Braff Production Grant and a National Board of Review Student Film Award and was an Official Selection at the 2009 LA Comedy Festival. Click below to watch it!
Click Here to Watch “Positive Comment”
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June 2, 2010
Jenny’s feature-length screenplay Product Placement is a finalist in the 2010 NewFest Film Festival screenplay competition in New York City.
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May 22, 2010
A segment Jenny wrote for MTV’s 10 on Top was featured on PerezHilton.com! Click on the Perez logo below to check it out…
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May 7, 2010
Exciting news! All three episodes of Feminist Rapper were featured on the front page of FunnyorDie.com today! The webseries was also featured on the front page of Jezebel.com this week.
Feminist Rapper on the front page of Funny or Die.
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April 19, 2010
Jenny just got back from the 2010 LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival – her original pilot Unicorn was one of three finalists in the festival’s TV Pilot Script Competition!
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April 15, 2010
Check out the FINAL EPISODE of Jenny’s webseries Feminist Rapper!
