Meet Ilana Cohn | Writer, Director & Comedian

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ilana Cohn and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ilana, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
I consider myself incredibly lucky. I have always wanted to be a mother and an artist. Somehow I found my way to both of these dreams, which are not easy pursuits in Los Angeles. When I first moved out here I had endless energy and eagerness to learn and find my “thing.” I quickly found improv comedy and realized I loved performing and after years of studying and performing sketch and improv at great theaters like The Groundlings and Second City, I ended up being a full time comedy creator. I’ve written and sold several shows and have worked with incredibly talented, hilarious and inspiring artists. Now that I’ve got two young kids, I’m not out working the comedy clubs the same way I used to, doing multiple shows a week. I now have to be more selective about what kind of work I will take, but good opportunities keep coming my way, and for that I’m so grateful. I’m always trying to find the right balance of freelance writing, directing and acting work, creative writing and pitching, performing, and of course raising two amazing humans. It’s certainly a juggle, but I’m glad it’s a fun one!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Does it still count as art if it’s just a really productive coping mechanism? I had a pretty tough childhood, but despite the hardship, there was a lot of laughter. I really think this darkness is the thing that makes my comedy relatable. I think adversity and struggle informs my humor and my work. I won’t get into all my trauma, because, well, it’s just not that funny. Should I be talking about butts? My 4-year-old thinks butts are the ultimate in comedy. And when you really think about it, butts are kind of ridiculous. I mean they make insane noises, what kind of design is that?! If a loud, inappropriately timed fart does not make you laugh, I do feel like you might be dead inside…Sorry for the tangent.

Laughter is such a strange human trait. When you’re really laughing you are fully present in that moment. I think it’s so hard to be truly present, especially with all of the distractions we have nowadays and I think that’s what I love so much about comedy. As a comedian you get to bring people with you on a journey, you hit them with a concept or an idea that makes them have this visceral response. It’s so satisfying to laugh and even more so to make other people laugh. Better than drugs.

I think I’ve been really lucky in that I’ve accumulated so many skills. I came out here to be a filmmaker and landed in comedy, but along the way I’ve been a director’s assistant, production manager and producer. I’ve worked in the camera department, art department and wardrobe…sometimes all on one shoot on those real low budget projects. But I’ve been able to use these various skills to keep a career going. I recently directed a music video for singer/songwriter, Leslie Stevens, that will be out soon. It was such a fun project and felt like I was getting back to the fun of filmmaking where I just got to unite a bunch of talented people and make something fun and beautiful.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There are so many wonderful spots in LA. Here are a few that I love. . .

Descanso Gardens… especially right now as everything is starting to bloom. It’s really one of my favorite LA spots. We live in such a gorgeous area and it’s easy to forget when you’re just hustling around the city. Descanso makes you feel like you’re in another land. It’s big nature just 20 minutes away.

I’d definitely hit up The Lyric Hyperion in Los Feliz. It’s such a great little spot to grab a coffee or beer and check out a show. They have experimental theater, stand up, sketch and drag shows. I’ve performed there for years and it’s a great spot for comedy and is run by delightful people.

I live in Studio City and I just love Aroma Cafe. Don’t let the line intimidate you, it moves quickly and is totally worth it. I highly recommend the salmon stack or a breakfast burrito. Can you ever go wrong with a breakfast burrito?

You’ve got to hit the beach with you are in LA, otherwise, what are you even doing? Malibu is fun and gorgeous, I love Point Dume, Almost every time we go, we see dolphin swimming by, which just feels like such a magical west coast treat.

For dinner and drinks I’ve been enjoying a little spot called Black Market Liquor Bar. They have incredible cocktails and food and it’s a perfect place to gather with friends and a great date night spot.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I drove from New Jersey to LA 20 years ago in my Ford Escort with a dream and the promise of a job in entertainment from Monster.com. Though that turned out to be a scam, it got me out here and for that I’m very grateful. There are so many tiny moments of encouragement, support and love over that past two decades that have kept me going. First, I need to shoutout my husband and the father of my children (same guy), the kind and hilarious Liam Sullivan, He has been a champion, cheerleader and collaborator for the 16 years we’ve been together. I’m eternally grateful for him. We spent over a decade making a ton of comedy together and though we are more focused on our family at the moment, comedy is sort of the foundation of our relationship, so I have a feeling we’re not done creating together.

I also want to mention past collaborator and writing partner, the hugely successful writer and showrunner, Lisa Muse Bryant. Any time I get a chance to work with her, I will always jump on the opportunity. She is a brilliant writer and storyteller and has the greatest laugh in any room. I was lucky enough to be in development with her last year and though our show has not sold (yet), it was the highlight of my year.

Jodi Miller has also been a huge inspiration and teacher. I had been performing sketch and improv comedy for many years and stand up was always a thought, but I didn’t really feel confident enough to just start that up. I took a class with Jodi, about 10 years ago, and it was so fun and illuminating and jump started another skillset that has been so satisfying. I just did a corporate stand up gig at the Pacific Design Center for a theater full of PNC Bankers. It is very satisfying to make the suits laugh and I never would be booking gigs like that if it weren’t for Jodi.

There really are countless friends, former bosses and collaborators as well as the Pile, a group of insanely talented moms that have kept me going all these years. I feel incredibly lucky to always get to work with insanely talented, kind and very funny people.

Website: https://www.ilanacohn.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilanainla

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilanainla

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ilanainla

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ilanainLA/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/thefunclub

Image Credits
headshots by Scott Pitts set photo by Jonathan Williams tiny kitchen photo by Frankie Norstad