Entertainment with Eric

Eric Owusu is an L.A. comic who started his career in Maryland. He wrote for Disney's Raven's Home and continues to work as a writer, comic, and graphic design artist in L.A. If you're an aspiring television writer, you're gonna want to read this.

Where are you from?

"Hyattsville, Maryland. I grew up right outside of DC."

What is your favorite color?

"Let’s say green… This is why. Whenever I visit Maryland, everywhere I’m driving, it’s just tress. I used to hate it because I had really bad asthma as a kid. Then, living in NY, where the only trees are in Central Park, and then here where everything is burning, so going home it’s like, 'Nature’s beautiful.' So I like green."

What did you want to be when you were a kid?

"A comic book artist or architect. I would make my own comic books and toys. I remember the show, 'Beetle Borgs,' it was like a knock off of Power Rangers. It was about these kids who break into this house, and they find a genie who turns them into their favorite superhero. I would doodle and create comic books. I would staple them and create my own stories. Mainly, because my mom wouldn’t let me buy comic books... So, I wanted to be a comic book artist."

What got you into comedy?

"I’ve always been a fan of comedy. So, like when I was little, freshman year of high school, it was the Chapelle Show. Even before that, it was comedy movies--Sister Act, Rush Hour... I just loved comedy, but I feel like I watched so much of it that I was studying it...

Senior year of high school, I started being a little bit of a class clown cause I had senioritis, and I knew I was on my way out. So, I was like, 'I'm bulletproof!' In this one class--my physics class--I had this friend, Jamison, and one day I said something and everyone laughed. The teacher pulled me out of class and said, 'Hey, I don't get paid enough to babysit you guys.' And my friend Jamison said, 'Have you ever seen Eddie Murphy's stand-up from the 80s?' I said, 'Eddie Murphy is a stand-up?'

So, I went and illegally torrented Eddie Murphy's two stand-up specials and cried laughing. And I thought if he did stand-up, who else does it? Then, I started looking up Chappelle's stand-up, and like, fell for that... Martin Lawrence, Richard Pryor things and started eating at comedy. But still wasn't like, 'I could do that.' I was just like, 'Oh, this is really great.'

But then, sophomore year of college, my cousin also went to the University of Maryland, and he got a flyer to audition for this campus, sketch comedy group. And he knew I was funny and silly and goofy or whatever, so he was like, 'This is not for me, but here. You go. See what this is about...'

I went to the audition, and I got in. And then it was like, 'Oh, this is dope.' And they showed me the mechanics. It wasn't just like, Martin Lawrence was born a comedian... They go to open mics. They test their stuff out, and write, write, write, write. So, being in the group was like, 'Oh, this is what I want to do forever.' So, that's how I got into comedy."

Do you find that you treat everything like homework? Do you like that you do that about yourself?

"Well, I'm very organized and anal about everything because I'm a Virgo. I don't really do astrology shit. I just know that because people tell me. I--mmm--I guess it depends on what it is, because there's stuff I really nerd out about, and dig, dig, dig. And will break down and study and research, like comedy and comic book stuff still. Like, I'll find myself going down a rabbit hole of Superman storylines from the 1980s' comic books on Wikipedia and DC's website just because. Like, this is interesting. Like, what? Lois Lane did what?

So, not everything. It can be frustrating because I procrastinate that way too... I get in the zone about things... But yes, I do get into a zone and nerd out about things I'm super passionate about."

Who is your biggest inspiration?

"I have a lot of inspirations for different reasons. For example, my dad is a hero. He's just, like, this real chill dude, but he's about his stuff. If and when any of us in the family have a problem or whatever, we just automatically go to my dad, and he'll figure it out and keep his cool. He's the person that if the bank lost 1,000 of your dollars or something stupid, [you could] go to my dad [and say], 'Hey, dad, the bank messed up.' [And he'd say,] 'What? Don't worry. I'll figure it out. We'll handle it.' [Then, he'd] get on the phone and yell at everyone at the bank and get you $2,000 back. That's my dad.

So, I always wanted to be like him. Everyone always came over to our house to hang out with my dad and my mom. Everyone always came to my dad for problems, but he's really cool, and he knows how to laugh and let loose. I always wanted to be that cool person people go to for help and fun stuff, not just for help.

I have professors that were really dope. I guess my writing professor in New York. This guy, Norman Steinberg. He's written forever... [He said] 'You know, you're in this entertainment business. You're learning how to write and how to be in it. You know, be a pest. Let people know what's going on. But also, pay it forward...'"

What was the biggest obstacle you had to overcome at the beginning of your comedy career?

"I guess it came super late because I like to start my comedy career in '08 when I got into the sketch comedy team... So, I think my biggest obstacle, and I overcame it in 2017, so super recently. I was already out here... I was working at a talent agency. I was the Voice-Over Coordinator... Normal desk job, nine to five. At that time too, I was going to a lot of writing meetings for potential writing gigs with my writing partner. It felt like the right things were happening. I had my steady day job, but I was almost a writer in writers' rooms. But like three or four [rooms] said no, like in a row. And I was like, 'Ughhh. Each of these are super hard to get. I don't have too many nos left. What am I gonna do? I have to get a job as a writer like this is the moment. I can feel it...'

So, one day early, I was in the office, or whatever, getting the coffee ready for the day. And I was like, 'Eric, you have to let go. You have to make peace with the fact that you could never get a writing job. You could never get hired to write. You could never go on tour as a stand-up. That's what most people in the world live in.'

So, I had to kind of make peace with that. You could never get into the writers' room, that doesn't mean you're not a writer... Just because you don't do it professionally, doesn't mean you're 'not that...' And it could happen one day, but you make peace with the fact that it could never happen. So you don't have this anxiety on you, like, 'I have to do it. I have to do it. It's right there. I have to do it.' No one owes me anything. There's plenty of funny people who never write for TV or whatever--write a movie, sell a movie, whatever.

[When I had that realization,] I was free to just be and do the art and do stuff and not worry. And I don't really believe in manifestation or whatever, but not too long after that realization, my writing partner and I got Raven. But I had let go of the, 'I gotta get it. I gotta get it. It's mine. It's mine. I deserve it. I need it' [and] just be."

How did you land your first writing job?

"I worked and did stand-up in DC for a year before going to grad school in New York for TV writing and producing. There are three names I'm going to throw out. They're all connected, I promise.

The New York professor, Norman Steinberg, he used to go to Maryland. He came down during my senior year and recruited a bunch of us at this alumni event. There's a Maryland professor named Mike Olmert. I had him my last semester. He's an English professor. He and Norman are tight. I didn't know that.

In Olmert's English class at Maryland, I was advertising a lot for my last sketch comedy show, and like, I asked him if it was cool to do a little stand-up at the beginning of class, do like two minutes and just try and pitch the show... He appreciated it. [He was like,] 'Oh, this kid is not just floating through my class. He's also doing something special with his comedy.'

I get into grad school in New York, and I talk to Norman Steinberg. I'm like, 'Hey, I'm really worried about this program. I need to know this is more than just an $80,000 piece of paper. Will I be able to go out and be a writer after doing this program?' [He said], 'Yeah, you'll be fine. I know, because you'll worry about it...' He knew I was hungry, and he knew I could write, like on paper, but he had never seen me perform.

So, I did a bringer show in New York, and a lot of my classmates came, but Norman Steinberg couldn't make it. But I got a really good tape out of it... During our first Christmas party, Norman's there, we're all there, and other students are like, 'Eric, put the tape on. Put your stand-up set on.' And so, I had it on Youtube, so I pulled it up, and they all really liked it. And Norman saw it as was like, 'Oh, shit, this kid is like, funny too. Like, he's a good writer and performer.' So, he contacted Olmert, my professor back in Maryland, and said, 'Hey, this kid is doing really [well]. He's up here in New York.'

One of Mike [Olmert's] former students was this guy, Mike Rosolio, who--I didn't know--was also in the sketch comedy group I was in, just seven years before... So Olmert was like, 'Hey, this kid, Eric, is in New York. He's doing really well. He was in your sketch comedy group. I don't know if you know him.' [Rosolio]: 'Oh, no. He's after my time, but that's cool.'

So, Mike Rosolio reached out to me in 2014 when I was living in New York. I had started a production company with some classmates from the grad program... He was like, 'Hey, I hear good things about you. I wrote for this CBS Showcase thing in L.A., and it helped me get a writing career. I know you want to write, and I hear you're funny. We have all these connections. So, if you're interested, send me a little packet, and I'll help you get in.'

And I did, and then, in 2015, I moved to L.A. [and] wrote for the showcase. It was a very arduous five months, but it was dope. It gave me my network of people. I ended up getting a sketch in the show [that] I co-wrote with two other guys. It ended up being the closing number of the show. So, it went really well. I ended up getting my literary agent from that process. He liked my pilot that I had, and I kinda like, wrote it in New York. Then, it took about a year to introduce me to L.A.--is how he put it.

Then, in 2017, I started getting meetings with my writing partner. We wrote a thing together, and then we landed Raven's Home as staff writers. The next year, we sold a show. So, that's kind of the story, with some details meeting, but that's kind of the progression."

What was it like getting into the writers' room?

"Oh, it was amazing. My first day, I walked in, and everyone was in the kitchen because a lot of the writers knew each other because they had written on a show before. So, I get in everyone was like, 'Hey, Eric! Good morning! Welcome.' And I start crying. And they all hugged me... So yeah, it was incredible. It was the dream... Super fortunate to be able to have done it... So, I'm like waiting for my next thing... But it was a dream.

You know, we sit around a table and pitch jokes all day. We don't even have to type. The Writers' Assistant writes everything... Then, we got cool with the actors. They would come in the writers' room and hang out. We would plan funny, comedy, physical bits with Raven. Like, if she had a particularly interesting thing, she would come in the writers' room and help us put it on paper and create it. It was super collaborative. I got to sing karaoke with Raven-Symoné. How many people can say that?"

What was it like working with Raven-Symoné?

"She was great. She's the definition of a Hollywood veteran because she's been on TV since she was like three-years-old. So, like, just her wealth of knowledge... She's almost like a martial arts master--just her motions and movements--they can't even really explain it. They're just like, 'I'm dope. I'm going to move this table with my mind, and I just know how to do that.' She was really warm and inviting. She took all the kids under her wing. She was really cool with all of us writers, like me and her would cut up sometimes and make fun of stuff.

The first time she walked in the writers' room, I legit got starstruck. I was like, 'No, way!' Then, I was like, 'Dummy, you work here. Relax.' I wrote for the first season, so that was from February 2017 to August 2017. Then, they kinda changed the writers' room around, so I wasn't working there anymore.

The next year--I think it was March of 2018--I'm on La Brea with a couple sketch comedy buddies. We're walking to rehearsal on a Saturday afternoon, and I'm talking to them about my experience on Raven because it's still pretty fresh, and I hear, beep, beep 'Eric!' And it's Raven! Like, in traffic! And she saw me! And was like, 'Oh, hey!' Like, I didn't even recognize her at first. My friends were like, 'Oh, my god. That's Raven!' I was like, 'Oh, hey, good to see you. We on our way to sketch rehearsal. I'll see you later.'"

If there's anything you could tell your younger self, what would you tell them?

"I guess, don't worry. Not that everything will 100% be okay, but worrying doesn't make it 100%... Worrying will not make the things happen. Do the work. Do the things. Keep being wide-eyed, and optimistic, and creative, and hungry."

If you liked this interview and want to know more about Eric, check out his portfolio and Youtube channel. Also, go to one of his live shows! You can follow him on Instagram (eric.kay.owusu) to find his performance dates.